| Punch the Big Guy | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1987 | |||
| Genre | Folk, folk rock | |||
| Label | The Ship/Cypress | |||
| John Stewart chronology | ||||
| ||||
Punch the Big Guy is an album by the American musician John Stewart, released in 1987. [1] [2] The album title was suggested by Stewart's son. [3] Stewart supported the album with a North American tour. [4] Punch the Big Guy was a commercial disappointment, selling around 25,000 in its first six months of release. [5]
Recorded in Malibu, Nashville, and Denver (on a Fostex B-16), Stewart spent $50,000 on the sessions. [6] [7] He wrote the album's songs to appeal specifically to baby boomers. [8] Most of the songs deal with societal and personal problems; Stewart decided not to include songs with a lighter tone. [9] He was backed by members of New Grass Revival on several tracks. [10] Rosanne Cash contributed backing vocals on "Angels with Guns" and "Price of the Fire". [11]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [11] |
| MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide |  [12] |
The Washington Post wrote that "the songs are doomed by their liberal breast-beating and vacuous mysticism." [13] The Los Angeles Times concluded that "this record is generally so humorless that Stewart often reminds you of a door-to-door proselytizer who won't go away." [14] The Chicago Tribune deemed the album "gentle folk songs with hard-bitten lyrics." [15]
The Advocate opined that "parts of the album have a certain charm, but it's unlikely to provide any excitement for those who haven't kept up with his previous music." [16] The Denver Post labeled Punch the Big Guy "one of the finest folk-rock albums of the 1980s, an overlooked gem of evocative lyrics and striking melodies." [17] The Arizona Republic praised the "odd mixture of '50s/'60s folk, '70s sensibilities and righteous back beat." [18]
AllMusic wrote that "Stewart achieves a genuine merger of the personal, the spiritual, and the political on Punch the Big Guy and wraps it all up in a darkly colored but accessible package." [11]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Angels with Guns" | |
| 2. | "Strange Rivers" | |
| 3. | "Hunters of the Sun" | |
| 4. | "Price of the Fire" | |
| 5. | "Midnight of the World" | |
| 6. | "Night of a Distant Star" | |
| 7. | "Botswanna" | |
| 8. | "Ticket to the Stars" | |
| 9. | "Runaway Train" | |
| 10. | "Children of the New Frontier" |
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