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Long Walk Back

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Long Walk Back
Studio album by
Junior Brown
Released1998
GenreCountry
Length40:36
LabelCurb
ProducerJunior Brown
Junior Brown chronology
Semi Crazy
(1996) 		Long Walk Back
(1998) 		Mixed Bag
(2001)

Long Walk Back is an album by the American musician Junior Brown, released in 1998.[1][2] He supported it with a North American tour and an appearance on an episode of The X-Files.[3][4] The album peaked at No. 34 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.[5]

Production[edit]

The album was produced by Brown, who also wrote nine of the eleven songs.[6] He decided not to include as many comedic songs; "Read 'Em and Weep" is an attempt at a traditional country ballad.[7][8] "Rock-A-Hula Baby" is a cover of the song made famous by Elvis Presley.[9] "Lookin' for Love" is a version of the song from the Connie Francis film.[10] Mitch Mitchell played drums on "Stupid Blues" and "Keepin' Up with You".[11][12] Brown's wife, Tanya Rae, and Jimmy Capps doubled on rhythm guitar to create a bigger sound.[13][14] "Peelin' Taters" is an instrumental.[15]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Boston Herald[8]
Robert Christgau(2-star Honorable Mention)(2-star Honorable Mention)[16]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[17]
Los Angeles Times[18]
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette[19]
USA Today[9]

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette praised "the deepest country voice since the late Ernest Tubb."[19] Texas Monthly wrote that "Brown is so danged gifted that he'd be pigeonholed as the guitar hero's guitar hero if not for his peculiar subject matter, which ping-pongs from hula girls and fast cars to pure schmaltz."[20] USA Today considered the songs "old-fashioned Texas shuffles, kitschy '60s-style retro-rock with cooing girl choruses, and feedback-laced blues numbers that mix in jazz voicings and country licks."[9]

The Village Voice concluded that Brown's "one of those artists, almost impossibly rare, whose ideas just can't be predicted... What he really does is just flat git it when the going gets strange."[21] Robert Christgau deemed the album "virtuosity as novelty act, meaning virtuosity that knows itself."[16] Entertainment Weekly noted that Long Walk Back was "the first time the radical-traditionalist Texan honky-tonker has made a record as out-there as his talent merits."[17] The Los Angeles Times wrote that "Brown is still more involving than your standard country fare, but his own musical path seems unusually straight this time out."[18] The Vancouver Sun, the Orange County Register, and The Denver Post were among the many periodicals that considered Long Walk Back to be one of the best albums of 1998.[22][23][24]

Track listing[edit]

Long Walk Back track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Long Walk Back to San Antone"3:35
2."The Better Half"2:46
3."Read 'Em and Weep"3:06
4."Rock-A-Hula Baby"2:28
5."Lookin' for Love"2:28
6."Peelin' Taters"2:54
7."Freedom Machine"3:24
8."Just a Little Love"3:40
9."Keepin' Up with You"3:49
10."I'm All Fired Up"3:34
11."Stupid Blues"8:52
Total length:40:36

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for Long Walk Back
Chart (1998) Peak
position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[5] 34

References[edit]

  1. ^ Ferman, Dave (September 4, 1998). "Our top picks for area shows". Star Time. Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 18.
  2. ^ Carlin, Richard (2014). Country Music: A Biographical Dictionary. Taylor & Francis. p. 42.
  3. ^ Ratliff, Ben (September 19, 1998). "Fast Fingering to Bring a Double-Necked Guitar in Line". The New York Times. p. B14.
  4. ^ "Junior Brown brings a little country to X-Files". The Dallas Morning News. August 30, 1998. p. 10C.
  5. ^ a b "Top Country Albums". Billboard. September 19, 1998. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  6. ^ "Long Walk Back". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 37. September 12, 1998. p. 31.
  7. ^ Ferman, Dave (September 18, 1998). "Junior Brown straddles the line between alternative and mainstream". Star Time. Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 18.
  8. ^ a b "Discs". Boston Herald. November 20, 1998. p. S28.
  9. ^ a b c Mansfield, Brian (September 1, 1998). "Junior Brown, Long Walk Back". USA Today. p. 3D.
  10. ^ Regenstreif, Mike (September 12, 1998). "Junior Brown Long Walk Back". The Gazette. Montreal. p. C11.
  11. ^ Flippo, Chet (August 22, 1998). "Junior Brown stretches his writing chops on 'Walk'; Clark, Bowles to split". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 34. p. 25.
  12. ^ Wolgamott, L. Kent (September 25, 1998). "Junior Brown has come a long way, baby". Ground Zero. Lincoln Journal Star. p. 18.
  13. ^ Burnside, Mary Wade (November 12, 1998). "Taking honky-tonk to places it's never been before". The Charleston Gazette. p. 1D.
  14. ^ Russell, Rusty (December 1998). "Junior Brown: Long walk on a wacky planet". Guitar Player. Vol. 32, no. 12. pp. 29–30.
  15. ^ Mehle, Michael (October 30, 1998). "Man of Steel". Rocky Mountain News. p. 16D.
  16. ^ a b "Junior Brown". Robert Christgau. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  17. ^ a b Schindler, Scott (September 4, 1998). "Junior Brown: Long Walk Back". Entertainment Weekly. No. 448. pp. 84–85.
  18. ^ a b Hilburn, Robert (September 14, 1998). "Pop". Los Angeles Times. p. F7.
  19. ^ a b Sharpe, Jerry (August 30, 1998). "Country". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. G2.
  20. ^ Patoski, Joe Nick (September 1998). "Hot CDs". Texas Monthly. Vol. 26, no. 9. p. 22.
  21. ^ Carr, Patrick (September 1, 1998). "Electric Juniorland". The Village Voice. Vol. 43, no. 35. p. 59.
  22. ^ "Year's best CDs are a diverse lot". The Vancouver Sun. December 19, 1998. p. H6.
  23. ^ "Our critics sound off on best '98 albums, concerts". Orange County Register. December 27, 1998. p. F25.
  24. ^ Will, Ed (December 27, 1998). "The Year's Best". The Denver Post. p. H8.
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