Robbie Robertson (album)

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Robbie Robertson
Studio album by Robbie Robertson
Released	October 27, 1987 (1987-10-27)
Recorded	1987
Genre	Rock
Length	44:19
Label	Geffen
Producer	Daniel Lanois and Robbie Robertson
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Robert Christgau (C+) link Rolling Stone (not rated) link
Robbie Robertson chronology
Robbie Robertson (1987) Storyville (1991)

Robbie Robertson is the self-titled solo debut by Robbie Robertson, released in 1987. The album won the Juno Award for "Album of the Year", and producers Lanois and Robertson won the "Producer of the Year" Juno award, both in 1989 as there were no Juno Awards held in 1988.

The album is notable for the contributions from the members of U2 and Peter Gabriel, both of who were also working with producer Daniel Lanois at the time. U2 was recording The Joshua Tree and Gabriel was recording So. U2's contribution is heard in the song "Sweet Fire of Love" which is a duet of sorts between Robertson and U2 lead singer Bono. The other track featuring U2 is "Testimony", again with vocals from Bono. Gabriel's contributions are heard on the song "Fallen Angel". In addition, Tony Levin and Manu Katché, who were recording with Gabriel, are featured prominently on this record.

Contents 1 "Broken Arrow" 2 "American Roulette" 3 "Somewhere Down the Crazy River" 4 Track listing 5 Personnel 5.1 Additional personnel 6 Charts 7 Certifications 8 References

[edit] "Broken Arrow"

This ballad was covered by Rod Stewart in 1991 on his album Vagabond Heart. The song reached #20 in the Billboard Hot 100 that year, was well as #3 on Billboard Adult Contemporary track chart. ^[1] It is not to be confused either with Chuck Berry's 1959 single or Buffalo Springfield's 1967 song of the same name written by fellow Canadian Neil Young.

[edit] "American Roulette"

"American Roulette"'s lyrics deal with the theme of three iconic Americans' rise to popular idolatry and the personal consequences thereof. The song mentions none of these by name and describes them in literary idealistic terms rather than strictly biographical form. The first verse talks about James Dean, Elvis Presley is the subject of the second verse, while the third verse tells the story of Marilyn Monroe. Musically, the song is notable for its guitar solo throughout as well as the instrumental outro.

[edit] "Somewhere Down the Crazy River"

When asked about the inspiration for album's single "Somewhere Down the Crazy River", Lanois commented: "Robbie Robertson was describing what it was like to hang out in Arkansas with Levon Helm in his old neighbourhood. He was telling me about the hot nights and fishing with dynamite, and was asking someone for directions for someplace somewhere down the crazy river. ... I had presented him with this toy instrument that Eno introduced me to called the Suzuki Omnichord, like an electric autoharp. He found a little chord sequence with it that was sweet and wonderful. As he was developing his chord sequence I recorded him and superimposed his storytelling, which I was secretly recording, on top. That was the birth of 'Somewhere Down The Crazy River.' It's kind of like a guy with a deep voice telling you about steaming nights in Arkansas.” ^[2] This song is notable as Robertson's only solo hit in the UK, reaching #15 on the UK singles chart. His follow-up single there, "Fallen Angel" (also from the album) languished at #95.

[edit] Track listing

All songs written by Robbie Robertson except as noted. ^[3]

1. "Fallen Angel" (Robertson, Martin Page) – 5:52
2. "Showdown at Big Sky" – 4:43
3. "Broken Arrow" – 5:17
4. "Sweet Fire of Love" (Robertson, U2) – 5:08
5. "American Roulette" – 4:46
6. "Somewhere Down the Crazy River" (Robertson, Page) – 4:44
7. "Hell's Half Acre" – 3:45
8. "Sonny Got Caught in the Moonlight" – 3:45
9. "Testimony" – 4:45

[edit] Personnel

• Robbie Robertson – vocals, backing vocals, guitar, keyboards
• Manu Katché – drums on 1 2 6 7 8, percussion on 1 7 8
• Bill Dillon – guitars on 1 2 5 6 7 8 9, backing vocal on 2
• Tony Levin – Chapman Stick on 5 7, bass on 6 8
• Daniel Lanois – percussion on 2 3 4 8, backing vocal on 2 3 4, Omnichord on 5, guitar on 5 8

[edit] Additional personnel

• Michael Johnson – bass on 1 5
• Martin Page – drum programing on 1
• Garth Hudson – keyboards on 1 5
• Peter Gabriel – keyboards on 1 3, vocal on 1, drum program on 3
• Larry Klein – bass on 2
• BoDeans (Sam Llanas, Kurt Neumann) – backing vocals on 2 5
• Sammy BoDean (Sam Llanas) – backing vocal on 6
• Terry Bozzio – drums on 3 5
• Abraham Laboriel – bass on 3
• Larry Mullen Jr. – drums on 4 9
• Adam Clayton – bass on 4 9
• The Edge – guitar on 4 9
• Bono – vocals, bass on 4, backing vocal on 9, guitar on 9
• Hans Christian – bass on 5
• Maria McKee – backing vocal on 5
• Cary Butler – backing vocal on 8
• Ivan Neville – backing vocal on 9
• Gil Evans Horn Section – horns on 9
• Rick Danko - backing vocal on 8

[edit] Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Peak Position
1987	Billboard 200	38 [1]
1987	UK Album Charts	38 [4]

Single

Year	Single	Chart	Peak Position
1987	"Showdown at Big Sky"	Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	2 [5]
1987	"Sweet Fire of Love"	Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	7 [5]
1988	"Showdown at Big Sky"	Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	21 [5]
1988	"Somewhere Down the Crazy River"	Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	24 [5]
1988	"Somewhere Down the Crazy River"	UK Singles Charts	15 [4]

[edit] Certifications

Organization	Level	Date
BPI – UK	Gold	September 14, 1988 (1988-09-14) [6]
RIAA – U.S.	Gold	October 21, 1988 (1988-10-21) [7]
CRIA – Canada	Gold	February 28, 1989 (1989-02-28) [8]
CRIA – Canada	Platinum	February 28, 1989 (1989-02-28) [8]
CRIA – Canada	2X Platinum	February 28, 1989 (1989-02-28) [8]

[edit] References