Eye of the Hunter
Eye of the Hunter is the debut solo album by Brendan Perry, previously the male half of the band Dead Can Dance. The album was released by 4AD on 4 October 1999 in the UK and a day later in the US.
| Eye of the Hunter | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
_cover_art.jpg.webp) | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 4 October 1999 (UK) | |||
| Recorded | Quivvy Church, Ireland | |||
| Genre | Folk rock, dream pop | |||
| Length | 42:10 | |||
| Label | 4AD (CAD 9015) | |||
| Producer | Brendan Perry | |||
| Brendan Perry chronology | ||||
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Overview
The album's title is found in the lyrics of the album's first single "Voyage of Bran", wherein a character called Brendan says: "I live by the river where the old gods still dream of inner communion with the open sea / Through the eye of a hunter in search of a prey, neither beast nor human in my philosophy."[1]
The song "Sloth" first appeared during concerts with Dead Can Dance and appears on the band's 2001 box set Dead Can Dance (1981–1998). "I Must Have Been Blind" is a cover of a Tim Buckley song, from his 1970 album Blue Afternoon. Perry later covered another song by Buckley, "Dream Letter," which was released the following year on the tribute album Sing a Song for You.
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| EW.com | (positive)[3] |
Critical reception to the album was generally positive.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Brendan Perry (except where noted)
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Saturday's Child" | 4:30 |
| 2. | "Voyage of Bran" | 5:33 |
| 3. | "Medusa" | 6:10 |
| 4. | "Sloth" | 3:32 |
| 5. | "I Must Have Been Blind" (Tim Buckley) | 5:07 |
| 6. | "The Captive Heart" | 4:00 |
| 7. | "Death Will Be My Bride" | 5:46 |
| 8. | "Archangel" | 7:35 |
| Total length: | 42:10 | |
Note: The title "Voyage of Bran" refers to Irish story The Voyage of Bran, and "Medusa" to the mythological Medusa.
Personnel
- Musical
- Brendan Perry – vocals, 12-string guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, keyboards
- with
- Glen Garrett – electric bass guitar, upright bass guitar
- Liam Bradley – drums
- Martin Quinn – pedal steel guitar
- Michael Brunnock – backing vocals on "Saturday's Child"
- Technical
- Mastered by Walter Coelho at Masterpiece
- Graphical
- Art direction by Brendan Perry
- Design by Chris Bigg
- Back cover photograph by Dennis Di Cicco
- Textures by v23 (Vaughan Oliver)
References
- Lyrics from the CD booklet (sung identically as printed).
- AllMusic review
- EW.com review
External links
- Eye of the Hunter at 4AD: with audio samples
- Eye of the Hunter at Discogs (list of releases): with links to artists works
- Eye of the Hunter at Dead-can-dance.com: with a Perry quote
- Eye of the Hunter lyrics (official) at DCD Within: with some typos
- Eye of the Hunter lyrics (fansite) at Dead-can-dance.com