''Gentleman's Blues'' is

Cracker Cracker, crackers or The Crackers may refer to: Animals * ''Hamadryas'' (butterfly), or crackers, a genus of brush-footed butterflies * '' Sparodon'', a monotypic genus whose species is sometimes known as "Cracker" Arts and entertainment Films ...

's fourth studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

. It was released in 1998 by Virgin Records. Cracker frontman David Lowery said that the album's name arose when guitarist

Johnny Hickman John Arthur Hickman (born September 10, 1959) is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Cracker (band), Cracker. Biography Early years Hickman is a native of Redlands, California, Redlands in San ...

heard him playing a tune on the piano and observed that it sounded like an old Southern gentleman trying to play the blues.

Critical reception

The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' wrote: "The gospel-tinged rocker 'Seven Days' showcases Lowery's way with a punchy chorus; 'James River' and the spooky title track find him delving deeper into dirgy, swampy blues; and Johnny Hickman continues to provide muscle and sinew with his crackling guitar leads and rootsier song contributions." ''The Rough Guide to Rock'' called the album a return "to American rock fundamentals with something approaching resignation, perhaps even nostalgia." The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' thought that "Hickman’s stellar, nuanced guitar work fluidly adapts to twangy rockers and dreamlike ballads, while Lowery’s nasal rasp gives voice to characters with good lives and bad, who invariably carry one of his most consistent messages: You control your destiny, so quit whining and face it."

Track listing

# "Good Life" (Lowery, Hickman) - 3:50 # "Seven Days" (Lowery, Hickman) - 4:24 # "Star" (Lowery, Hickman) - 3:21 # "James River" (Lowery) - 5:03 # "My Life Is Totally Boring Without You" (Lowery, Hickman, Rupe) - 3:17 # "Been Around the World" (Lowery) - 5:02 # "The World Is Mine" (Lowery, Hickman) (from Gillette Fusion 2009 Commercial) - 3:45 # "Lullabye" (Lowery) - 4:59 # "Waiting for You Girl" (Lowery, Hickman) - 4:01 # "Trials & Tribulations" (Hickman) - 3:01 # "Wild One" (Lowery, Hickman, Rupe) - 4:25 # "Hold of Myself" (Hickman) - 3:57 # "Gentleman's Blues" (Lowery, Hickman) - 4:58 # "I Want Out of the Circus" (Lowery) - 4:53 # "Wedding Day" (Hickman) - 3:47 # "Hallelujah" (Lowery) - 4:10 # ilence# "1-202-456-1414" (the

touch-tone Dual-tone multi-frequency signaling (DTMF) is a telecommunication signaling system using the voice-frequency band over telephone lines between telephone equipment and other communications devices and switching centers. DTMF was first developed ...

phone number for the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

) - :08 # ilence# "1-202-514-8688" (a U.S. Department of Justice phone number, formerly held by

Ken Starr Kenneth Winston Starr (July 21, 1946 – September 13, 2022) was an American lawyer and judge who authored the Starr Report, which led to the impeachment of Bill Clinton. He headed an investigation of members of the Clinton administration, kno ...

) - :08 # ilence# "1-310-289-4459" (presently, the phone number for Beverly Hills psychotherapist Julia Kantor) - :12 # ilence# "Cinderella" (Lowery) - 5:03 Tracks after 16 "Hallelujah" are all

hidden track In the field of recorded music, a hidden track (sometimes called a ghost track, secret track or unlisted track) is a song or a piece of audio that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, LP record, or other recorded medium, in such a way as t ...

s. Track 24 has vocals by LP, who also sings backup on "Star" and "Hallelujah."

Personnel

* David Lowery – vocals, guitar *

– lead guitar, vocals *

Bob Rupe The Silos is an American rock band formed by Walter Salas-Humara and Bob Rupe in New York City, United States in 1985. History Prior to starting the Silos, Salas-Humara had been a member of The Vulgar Boatmen, and Bob Rupe was in Florida band ...

– bass, vocals *

Frank Funaro Frank Funaro is an American drummer who has played with Del Lords, The Brandos, Camper Van Beethoven, Joey Ramone, The Dictators, Cracker, Nils Lofgren & Dion DiMucci. Funaro collaborated with Joey Ramone on his first solo record ''Don't Worry ...

, Steve Jordan, Charlie Drayton – drums Additional musicians * LP – lead vocals (24)

Chart performance

References

1998 albums Cracker (band) albums Virgin Records albums {{1990s-alt-rock-album-stub