Amorica


Amorica is the third studio album by American rock band The Black Crowes. The album was released on November 1, 1994 by American Recordings. Amorica reached gold status in the United States, shipping 500,000 copies. It reached no. 11 on the Billboard albums chart in the United States and made the charts in several other countries as well.

Description

After touring behind their 1992 album The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, the Black Crowes began developing a new album in 1993 to be titled Tall, but dissatisfaction with the early recordings resulted in the band reconceptualizing the album and re-recording several songs in a more relaxed style, resulting in the Amorica album that was released the following year.
The album cover notably featured a close-up photo of the pelvic region of a woman wearing a United States flag bikini bottom with pubic hair showing at the top. The photo was taken from the cover of the July 1976 issue of Hustler magazine. The album with this cover was subsequently banned from chain stores like Walmart and Kmart, resulting in the cover being censored with a solid black background displaying only the garment.
Other songs recorded during the Amorica sessions were "Feathers," "Tied Up and Swallowed" and "Chevrolet", which were later released as B-sides, bonus tracks or on compilation albums. Those tracks and others were compiled in a 2025 reissue of the album, which includes songs from the aborted Tall album plus additional studio outakes and live recordings from the period.

Reception

The album received generally positive reviews upon its release. "The Crowes haven't ceased their cocky pillaging of the universal jukebox – echoes of the Stones and Led Zep abound," wrote Rolling Stone Paul Evans, who awarded the album three and a half stars. "But in joining the mix with offbeat kicks, they sound remarkably fresh." AllMusic noted the change in sound from the band's first two hit albums, with Amorica displaying more jam band-like experimentation when the band could have followed their career trajectory into more mainstream sounds.
In July 2014, Guitar World chose Amorica as one of "50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994", placing it at 50th place.

Track listing

Personnel

The Black Crowes
  • Chris Robinson – vocals, harmonica
  • Rich Robinson – guitar
  • Marc Ford – guitar
  • Johnny Colt – bass guitar
  • Steve Gorman – drums
  • Eddie Harsch – keyboards
Additional personnel
Production

Certifications