Years of Tears
| Years of Tears | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1993 | |||
| Studio | Muscle Shoals Sound | |||
| Genre | Blues, R&B | |||
| Label | Malaco | |||
| Producer | Wolf Stephenson, Tommy Couch | |||
| Bobby "Blue" Bland chronology | ||||
| ||||
Years of Tears is an album by the American musician Bobby "Blue" Bland, released in 1993.[1][2] Bland supported the album with a North American tour.[3] The album peaked at No. 80 on Billboard's Top R&B Albums chart.[4] It won a W. C. Handy Award, in the Soul/Blues category.[5]
Production
[edit]Produced by Wolf Stephenson and Tommy Couch, Years of Tears was recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.[6][7] Bland worked on the album for more than a year.[8] Frederick Knight wrote three of the album's songs; including Knight's songs, the majority were written by Malaco Records songwriters.[4][9]
Critical reception
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [10] |
| (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide | [11] |
The San Antonio Express-News considered Years of Tears to be among Bland's best albums.[12] The Los Angeles Times wrote that it "plays to his key strength, which is an ability to bring you into the bleak, dark, anxious and solitary places inhabited by troubled minds."[13] The Denver Post noted that "the Muscle Shoals, Ala., session players provide him with gritty, introspective deep-soul instrumental support that seems relevant and vital for the 1990s."[14] The Commercial Appeal concluded that Bland "is in excellent voice throughout."[7] Texas Monthly determined that "the label's synthesizer-and-strings approach has kept him contemporary without making him sound foolish."[15]
AllMusic wrote: "Bland's animated, raw voice, though not as wide-ranging, still has a character and quality unmatched in blues, soul or vintage R&B."[10]
Track listing
[edit]| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Somewhere Between Right & Wrong" | |
| 2. | "There's a Stranger in My House" | |
| 3. | "Hole in the Wall" | |
| 4. | "Years of Tears to Go" | |
| 5. | "Hurtin' Time Again" | |
| 6. | "I Just Tripped on a Piece of Your Broken Heart" | |
| 7. | "Sweet Lady Love" | |
| 8. | "Love of Mine" | |
| 9. | "I've Got to Have Your Love Tonight" | |
| 10. | "You Put the Hurt on a Hurtin' Man" |
References
[edit]- ^ Penn, Roberta (September 10, 1993). "Bobby's Blues Anything but Bland". What's Happening. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. 8.
- ^ "Discs". Boston Herald. October 29, 1993. p. S16.
- ^ "Critics' picks". Houston. Houston Chronicle. November 18, 1993. p. 3.
- ^ a b Farley, Charles (2011). Soul of the Man: Bobby "Blue" Bland. University Press of Mississippi. p. 230.
- ^ Morris, Chris (May 21, 1994). "Other Handy winners included...". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 21. p. 67.
- ^ The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin Books. 2006. p. 48.
- ^ a b Nager, Larry (September 4, 1993). "Recordings". The Commercial Appeal. p. C5.
- ^ Hardy, Phil; Laing, Dave (1995). The Da Capo Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music. Da Capo Press. p. 86.
- ^ Seigal, Buddy (May 26, 1995). "Bluesman Bland Proves His Voice Is Anything but Pop". Los Angeles Times. p. F31.
- ^ a b "Years of Tears Review by Ron Wynn". AllMusic. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
- ^ (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. 2004. p. 82.
- ^ Young, Ron (January 14, 1994). "Born to be blue". Business. San Antonio Express-News.
- ^ Boehm, Mike (September 16, 1993). "Bobby Bland 'Years of Tears' Malaco". OC Live. Los Angeles Times. p. 5.
- ^ Rosen, Steven (October 20, 1993). "What's Up". The Denver Post. p. 1F.
- ^ Morthland, John (August 1997). "Royal Blue". Texas Monthly. Vol. 25, no. 8. p. 58.