Home of the Brave (Black 47 album)

Last updated
Home of the Brave
Studio album by
Black 47
Released1994
Genre Celtic rock
Label SBK
Producer Larry Kirwan, Jerry Harrison
Black 47 chronology
Fire of Freedom
(1993)		Home of the Brave
(1994)		 Green Suede Shoes
(1996)

Home of the Brave is an album by the American band Black 47, released in 1994. [1] [2] The band supported the album with a North American tour and an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno . [3] [4] The first single was "Losin' It". [5]

Contents

Production

The album was produced by frontman Larry Kirwan and Jerry Harrison. [6] Harrison was on a list of names provided by Black 47's record label; the band appreciated his relaxed production style. [7] Kirwan wrote 15 of the album's 16 songs, taking the same character-driven approach that he employed in his play writing. [6] [8] He considered many of his songs to be autobiographical or political. [9] "Who Killed Bobby Fuller?" concerns a man trying to solve Bobby Fuller's murder, in order to impress a woman. [10] "The Big Fellah" is about the Irish revolutionary Michael Collins. [11] "Oh Maureen" describes Kirwan's love for a woman who is married. [12] Winds musician Chris Byrne rapped on "Time to Go", about political conflict in Ireland, and a response to criticism the band had received from British periodicals. [13] [14] "Black Rose" details an infatuation for the companion of a friend who is in prison. [5] "Danny Boy" is about a gay Irish immigrant who lands a construction job in Queens. [15] An unlisted 17th track closes the album. [16]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Alternative Rock 5/10 [17]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [18]
Robert Christgau B− [19]
Deseret News Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [16]
The Indianapolis Star Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [13]
Knoxville News Sentinel Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [12]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
The San Diego Union-Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [11]
Tampa Bay Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [14]

The Boston Globe stated that "songs spiced with tin whistles and pipes abut cuts with driving drums and raging guitars... It's a sound that ranges from jubilant to mournful". [20] The Philadelphia Inquirer called the album "another glorious blast of Celtic-flavored rock and roll, with dollops of rap and reggae." [10] The Washington Post opined that "Black's sound is so gimmicky: Celtic-rock given an arena-metal swagger and embroidered with Latin, reggae and hip-hop elements designed to reflect the group's Lower East Side residence." [21] Robert Christgau panned Kirwan's vocals, labeling them "soul-as-melodrama rockism with a brogue." [19]

Trouser Press dismissed the album as a "wan imitation of the R&B phase of Dexy's Midnight Runners". [22] The Chicago Tribune concluded that "Kirwan's running commentaries on the Irish immigrant's adjustment to American life fare well from his playwright's sense of dialogue." [18] The Knoxville News Sentinel said that Home of the Brave "goes on entirely too long ... retracing its steps and sounding the same notes." [12] Buddy Seigal, of the Los Angeles Times , listed Home of the Brave as the second best album of 1994. [23] USA Today considered it one of 1994's "overlooked gems". [24]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."The Big Fellah" 
2."Oh Maureen" 
3."Losin' It" 
4."Paul Robeson (Born to Be Free)" 
5."Road to Ruin" 
6."Black Rose" 
7."Blood Wedding" 
8."Carlita’s Revenge" 
9."Who Killed Bobby Fuller?" 
10."Different Drummer" 
11."Danny Boy" 
12."Voodoo City" 
13."Time to Go" 
14."Go Home Paddy" 
15."Too Late to Turn Back" 
16."American Wake" 

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References

  1. ↑ Sprague, David (October 16, 1994). "Rocking of the Green". Fanfare. Newsday. p. 23.
  2. ↑ Marsh, Dave (January 1995). "Home of the Brave by Black 47". Playboy. Vol. 42, no. 1. p. 25.
  3. ↑ Bream, Jon (November 18, 1994). "Black 47". Star Tribune. p. 15E.
  4. 1 2 MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1996. p. 67.
  5. 1 2 Fried, Fran (October 25, 1994). "Back by popular demand – Black 47 at Toad's". New Haven Register. p. B10.
  6. 1 2 Renzhofer, Martin (November 24, 1994). "Black 47 Pounds Home Music and Message". The Salt Lake Tribune. p. J2.
  7. ↑ Tianen, Dave (February 24, 1995). "Pugnacious Black 47 straddles Irish, American cultures". The Milwaukee Journal. p. E13.
  8. ↑ Moorhouse, Donnie (October 27, 1994). "Black 47 rocks with Irish flair". The Republican. Springfield. p. WK7.
  9. ↑ Smith, Andy (February 3, 1995). "In Concert". The Providence Journal. p. D8.
  10. 1 2 Cristiano, Nick (November 4, 1994). "Black 47". Features Weekend. The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 15.
  11. 1 2 Toombs, Mikel (November 24, 1994). "Album Reviews". Entertainment. The San Diego Union-Tribune. p. 16.
  12. 1 2 3 Campbell, Chuck (December 2, 1994). "'Home of the Brave', Black 47". Detours. Knoxville News Sentinel. p. 3.
  13. 1 2 Konz, Joe (December 9, 1994). "Black 47 'Home of the Brave'". The Indianapolis Star. p. E7.
  14. 1 2 Proplesch, Richard (January 6, 1995). "Audio Files". Weekend. Tampa Bay Times. p. 11.
  15. ↑ Scott, Jane (November 11, 1994). "Black 47's More Than Irish". Friday. The Plain Dealer. p. 38.
  16. 1 2 Iwasaki, Scott (November 24, 1994). "'Home of the Brave' Is Inconsistent but Shows Style". Deseret News. p. F2.
  17. ↑ Thompson, Dave (2000). Alternative Rock. Miller Freeman Books. p. 206.
  18. 1 2 Webber, Brad (November 17, 1994). "Black 47 Home of the Brave". Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 7.
  19. 1 2 "Black 47". Robert Christgau. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  20. ↑ Saunders, Michael (October 20, 1994). "Black 47 Home of the Brave". Calendar. The Boston Globe. p. 19.
  21. ↑ Jenkins, Mark (November 11, 1994). "Black 47's Irish Rage Lost in Gimmickry". The Washington Post. p. N20.
  22. ↑ Robbins, Ira. "Black 47". Trouser Press. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  23. ↑ Seigal, Buddy (December 29, 1994). "1994: The Year in Review". Los Angeles Times. p. F3.
  24. ↑ Gundersen, Edna (January 3, 1995). "Among the best, seldom-heard music of 1994". USA Today. p. 6D.
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