music.wikisort.org - Composition

Semi Crazy is an album by the American musician Junior Brown, released in 1996.[2][3] It contains the crossover hit "Surf Medley", featuring three popular surf rock songs.

Semi Crazy
Studio album by Junior Brown
Released	1996
Genre	Country, rock and roll
Label	MCG/Curb Records[1]
Producer	Junior Brown
Junior Brown chronology
Junior High EP (1995) Semi Crazy (1996) The Long Walk Back (1998)

The album peaked at No. 32 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart.[4] Brown supported Semi Crazy by touring with the Mavericks.[5] Its first single was "Venom Wearing Denim".[6]

Production

The album was produced by Brown.[7] "Semi-Crazy" is a duet with Red Simpson.[8] "Hong Kong Blues" was written by Hoagy Carmichael.[9] Brown's intention was to craft a mainstream album; he did not want to be considered a revivalist/traditionalist or an outsider artist.[10]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[11]
The Austin Chronicle	[12]
Robert Christgau	[13]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[14]
The Indianapolis Star	[15]
Los Angeles Times	[16]
Orlando Sentinel	[17]
Rolling Stone	[18]

Robert Christgau deemed the album "the essence of Western swing—jazzy picking, lousy singing, and a light heart."[13] Entertainment Weekly wrote: "A virtuoso picker (guitar freaks will appreciate the jaw-dropping pyrotechnics of 'I Hung It Up', and his definitive 'Surf Medley'), Brown’s a casually irreverent humorist to boot."[14] Rolling Stone thought that Brown "straddles the fence between Nashville airplay and Texas grit" on "Gotta Get Up Every Morning" and "Surf Medley".[18] The Orlando Sentinel determined that the album "is chock full of the kind of catchy, clever, instantly memorable songs that used to be a staple of country radio."[17]

Texas Monthly called "Semi-Crazy" "the first decent truckin’ song in more than a decade."[19] The Chicago Reader stated that "while Brown and his band may look like Republican staffers, his witty, jaunty music is anything but conservative."[20] The Los Angeles Times concluded that "by stretching stories of wayward lovers almost beyond believability—as Hank Williams himself often did—Brown magnifies and clarifies the very real emotions underlying them."[16] The Indianapolis Star considered the album to be "a masterpiece" and "a collection of Ernest Tubb-meets-Jimi Hendrix country music."[15]

AllMusic wrote that Brown's "clever lyrics, Ernest Tubb-like voice, and virtuoso guitar playing ... are once again intact and on the mark."[11]

Track listing

1. "Gotta Get Up Every Morning" – 1:58
2. "Darlin' I'll Do Anything You Say" – 2:49
3. "I Hung It Up" – 3:33
4. "I Want to Hear It from You" – 3:11
5. "Semi-Crazy" – 3:23
6. "Hong Kong Blues" – 3:32
7. "Venom Wearing Denim" – 2:38
8. "Parole Board" – 3:40
9. "Joe the Singing Janitor" – 3:18
10. "Surf Medley" – 7:08

Musicians

• Junior Brown – vocals, guitar, steel guitar
• Tanya Rae Brown – rhythm guitar, harmony vocals
• Steve Lane – bass, harmony vocals
• Tommy Lewis – drums
• Danny Levin – piano on tracks 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9
• Red Simpson – vocals on track 5

Song info

Track 10 is an instrumental cover medley: "Pipeline" by The Chantays, "Walk Don't Run" by The Ventures, and "Secret Agent Man" by Johnny Rivers.[21] All other songs by Junior Brown except track 4 by F Carter, Jr., track 5 by Brown and R. Avis, track 6 by Hoagy Carmichael.

References

---