''The Homeland'' is an album by Chicago-based rocker

Bobby Conn Jeffrey Stafford (born June 13, 1967), known professionally as Bobby Conn, is an American musician based in Chicago, Illinois. He often collaborates with other artists and film-maker Usama Alshaibi. Career Conn was born as Jeffrey Stafford in ...

and his backing band, the Glass Gypsies released on January 20, 2004 on

Thrill Jockey Thrill Jockey is an American independent record label established by former Atlantic Records A&R representative Bettina Richards and based in Chicago. History Richards started the label in 1992 with $35,000 of family and personal capital, while ...

records. It is noteworthy for taking a more openly political approach than any of Conn's previous albums, being particularly critical of George Bush and the Iraq War. Musically the album focuses mostly on a number of 70s styles, from early-decade prog pseudo-symphonies to late decade disco-rock fusion and funk. The album was recorded at Soma Studios,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

in 2003.

Reception

''The Homeland'' was met with mostly positive reviews. The Columbus FreePress gave it a glowing review, writing "It is rare when an album sets out to achieve such lofty goals as The Homeland. It’s even more rare when the artist actually hits the mark on all levels."

Uncut magazine ''Uncut'' is a monthly magazine based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections. A DVD magazine under the ''Uncut'' brand was published quarterly from 2005 to 2006 ...

gave the album 4/5 stars, calling Conn "witty and sharp", and stating that he can "tell a tale with aplomb".

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * ' ...

also awarded the album 4/5 stars, and

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''. '' ...

awarded the album 3/5 stars, saying " 's reassuring to run into the real McCoy. Chicago's Bobby Conn is just that." On the negative side, Dave Queen of

Stylus Magazine ''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog. Addi ...

, stated that the album "fails" in comparison to its predecessor, criticising John McEntire's production and Conn's subject matter, stating "I ..miss the dysfunctional coke-sex ballads .e. of "The Golden Age".

Playlouder Playlouder was a digital music and media company. providing news, reviews, and other music-related content. It also claimed to be the world's first music service provider— an Internet service provider bundling access to music content along with ...

gave the album 2.5/5 stars, mostly criticising the album's political lyrical content, and asserting that "the results are anticlimactic"- however reviewer Jeremy Allen does admit that Conn "is clearly talented.".

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

criticised the political lyrics as "crude and oversimplified" but admitted that "there are still plenty of killer hooks, and John McEntire's expert recording job makes the most of them, giving the mix a crisp clarity that assures that these intricate arrangements never sound decadently bloated."

Track listing

# "We Come in Peace" # "Homeland" # "Laugh Track (instrumental) # "We're Taking Over the World" # "Shopping" (instrumental) # "Relax" # "Home Sweet Home" # "Style I Need" # "Cashing Objections" # "Doctor & Nurse" (instrumental) # "Bus No. 243" # "Independence # "My Special Friend" # "Ordinary Violence" The Japanese import contains one bonus track, entitled "Got To Get It."

Personnel

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

* Sledd - guitar * Monica BouBou - organ * Pearly Sweets -

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

* Nick Macri - bass * the fudge - drums

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Homeland 2004 albums Bobby Conn albums Thrill Jockey albums