Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Anders Osborne extended his reach as a guitarist, songwriter, and recording artist on his Alligator debut, American Patchwork, in 2010. It was louder, wilder, and more psychically free than anything he'd issued previously, while retaining his singer/songwriter skills so wonderfully displayed on 2007's Coming Down. Black Eye Galaxy is the culmination of this trilogy, albeit being a startlingly new entity. It seamlessly marries desperate, overloaded, molten hard rock and blues to expertly written songs that grow more tender, accepting, and optimistic by the set's close. Osborne creates something totally his own; genres cease to matter. Co-produced by Osborne, Stanton Moore, and engineer Warren Riker, the meld of sounds is immediate, gripping, sometimes harrowing, and always uncompromising no matter what is being expressed. The primal "Send Me a Friend" is a boatload of riff-and-roar. It's a redefinition of the blues regardless of whether it follows 12 bars. The song is about the complete isolation of addiction; it's a howl of terror and pleading to an unknown God with bludgeoning riffs and a ripping solo. "Mind of a Junkie" begins by crossing Neil Young & Crazy Horse with Wes Montgomery. Its lyrics reveal the cycle of addiction, recovery, relapse, and beginning again, the frustration and dangers and character flaws all expressed honestly and without artifice. Its angular guitar solo moves into a strange, lovely terrain, never leaving the soul of the tune behind. "Black Tar" is a slide guitar screamer; Osborne's vocals, plodding rhythm section, and effects just crackle, break, and crunch, without sacrificing melody in the punishing thud. The title track is a long, haunting, and labyrinthine psychedelic ballad, with gorgeous guitar and rhythm section interplay; it's a wellspring of inspired improvisation. Despite the brief respite of a gorgeous love song in the middle of all this, "Lean on Me/Believe in You," the first half of the record is pure stress, strain, and primal shriek. The set's final four songs are, by contrast, nearly serene, as the country-ish "Tracking My Roots" gives way to the acoustic traveling song "Louisiana Gold." The languid 4/4 love song that is "Dancing in the Wind" sets up the stellar closer. "Higher Ground" is like a gospel testament, but it's personal, not evangelical. With Stevie Blacke's sparse but nearly regal strings and backing vocals by Osborne's band, wife, and children, it's an anthem about the transformative power of love itself. Black Eye Galaxy rises from the depths of an individual's hell transformed via its songwriter's vision to the heights of possibility -- personally, poetically, and musically. It's the most consistent, expertly rendered offering in Osborne's catalog, the place where everything and everywhere he's been as a musician come together in a glorious whole.
© Thom Jurek /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From $17.49/month
Anders Osborne, MainArtist - Osborne, Anders, Composer, Lyricist - BMG Chrysalis obo Mr. Bubs Songs/BugMusic, MusicPublisher
2012 Alligator Records & Artist Management, Inc. 2012 Alligator Records & Artist Management, Inc.
Anders Osborne, MainArtist - Osborne, Anders, Composer, Lyricist - BMG Chrysalis obo Mr. Bubs Songs/BugMusic, MusicPublisher
2012 Alligator Records & Artist Management, Inc. 2012 Alligator Records & Artist Management, Inc.
Anders Osborne, MainArtist - Osborne, Anders, Composer, Lyricist - BMG Chrysalis obo Mr. Bubs Songs/BugMusic, MusicPublisher
2012 Alligator Records & Artist Management, Inc. 2012 Alligator Records & Artist Management, Inc.
Anders Osborne, MainArtist - Osborne, Anders, Composer, Lyricist - BMG Chrysalis obo Mr. Bubs Songs/BugMusic, MusicPublisher
2012 Alligator Records & Artist Management, Inc. 2012 Alligator Records & Artist Management, Inc.
Anders Osborne, MainArtist - Osborne, Anders, Composer, Lyricist - BMG Chrysalis obo Mr. Bubs Songs/Bug Music, MusicPublisher - Barrere, Paul, Composer, Lyricist - BMG Chrysalis obo Barrere Music/Bug Music, MusicPublisher
2012 Alligator Records & Artist Management, Inc. 2012 Alligator Records & Artist Management, Inc.
Anders Osborne, MainArtist - Osborne, Anders, Composer, Lyricist - BMG Chrysalis obo Mr. Bubs Songs/BugMusic, MusicPublisher
