24 Years of Hunger is a

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...

album released in 1991 by & Alice, the collaboration of Eg White and

Alice Temple Alice Temple is an English musician, singer and songwriter, born in London. She is best known for her collaboration with Eg White under the name and Alice. She is also notable for having been the first female UK and European BMX champion. BMX I ...

. ''24 Years of Hunger'' was critically acclaimed, although it failed to chart. It is the only album that the duo ever released.

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

describes ''24 Years of Hunger'' as "one of the finest, most refined and fully realized recordings of the era, employing a much more sophisticated and romantic style than anything else out of England at the time". Allmusic also notes the accolades that ''24 Years of Hunger'' album received from other music critics: : "Recorded by the pair when they were mere twentysomethings, and predominantly in Eg White's home, it is nevertheless about as grown-up and elegant as pop music gets. A decade after the recording had all but vanished from circulation, rainsound.net had taken to calling it "one of the classic albums of the '90s," while

Q Magazine ''Q'' was a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1986 by broadcast journalists Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who were presenters of the BBC television music series '' The Old Grey Whistle Test''. ...

went a step further when it placed the record on its list of best albums of the 20th century, describing it as having "the class of Steely Dan and the intriguing detachment of the

Blue Nile The Blue Nile (; ) is a river originating at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. It travels for approximately through Ethiopia and Sudan. Along with the White Nile, it is one of the two major tributaries of the Nile and supplies about 85.6% of the water to ...

." " Martin Rowsell, in ''The Rough Guide to Rock'', notes that while reviewers compared the album to

Prefab Sprout Prefab Sprout are an English pop band from Witton Gilbert, County Durham who rose to fame during the 1980s. Formed in 1978 by brothers Paddy and Martin McAloon and joined by vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player Wendy Smith in 1982, they re ...

and

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

, and Alice cited their own musical influences as

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

Traveling Wilburys The Traveling Wilburys were a British-American supergroup consisting of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty. Originating from an idea discussed by Harrison and Lynne during the sessions for Harrison's 1987 album ' ...

, Joe Jackson, Joni Mitchell and

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.

. Noting the huge discrepancy between the album's critical and commercial success, Rowsell speculates that White's songwriting may have been too personal for mainstream acceptance at the time.

Track listing

# Rockets # In A Cold Way # Mystery Man # And I Have Seen Myself # So High, So Low # New Year's Eve # Indian # Doesn't Mean That Much To Me # Crosstown # IOU # I Wish

References

1991 debut albums Pop albums by British artists Warner Music Group albums {{1990s-pop-album-stub