Brother is the debut album by the American rock band Cry of Love, released in 1993.[2][3]
"Peace Pipe" peaked at No. 1 on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks chart; two other singles made the chart's top twenty.[4] "Bad Thing" peaked at No. 60 on the UK Singles Chart.[5] The album sold more than 200,000 copies.[6]
The album was produced by John Custer at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, and was recorded and mixed in four weeks.[9][10][11] The majority of the album's songs were written by Cry of Love's guitar player, Audley Freed.[12] "Peace Pipe" is about the United States breaking its treaties with Native Americans.[13]
The Washington Post called the album "the usual post-Allmans compendium of blues-rock swagger, soul-man vocals and bad-love and on-the-road songs."[17]The Morning Call wrote that the songs "have a raw, naked sound built around the tough, direct playing of guitarist Audley Freed, bassist Robert Kearns and drummer Jason Peterson, plus [Kelly] Holland's soulfully sandpapered singing."[18] The Boston Herald praised the "distinct and agreeable '60s and '70s blues-rock vibe."[19]
The Journal Star determined that "the straight-ahead rock, with a blues undercurrent, brings to mind basement jam sessions or a carful of friends singing to a blaring stereo."[12] The Los Angeles Daily News labeled it "unadorned, sparsely produced Stratocaster-driven rock."[7]The Modesto Bee concluded that Brother "contains straight-ahead rock that's raw and unfiltered, catching a sound that's since been urbanized and called 'grunge.'"[20] The Fort Worth Star-Telegram considered the band "awfully derivative—sometimes annoyingly so," writing that "Bad Thing" "is nothing more than Grand Funk's 'Some Kind of Wonderful' with a little Bad Co. mixed in."[21]
AllMusic deemed the album "a near-perfect fusion of classic British hard-rock influences (read Free) and Southern rock sensibility, bringing a refreshing honesty to the dreary radio landscape of the early '90s."[14]
^ abMenconi, David (March 20, 1994). "A FAR CRY - If the road to success has a fast lane, it's not in sight on the extended rock tour". The News & Observer. p. G1.
^ abShuster, Fred (October 12, 1993). "CRYING OUT FOR ACCEPTANCE - BAND ACHIEVES RECOGNITION AFTER INCREASING WORD-OF-MOUTH". Los Angeles Daily News. p. L8.
^Hill, Jack W. (April 29, 1994). "'WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET' AS CRY OF LOVE TAKES STAGE". 4. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. p. 4.
^Menconi, David (February 12, 1993). "CAREER MOVES". The News & Observer. p. W4.
^Sculley, Alan (29 Apr 1994). "CRY OF LOVE: THEY MAKE THE '70S SOUND NEW". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 4H.
^Green, Tony (August 6, 1993). "Cry of Love brings its "Peace Pipe' to town". St. Petersburg Times. Weekend. p. 19.
^ abTimm, Lori (March 10, 1994). "RETRO-ROCK GROUP OWES FAME TO A FRIEND". Journal Star. p. C4.
^Morse, Steve (7 Jan 1994). "Cry of Love builds future hits from an R & B past". The Boston Globe. ARTS & FILM. p. 81.