''Higher Power'' is the seventh album by Big Audio Dynamite (renamed Big Audio), released in 1994. First released in the US on 8 November, it was then released in the UK the following week on 14 November 1994. "Looking for a Song" was released as a single; it peaked at No. 24 on ''Billboards Modern Rock Tracks chart. The band supported the album with a North American tour.

Production

Many of its songs are about English middle class life. Mick Jones was inspired by

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

to include uplifting messages in ''Higher Powers songs.

Critical reception

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'' wrote that "''Higher Power'' finds Jones and company operating at a decidedly lower level ... The hip dance-music sounds are there, but the tunes most certainly aren't." ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'' thought that the album "continues Jones' bid for currency by experimenting with the sounds of London's dance clubs ... The result is neither good rave nor good rock." The '' Knoxville News Sentinel'' called it "an alternative album at the core that absorbs a fun array of funk, pop and hip-hop influences for a distinctive and accessible blend." The '' Calgary Herald'' determined that "it just bops along with riffs that are pleasant enough but lack any edge, any passion."

Track listing

Personnel

* Mick Jones - guitar, vocals, producer * Nick Hawkins - vocals, guitar, engineer * André Shapps - keyboards, producer, engineer *

Gary Stonadge Gary Stonadge (born 24 November 1962) is a British bass guitarist and DJ. He started playing in Mick Jones' band Big Audio Dynamite

- bass, vocals * Chris Kavanagh - drums, vocals * Mickey Custance - DJ, vocals *

Ranking Roger Roger Charlery (21 February 1963 – 26 March 2019), known professionally as Ranking Roger,Strong, Martin C. (2002) ''The Great Rock Discography, 6th Edition'', Canongate, , p. 72Huey, Steve " Ranking Roger Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 17 Febru ...

- vocals * Aki Omori, Loro Lucan - backing vocals on "Some People" *

Heathcote Williams John Henley Heathcote-Williams (15 November 1941 – 1 July 2017), known as Heathcote Williams, was an English poet, actor, political activist and dramatist. He wrote a number of book-length polemical poems including ''Autogeddon'', ''Falling ...

- biographical editor * John R.T. Davies - editing * Arthur Baker - co-producer of track 6 *

Würzel Michael Richard Burston (23 October 1949 – 9 July 2011), commonly known by the stage name Würzel, was an English musician who played professionally for three decades. He played guitar in British rock band Motörhead from 1984 to 1995,

- photography

References

{{Authority control Big Audio Dynamite albums 1994 albums Albums produced by Arthur Baker (musician) Columbia Records albums