RockCrown

Last updated
RockCrown
7Mary3 RockCrown cover.png
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 3, 1997
RecordedOctober 1996
at Crowsway USA in New Orleans, LA
Genre Rock, post-grunge
Length53:03
Label Atlantic
Producer Tom Morris,
Jason Pollock,
Jason Ross
Seven Mary Three chronology
American Standard
(1995)
RockCrown
(1997)
B-Sides & Rarities
(1997)

RockCrown is the third studio album by post-grunge band Seven Mary Three. It was released on June 3, 1997 on Atlantic Records. The album peaked at number 75 on the Billboard 200 on June 21, 1997. [1] The album's Billboard -charting singles were "Lucky" (number 19 on Modern Rock Tracks and number 35 on Mainstream Rock Tracks) and the title track (number 17 on Mainstream Rock Tracks). [2]

Contents

In an act that disappointed many fans, RockCrown would shift into a lighter rock orientation compared to American Standard. Giti Khalsa explained, "With RockCrown, it was very much a response to going from playing bars and fraternities to getting a record deal to selling a million records in a year." Jason Ross also spoke about the album's change in an interview with Billboard:

"To me, the new songs represent a broadening of our horizons, the way they're based more on folk rock and the singer/songwriter tradition than on crunching electric guitars. . . Acoustic music just feels more real to me right now. It reminds me that I have something to offer beyond the rock 'n' roll circus." [3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]

AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine criticized the band's musicianship for still being "a horrid cross between Pearl Jam and Grand Funk Railroad," and felt their ambition to emulate the sociopolitical issues found in Bruce Springsteen's best material was undone by their lackluster guitar work, concluding that "There are a couple of glimpses that the band could develop their own voice on Rock Crown, but the album in general finds Seven Mary Three floundering." [4] Rob O'Connor from Rolling Stone said the band are at their best on the album's more subdued cuts like "Make Up Your Mind" and "I Could Be Wrong" than the "overblown seriousness" found on "People Like New" and "Times Like These", saying "there might be a place for them somewhere other than a Vegas Grunge Revival in the year 2020." [5]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Seven Mary Three.

No.TitleLength
1."Lucky"3:57
2."RockCrown"2:45
3."Needle Can't Burn (What The Needle Can't Find)"2:22
4."Honey of Generation"3:55
5."Home Stretch"3:01
6."People Like New"3:59
7."Make Up Your Mind"2:31
8."Gone Away"2:11
9."Times Like These"4:33
10."I Could Be Wrong"3:46
11."What Angry Blue?"3:31
12."Houdini's Angels"3:28
13."This Evening's Great Excuse"4:12
14."Player Piano"2:19
15."Oven"6:04

Album credits

Production

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References

  1. Billboard.com - Discography - Seven Mary Three - RockCrown
  2. Billboard.com - Artist Chart History - Seven Mary Three
  3. Seven Mary Three Biography MusicianGuide.com. Retrieved on 11-07-08
  4. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Rock Crown - Seven Mary Three". AllMusic . Retrieved August 8, 2011.
  5. 1 2 O'Connor, Rob (June 10, 1997). "Rock Crown : Seven Mary Three". Rolling Stone . Wenner Media. Archived from the original on October 8, 2008. Retrieved August 8, 2011.