Looking for Butter Boy

Last updated

Looking for Butter Boy
Looking for Butter Boy by Archie Roach.jpg
Studio album by
Archie Roach
ReleasedOctober 1997
Venue Port Fairy, Victoria
Length58:25
Label Aurora, Mushroom Records
Producer Malcolm Burn
Archie Roach chronology
Jamu Dreaming
(1993)		Looking for Butter Boy
(1997)		 Sensual Being
(2002)
Singles from Looking for Butter Boy
  1. "Hold On Tight"
    Released: June 1997
  2. "Watching Over Me"
    Released: 1997

Looking for Butter Boy is the third studio album by Australian singer songwriter Archie Roach. The album was released in October 1997 and peaked at number 52 on the ARIA Charts. The album was recorded with a small band at a guest house in Port Fairy on the Australian coast. [1]

Contents

While recording the album, Roach was swamped with childhood memories, one of which led to the album's title. Roach said “When I was about three years old, I was on the mission where my mother is from. I got into the pantry and covered myself from head to foot in butter. So from then on I was known as "butter boy".” [2]

At the ARIA Music Awards of 1998, the album was nominated for and won two awards; Best Indigenous Release and Best Adult Contemporary Album. [3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]

Thom Owens from AllMusic said "Looking for Butter Boy retains many of the same themes of parental separation and aboriginal pride of his early releases, it is a harder and more accessible record than his other albums, partially due to the presence of producer Malcolm Burn. What's important, however, is that Roach has retained his eye for lyrical detail and arresting melody, which makes Looking for Butter Boy yet another wonderful record from this underappreciated singer-songwriter." [4]

Bob Townsend from No Depression called it "Roach's most mature, relaxed and expansive set so far". Townsend said "Roach's songs are mostly autobiographical, seemingly simple catalogs of people and places that become bigger and stronger as the details draw you in. On "A Child Was Born Here" he journeys through the scattered haunts of stolen children. On "F Troop" he revisits the Charcoal Lane neighborhood of his youth and recalls the bittersweet moment he met his brother for the first time and on the album's most poignant track, "Louis St. John" he joins with his wife, singer Ruby Hunter, in a mournful affirmation of the persistence of the human spirit. [1]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Beggar Man"Archie Roach3:50
2."A Child Was Born Here"Roach4:21
3."My Grandmother"Roach4:18
4."Dancing (With My Spirit)"Roach4:16
5."F Troop"Roach4:43
6."Mother's Heartbeat"Roach4:55
7."Djabugai Lady"Roach5:07
8."Hold On Tight"Roach, Mark Seymour 4:27
9."River Song"Roach4:53
10."Reach for You"Roach3:37
11."Give Unto Caesar"Roach4:13
12."Louis St John"Roach5:32
13."Watching over Me"Roach4:03

Charts

Chart (1997)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA) [5] 52

Release history

CountryDateFormatLabelCatalogue
AustraliaOctober 1997
Aurora, Mushroom Records MUSH320122
United States of America1997
  • Compact Disc
 HighTone Records HCD8087
Australia3 January 1999 [6]
  • Compact Disc
 Mushroom Records MUSH330082

Related Research Articles

Archie Roach Australian musician

Archibald William Roach, AM is an Australian musician. He is a singer, songwriter and guitarist, as well as a campaigner for the rights of Indigenous Australians.

Ruby Hunter Australian Aboriginal singer-songwriter

Ruby Charlotte Margaret Hunter was an Aboriginal Australian singer, songwriter and guitarist. She was a Ngarrindjeri woman, who often performed with her partner, Archie Roach AM, whom she met at the age of 16, while both were homeless teenagers. Born near the mouth of the Murray River in the Coorong region of South Australia, Hunter was forcibly taken from her family at the age of eight as part of the Stolen Generation.

Tiddas are a female folk trio from Victoria, Australia.

The 12th Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards was held on 20 October 1998 at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre. Presenters, including Democrats deputy leader Natasha Stott Despoja and former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, distributed 28 awards with the big winner for the year being Natalie Imbruglia with six awards.

Boy & Bear is an Australian indie rock-folk music band formed in 2009, consisting of David Hosking, Killian Gavin, Tim Hart, Jonathan Hart, and David Symes (bass). The band has released four albums. The first two, Moonfire and Harlequin Dream, reached the top ten of the Australian albums chart. Their third album, Limit of Love, was released on 9 October 2015, in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and Canada, and on 30 October in the UK and Europe. On 27 September 2019, after a four-year break, they released their long-awaited fourth studio album, Suck on Light.

<i>Ghosts</i> (Wendy Matthews album) 1997 studio album by Wendy Matthews

Ghosts is the fourth solo studio album by Australian singer Wendy Matthews released in Australia by rooArt on 25 August 1997. The album debuted and peaked at number 43 in Australia.

