''Big as Life'' is an album by the American musician
Hamell on Trial
Edward James "Ed" Hamell, performing as Hamell on Trial, is an American punk rock, anti-folk, spoken word musician, described by Righteous Babe Records as "loud, fast music informed by politics, passion, energy and intelligence, played by a guy w ...
, released in 1994. It was put out by Doolittle Records, and picked up by
Mercury the following year. "Sugarfree" was released as a single.
Hamell on Trial promoted the album by touring with
Syd Straw
Syd Straw is an American rock singer and songwriter.
She began her career singing backup for Pat Benatar, then took her distinctive and powerful voice to the indie/alternative scene and joined the ever-evolving line-up of Golden Palominos fro ...
.
Production
Produced by Jeff Cole, ''Big as Life'' was recorded in
Austin, Texas
Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
, in a warehouse room above the Electric Lounge club.
Alejandro Escovedo
Pedro Alejandro Escovedo (born January 10, 1951) is an American rock musician, songwriter, and singer, who has been recording and touring since the late 1970s. His primary instrument is the guitar. He has played in various rock genres, includin ...
helped Hamell with the demos.
[ Hamell played a 1937 Gibson on the album. The instrumentation consists of guitar, sometimes accompanied by violin or bass. "Blood of the Wolf" is about a childhood friend who attempted to rob a ]Kentucky Fried Chicken
KFC Corporation, doing business as KFC (an abbreviation of Kentucky Fried Chicken), is an American fast food restaurant chain specializing in fried chicken and chicken sandwiches. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, it is the world's s ...
with a fork. A cover of "Folsom Prison Blues
"Folsom Prison Blues" is a song by American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash, based on material composed by Gordon Jenkins. Written in 1953, it was first recorded and released as a single in 1955, and later included on his debut studio album ''John ...
" appears as an unlisted track.[
]
Critical reception
The ''Tulsa World
The ''Tulsa World'' is an American daily newspaper. It serves the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and is the primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions of Oklahoma. The printed edition is the second-most circulated newspaper in the sta ...
'' wrote that Hamell's voice "is militaristic, clipped, strident; his guitar—a 1937 small-body Gibson—is wired, alive, wincing to hold up to Hamell's infernal strumming." Robert Christgau
Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...
praised "Z-Roxx" and the title track.Dallas Observer
''Dallas Observer'' is a free digital and print publication based in Dallas, Texas. The ''Observer'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music, and arts, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue circ ...
'' stated that Hamell "destroys the perception of the self-serious acoustic folkie who believes wisdom lies in glib aphorism and weepy revelation."
''Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' determined that "what sounds thrilling on stage comes off as rushed and overbaked on record." ''The Indianapolis Star
}
''The Indianapolis Star'' (also known as ''IndyStar'') is a morning daily newspaper that began publishing on June 6, 1903, in Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It has been the only major daily paper in the city since 1999, whe ...
'' commended the "intriguing if creepy stories." ''The Record
The Record may refer to:
Music
* The Record (Fear album), ''The Record'' (Fear album), a 1982 studio album by the hardcore-punk band Fear
* The Record (Boygenius album), ''The Record'' (Boygenius album), a 2023 studio album by the indie rock supe ...
'' concluded that "Hamell combines explosive punk-edged fury and a scathing acoustic guitar style ... with poetic lyrics that are sometimes humorous, sometimes upsetting, sometimes poignant but always edged with a razor-sharp honesty."
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
wrote that Hamell "combined the best elements of the one-man-band storytelling tradition with an aggressive, hyper-rhythmic acoustic guitar attack that absolutely demanded attention."The Austin Chronicle
''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogra ...
'' deemed the album "six cups of coffee and two hits of crystal meth—frenzied."
Track listing
References
{{authority control
Hamell on Trial albums
1994 albums
Mercury Records albums