Higher Power
Studio album by
Big Audio
Released8 November 1994
GenreAlternative
Length67:03
LabelColumbia[1]
ProducerMick Jones, André Shapps, Arthur Baker
Big Audio chronology
The Lost Treasure of Big Audio Dynamite I & II
(1993) 		Higher Power
(1994) 		F-Punk
(1995)
Singles from Higher Power
  1. "Looking for a Song"
    Released: 1994

Higher Power is the seventh album by Big Audio Dynamite (renamed Big Audio), released in 1994.[2][3] First released in the US on 8 November, it was then released in the UK the following week on 14 November 1994.[4][5] "Looking for a Song" was released as a single; it peaked at No. 24 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart.[6][7] The band supported the album with a North American tour.[8]

Production

Many of its songs are about English middle class life.[9] Mick Jones was inspired by Bob Marley to include uplifting messages in Higher Power's songs.[10]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Calgary HeraldC−[12]
Chicago Tribune[9]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[13]
Entertainment WeeklyC−[14]
Knoxville News Sentinel[15]

Trouser Press wrote that "Higher Power finds Jones and company operating at a decidedly lower level ... The hip dance-music sounds are there, but the tunes most certainly aren't."[16] Entertainment Weekly thought that the album "continues Jones' bid for currency by experimenting with the sounds of London's dance clubs ... The result is neither good rave nor good rock."[14]

The Knoxville News Sentinel called it "an alternative album at the core that absorbs a fun array of funk, pop and hip-hop influences for a distinctive and accessible blend."[15] The Calgary Herald determined that "it just bops along with riffs that are pleasant enough but lack any edge, any passion."[12]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Got to Wake Up"Jones4:51
2."Harrow Road"Graham Fisher, Kenneth Hare, Jones, Stonadge5:26
3."Looking for a Song"Jones, Sergio Portaluri, David Sion, Fulvio Zefret3:47
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
4."Some People"Hawkins, Jones4:55
5."Slender Loris"Jones6:10
6."Modern Stoneage Blues"Jones, Stonadge3:45
Side three
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."Melancholy Maybe"Jones, Stonadge5:43
8."Over the Rise"Jones4:57
9."Why Is It?"Jones, Stonadge5:00
10."Moon"Jones6:27
Side four
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Lucan"Hawkins, Jones, Stonadge5:49
12."Light Up My Life"Jones4:35
13."Hope"Jones, Stonadge5:38

Personnel

Big Audio

Additional credits

References

  1. ^ Thompson, Dave (15 July 2000). "Alternative Rock". Hal Leonard Corporation – via Google Books.
  2. ^ "Big Audio Dynamite Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ^ Thompson, Clifford (7 October 2020). "Contemporary World Musicians". Routledge – via Google Books.
  4. ^ "Upcoming Releases" (PDF). CMJ New Music Report. 31 October 1994. p. 60. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  5. ^ "New Albums" (PDF). Music Week. 12 November 1994. p. 22. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  6. ^ Buckley, Peter (15 July 2003). "The Rough Guide to Rock". Rough Guides – via Google Books.
  7. ^ Whitburn, Joel (15 July 2008). "Joel Whitburn Presents Rock Tracks 1981-2008". Hal Leonard Corporation – via Google Books.
  8. ^ Bream, Jon (30 November 1994). "ROCK the HALLS". Star Tribune. p. 1E.
  9. ^ a b Webber, Brad (24 November 1994). "Recordings". Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 10.
  10. ^ Rutkoski, Rex (27 January 1995). "JONES MIXES HIS DYNAMITE WELL". USA Today.
  11. ^ Ruhlmann, William. Review: Higher Power. AllMusic. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  12. ^ a b Muretich, James (20 November 1994). "Big Audio: Higher Power". Calgary Herald. p. D2.
  13. ^ Larkin, Colin (27 May 2011). "The Encyclopedia of Popular Music". Omnibus Press – via Google Books.
  14. ^ a b "Music Review: 'Higher Power'". EW.com.
  15. ^ a b Campbell, Chuck (11 November 1994). "'Higher Power', Big Audio". Detours. Knoxville News Sentinel. p. 3.
  16. ^ "Big Audio Dynamite". Trouser Press. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
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