2012 Alligator Records & Artist Management, Inc. 2012 Alligator Records & Artist Management, Inc.
Anders Osborne, MainArtist - Osborne, Anders, Composer, Lyricist - BMG Chrysalis obo Mr. Bubs Songs/BugMusic, MusicPublisher
2012 Alligator Records & Artist Management, Inc. 2012 Alligator Records & Artist Management, Inc.
Anders Osborne, MainArtist - Osborne, Anders, Composer, Lyricist - BMG Chrysalis obo Mr. Bubs Songs/BugMusic, MusicPublisher
2012 Alligator Records & Artist Management, Inc. 2012 Alligator Records & Artist Management, Inc.
Anders Osborne, MainArtist - Osborne, Anders, Composer, Lyricist - BMG Chrysalis obo Mr. Bubs Songs/Bug Music, MusicPublisher - Barrere, Paul, Composer, Lyricist - BMG Chrysalis obo Barrere Music/Bug Music, MusicPublisher
2012 Alligator Records & Artist Management, Inc. 2012 Alligator Records & Artist Management, Inc.
Anders Osborne, MainArtist - Osborne, Anders, Composer, Lyricist - BMG Chrysalis obo Mr. Bubs Songs/Bug Music, MusicPublisher - Butler, Henry, Composer, Lyricist - BMG Chrysalis obo Hitocracy Music/Bug Music, MusicPublisher
2012 Alligator Records & Artist Management, Inc. 2012 Alligator Records & Artist Management, Inc.
Album review
Anders Osborne extended his reach as a guitarist, songwriter, and recording artist on his Alligator debut, American Patchwork, in 2010. It was louder, wilder, and more psychically free than anything he'd issued previously, while retaining his singer/songwriter skills so wonderfully displayed on 2007's Coming Down. Black Eye Galaxy is the culmination of this trilogy, albeit being a startlingly new entity. It seamlessly marries desperate, overloaded, molten hard rock and blues to expertly written songs that grow more tender, accepting, and optimistic by the set's close. Osborne creates something totally his own; genres cease to matter. Co-produced by Osborne, Stanton Moore, and engineer Warren Riker, the meld of sounds is immediate, gripping, sometimes harrowing, and always uncompromising no matter what is being expressed. The primal "Send Me a Friend" is a boatload of riff-and-roar. It's a redefinition of the blues regardless of whether it follows 12 bars. The song is about the complete isolation of addiction; it's a howl of terror and pleading to an unknown God with bludgeoning riffs and a ripping solo. "Mind of a Junkie" begins by crossing Neil Young & Crazy Horse with Wes Montgomery. Its lyrics reveal the cycle of addiction, recovery, relapse, and beginning again, the frustration and dangers and character flaws all expressed honestly and without artifice. Its angular guitar solo moves into a strange, lovely terrain, never leaving the soul of the tune behind. "Black Tar" is a slide guitar screamer; Osborne's vocals, plodding rhythm section, and effects just crackle, break, and crunch, without sacrificing melody in the punishing thud. The title track is a long, haunting, and labyrinthine psychedelic ballad, with gorgeous guitar and rhythm section interplay; it's a wellspring of inspired improvisation. Despite the brief respite of a gorgeous love song in the middle of all this, "Lean on Me/Believe in You," the first half of the record is pure stress, strain, and primal shriek. The set's final four songs are, by contrast, nearly serene, as the country-ish "Tracking My Roots" gives way to the acoustic traveling song "Louisiana Gold." The languid 4/4 love song that is "Dancing in the Wind" sets up the stellar closer. "Higher Ground" is like a gospel testament, but it's personal, not evangelical. With Stevie Blacke's sparse but nearly regal strings and backing vocals by Osborne's band, wife, and children, it's an anthem about the transformative power of love itself. Black Eye Galaxy rises from the depths of an individual's hell transformed via its songwriter's vision to the heights of possibility -- personally, poetically, and musically. It's the most consistent, expertly rendered offering in Osborne's catalog, the place where everything and everywhere he's been as a musician come together in a glorious whole.
© Thom Jurek /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 10 track(s)
- Total length: 00:55:30
- Main artists: Anders Osborne
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Alligator Records
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock
2012 Alligator Records & Artist Management, Inc. 2012 Alligator Records & Artist Management, Inc.
Improve album informationWhy buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.