''Gentleman's Blues'' is
Cracker'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 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 a ...
'' 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 ...
'' 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 Northwest, Washington, D.C., NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. preside ...
) - :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, know ...
) - :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 to ...
s. Track 24 has vocals by
LP, who also sings backup on "Star" and "Hallelujah."
Personnel
*
David Lowery – vocals, guitar
*
Johnny Hickman – 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 ban ...
– bass, vocals
*
Frank Funaro,
Steve Jordan,
Charlie Drayton – drums
Additional musicians
*
LP – lead vocals
(24)
Chart performance
References
1998 albums
Cracker (band) albums
Virgin Records albums
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