Black Country Communion 2
| Black Country Communion 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Black Country Communion | ||||
| Released | 13 June 2011 | |||
| Recorded | 11 January – 22 February 2011 at Shangri-La Studios, Los Angeles | |||
| Genre | Hard rock, blues rock | |||
| Length | 64:17 | |||
| Label |
Mascot (UK) J & R Adventures (US) | |||
| Producer | Kevin Shirley | |||
| Black Country Communion chronology | ||||
| ||||
Black Country Communion 2 is the second studio album by the English-American rock band Black Country Communion. The album was released on 13 June 2011 in Europe, and in the United States one day later.[1]
Overview
Writing for the album started as early as August 2010 according to Glenn Hughes, a month before the release of the band's debut album, Black Country.[2] As with its predecessor, the songs were recorded at Shangri-La Studios in California and were produced by Kevin Shirley. The first batch of seven songs was recorded in four days according to Hughes' personal Twitter account.[3] Recording was finished on 22 February 2011, and Shirley completed the mastering two days later.[4][5]
The album's official title and track listing were released on 23 March 2011,[6] with the official album art following on 29 March 2011.[7] On 5 May 2011, the band released the single "The Outsider" for free digital download from their official website.[8] On 8 June 2011, the band released the music video for one of the songs off the new album, "Man in the Middle". The video was directed by Davin Maske and features studio footage of the band intercut with Hughes driving around L.A. in a cherry red 1965 Ford Thunderbird.[9]
Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 75/100[10] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [11] |
| Jukebox:Metal | [12] |
| Sunday Mercury | favourable[13] |
| Thrash Hits | [14] |
| Rockfreaks.net | [15] |
The album received a Metascore of 75 from review aggregrator Metacritic, based on 6 critics, indicating generally favorable reviews.[10]
Allmusic claimed that the album "arguably tops its worthy predecessor as a balanced song set."[11] Thrash Hits lauded the album as "the best classic rock record you’ll hear all year."[14] The Independent noted that the band's growing chemistry had improved upon the band's debut: "The first [album] was a ghastly glued-together assemblage of clichés and show-off playing; this one feels much more like a group searching for a sound together."[16]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Outsider" | Glenn Hughes | Hughes, Joe Bonamassa, Derek Sherinian, Kevin Shirley | 4:23 |
| 2. | "Man in the Middle" | Hughes | Hughes, Bonamassa, Shirley | 4:35 |
| 3. | "The Battle for Hadrian's Wall" | Bonamassa | Bonamassa, Hughes, Shirley | 5:11 |
| 4. | "Save Me" | Hughes, Jason Bonham | Bonham, Chris Blackwell, Bonamassa, Sherinian, Hughes, Shirley | 7:43 |
| 5. | "Smokestack Woman" | Hughes | Hughes | 5:10 |
| 6. | "Faithless" | Hughes | Hughes, Bonamassa, Shirley | 5:12 |
| 7. | "An Ordinary Son" | Bonamassa, Hughes | Bonamassa, Hughes, Shirley | 7:59 |
| 8. | "I Can See Your Spirit" | Hughes | Hughes, Bonamassa, Shirley | 4:12 |
| 9. | "Little Secret" | Hughes | Hughes | 6:59 |
| 10. | "Crossfire" | Hughes | Hughes | 6:03 |
| 11. | "Cold" | Hughes | Hughes, Bonamassa, Shirley | 6:55 |
Total length: |
64:17 | |||
Personnel
- Glenn Hughes – lead & backing vocals, bass
- Joe Bonamassa – lead & rhythm guitars, backing vocals, lead vocals on "The Battle for Hadrian's Wall" and "An Ordinary Son", theremin on "Smokestack Woman"
- Jason Bonham – drums, percussion
- Derek Sherinian – keyboards
- Additional personnel
- Kevin Shirley – production, mixing
- Jared Kvitka - engineer
- George Marino – mastering
- Jeff Bova – orchestration
Chart performance
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums Chart[17] | 17 |
| Dutch Albums Chart[18] | 56 |
| German Albums Chart[19] | 7 |
| Irish Albums Chart[20] | 83 |
| Norwegian Albums Chart[21] | 33 |
| Swedish Albums Chart[22] | 24 |
| Swiss Albums Chart[23] | 15 |
| UK Albums Chart[24] | 23 |
| UK Rock Albums Chart[25] | 1 |
| US Billboard 200[26] | 71 |
| US Billboard Hard Rock Albums[27] | 6 |
| US Billboard Independent Albums[28] | 10 |
| US Billboard Rock Albums[29] | 19 |
References
- ↑ "Track Listing for Black Country Communion's "2" Revealed". EddieTrunk.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-07. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
- ↑ "Interview: Glenn Hughes – Black Country Communion". EspyRock.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
- ↑ Twitter Glenn Hughes' Twitter Feed. Retrieved 27 March 2011
- ↑ Twitter Glenn Hughes' Twitter Feed. Retrieved 27 March 2011
- ↑ Twitter Glenn Hughes' Twitter Feed. Retrieved 27 March 2011
- ↑ "BCC: New Album Track Listing Revealed". classicrockmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 2011-05-21. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
- ↑ "Black Country Communion Reveal New Album Artwork". classicrockmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-02. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
- ↑ ""The Outsider" FREE download from Black Country Communion". glennhughes.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-14. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
- ↑ "Black Country Communion Release New Music Video". ultimate-guitar.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-13. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
- 1 2 "2 - Black Country Communion". Metacritic. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
- 1 2 Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Black Country Communion: 2" at AllMusic. Retrieved 02 December 2011.
- ↑ Jukebox:Metal review Archived 3 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Cole, Paul. "BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION : Black Country Communion 2". Sunday Mercury. Archived from the original on 2012-06-10. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
- 1 2 Amit Sharma (23 June 2011). "Album: Black Country Communion – 2 Thrash Hits". Thrash Hits. Archived from the original on 1 July 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
- ↑ "Album: Black Country Communion – 2 Rockfreaks.net review". Thrash Hits. 14 August 2011. Archived from the original on 2012-10-24. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
- ↑ "Album: Black Country Communion – 2". The Independent. 12 June 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-06-15. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
- ↑ "austriancharts.at – Austria Top 40". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 2012-10-23. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- ↑ "dutchcharts.nl – Dutch charts portal". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 2012-10-25. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- ↑ "Black Country Communion Album & Song Chart History – German Albums". Billboard. Archived from the original on 23 June 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- ↑ "irishcharts.com – Discography Black Country Communion". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 2012-10-24. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- ↑ "norwegiancharts.com – Norwegian charts portal". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 2012-11-04. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- ↑ "swedishcharts.com – Swedish charts portal". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 2012-10-26. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 2012-11-03. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- ↑ "Chart Stats – Black Country Communion". chartstats.com. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- ↑ "25 June 2011". London: Official Charts Company. 19 June 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
- ↑ "Black Country Communion Album & Song Chart History – Billboard 200". Billboard. Archived from the original on 23 June 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- ↑ "Black Country Communion Album & Song Chart History – Hard Rock Albums". Billboard. Archived from the original on 23 June 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- ↑ "Black Country Communion Album & Song Chart History – Independent Albums". Billboard. Archived from the original on 23 June 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- ↑ "Black Country Communion Album & Song Chart History – Rock Albums". Billboard. Archived from the original on 23 June 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.