Hold On Tight (Archie Roach song) song performed by Archie Roach

"Hold On Tight" is a song written by Australian singer Archie Roach. The song was released in June 1997 as the lead single from Roach's third studio Looking for Butter Boy. Upon release, Roach said "'Hold on Tight' is about holding on a bit tighter and loving someone a little bit more. It's based on a song about two people who went through that problem and now they're holding on tight to each other."

Took the Children Away

"Took the Children Away" is a song written and recorded by Australian singer Archie Roach. The song was released in September 1990 as his debut single. The song was included on Roach's debut studio album Charcoal Lane.

Down City Streets

"Down City Streets" is a song written by Australian singer songwriter Ruby Hunter and recorded by her husband Archie Roach. The song was released in 1991 as the second single from Roach's debut studio album Charcoal Lane (1990).

<i>Charcoal Lane</i> 1990 studio album by Archie Roach

Charcoal Lane is the debut studio album by Australian singer song writer Archie Roach. The album was released in May 1990 and peaked at number 86 on the ARIA Charts in April 1991 and was certified gold in 1992.

<i>Jamu Dreaming</i> 1993 studio album by Archie Roach

Jamu Dreaming is the second studio album by Australian singer song writer Archie Roach. The album was released in May 1993 and peaked at number 55 on the ARIA Charts. The album was recorded with musical assistance from David Bridie, Tiddas, Paul Kelly, Vika and Linda Bull, Ruby Hunter, Dave Arden and Joe Geia.

<i>Ruby</i> (Archie Roach, Ruby Hunter, Paul Grabowsky and Australian Art Orchestra album) 2005 soundtrack album by Archie Roach, Ruby Hunter, Paul Grabowsky and Australian Art Orchestra

Ruby is a soundtrack album recorded live by Australian singers Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter with Paul Grabowsky and Australian Art Orchestra. The album was released in 2005.

<i>Sensual Being</i> 2002 studio album by Archie Roach

Sensual Being is the fourth studio album by Australian singer songwriter Archie Roach. The album was released in July 2002 and peaked at number 59 on the ARIA Charts.

<i>1988</i> (Archie Roach album) 2009 compilation album by Archie Roach

1988 is a compilation album by Australian singer song writer Archie Roach.

<i>Dancing with My Spirit</i> 2018 studio album by Archie Roach

Dancing with My Spirit is the eighth studio album by Australian singer songwriter Archie Roach. The album was recorded in the 1990s and for a variety of reasons, remained ‘unreleased’ until 2018, where it was released in April 2018 and was supported by a national tour.

<i>Journey</i> (Archie Roach album) 2007 studio album by Archie Roach

Journey is the fifth studio album by Australian singer songwriter Archie Roach. The album was the first studio album released by Roach on the Liberation Records label and was released in October 2007.

<i>Into the Bloodstream</i> 2012 studio album by Archie Roach

Into the Bloodstream is the sixth studio album by Australian singer songwriter Archie Roach. The album was released in 19 October 2012 and peaked at number 49 on the ARIA Charts in December 2012.

<i>Let Love Rule</i> (Archie Roach album) 2016 studio album by Archie Roach

Let Love Rule is the seventh studio album by Australian singer songwriter Archie Roach. The album was released in November 2016 and peaked at number 24 on the ARIA Charts and became Roach's highest charting album to date. Upon release Roach said "I wanted to write about love, or a willingness to love all people. We are closing ourselves off and not letting people in. And not just in the sense of not letting them into the country, but not letting them into our hearts, into our minds. Many of the songs on the album are really a call for understanding."

<i>The Concert Collection 2012–2018</i> 2019 live album by Archie Roach

The Concert Collection 2012–2018 is a three-disc live album by Australian singer-songwriter Archie Roach. The album features live recordings from Roach's three most recent studio albums. The album was released in May 2019.

<i>Tell Me Why</i> (Archie Roach album) 2019 studio album by Archie Roach

Tell Me Why is a companion album to Australian singer songwriter Archie Roach's memoir of the same name. It was released on 1 November 2019. The album re-imagines 11 songs that have defined Roach's career, together with two songs that were written and never recorded, two songs of early influence, and three brand new recordings.

References

  1. 1 2 "Archie Roach - Looking For Butter Boy". no depression. 31 December 1997. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  2. ↑ "Archie Roach Deadly". Deadly. November 2007. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  3. ↑ "Winners by Year 1998". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Album Review: Looking for Butter Boy by Archie Roach". AllMusic . Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  5. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 237.
  6. ↑ "Looking for Butter Boy (re-release)". JBHiFi. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.