Amorica

This article is about the Black Crowes album. For the region of Brittany, see Armorica.

Amorica (stylized as amorica.) is the third studio album by American rock band The Black Crowes. Spawned from the band's unreleased Tall album sessions, Amorica was released on November 1, 1994, on American Recordings. Amorica reached gold status in the United States, shipping 500,000 copies.

Amorica
The original cover of the album.
Studio album by The Black Crowes
Released	November 1, 1994 (1994-11-01)
Recorded	May–August 1994
Genre	Hard rock[1] boogie rock[1]
Length	54:13
Label	American
Producer	Jack Joseph Puig The Black Crowes
The Black Crowes chronology
The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion (1992) Amorica (1994) Three Snakes and One Charm (1996)
Censored cover
Editions sold by big box retailers have a cropped image.

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.^[2]

Other songs recorded during the Amorica sessions were "Feathers," "Tied Up and Swallowed" and "Chevrolet" (a Taj Mahal cover), which were later released as B-sides, bonus tracks or on compilation albums.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Chicago Tribune	[4]
Entertainment Weekly	B−[5]
Kerrang!	5/5[6]
Los Angeles Times	[7]
NME	8/10[8]
Q	[9]
Rolling Stone	[10]
Select	4/5[11]
Uncut	9/10[12]

"The Crowes haven't ceased their cocky pillaging of the universal jukebox – echoes of the Stones and Led Zep abound," wrote Rolling Stone's Paul Evans, who awarded the album three and a half stars. "But in joining the mix with offbeat kicks (Latino rhythms, wah-wah guitar, strange vocal treatments), they sound remarkably fresh."^[13]

In July 2014, Guitar World chose Amorica as one of "50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994", placing it at 50th place.^[14]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Chris Robinson and Rich Robinson.

Amorica track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Gone"	5:08
2.	"A Conspiracy"	4:46
3.	"High Head Blues"	4:01
4.	"Cursed Diamond"	5:56
5.	"Nonfiction"	4:16
6.	"She Gave Good Sunflower"	5:48
7.	"P. 25 London"	3:38
8.	"Ballad in Urgency"	5:39
9.	"Wiser Time"	5:33
10.	"Downtown Money Waster"	3:40
11.	"Descending"	5:42

US bonus track

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Tied Up and Swallowed"	4:16

Japanese bonus track

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Chevrolet"	3:32

1998 reissue bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Song of the Flesh"	3:45
13.	"Sunday Night Buttermilk Waltz"	2:46

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^[15]

• Jimmy Ashhurst – mandolin
• Eric Bobo – percussion
• Bruce Kaphan – pedal steel guitar
• Andy Sturmer – "assorted musical gifts"

Production

• Pete Angelus – personal manager
• The Black Crowes – producer
• Bob Ludwig – mastering
• Jack Joseph Puig – producer, engineer, mixer
• Jeff Sheehan – assistant engineer

Charts

Chart performance for Amorica

Chart (1994)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[16]	11
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[17]	13
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[18]	17
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[19]	17
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[20]	40
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[21]	39
Scottish Albums (OCC)[22]	7
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[23]	25
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[24]	35
UK Albums (OCC)[25]	8
US Billboard 200[26]	11

Certifications

Certifications for Amorica

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[27]	Silver	60,000^
United States (RIAA)[28]	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.