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The Name Above the Title
Studio album by
ReleasedFebruary 19, 1991
Genre Alternative Rock
Length58:23
Label Sire
Producer Andy Paley [1]
John Wesley Harding chronology
Here Comes the Groom
(1990)
The Name Above the Title
(1991)
Why We Fight
(1992)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music [3]
Entertainment WeeklyC− [4]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide [5]
Q [7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide [6]

The Name Above the Title is an album by the folk-rock singer John Wesley Harding, released in 1991. [8] [9] It was his third successive Frank Capra-inspired album title, coming from the director's autobiography. [2] [10]

Critical reception

Trouser Press wrote that while Harding "brings plenty of talent and originality (especially the lyrics, which are strictly his own style) to this enjoyable and intelligent party, the frequent resemblance to Costello gives what is in fact a fine album a waxy air of familiarity." [11] The Rolling Stone Album Guide considered the album to be marred by "excessive cleverness." [6] Peter Kane in Q Magazine describer the album as "light-weight Costello. There's still some way to go, but the signs are good." [7]

Track listing

All tracks composed by John Wesley Harding; except where indicated

  1. "Movie Theme" Performed by The Morgans Creek String Ensemble - 0:33
  2. "The World (And All Its Problems)" - 3:24
  3. "Fifty Fifty Split" - 5:22
  4. "The People's Drug" - 3:56
  5. "The Movie of Your Life" - 6:04
  6. "I Can Tell (When You're Telling Lies)" - 3:27
  7. "Bridegroom Blues" - 4:23
  8. "Save a Little Room for Me" - 4:06
  9. "Anonymous 1916" ( Anonymous) - 0:58
  10. "The Person You Are" - 3:40
  11. "Long Dead Gone" - 4:26
  12. "The Facts of Life" ( Andy Paley, Harding) - 3:15
  13. "Driving in the Rain" - 6:06
  14. "Backing Out" - 3:07
  15. " Crystal Blue Persuasion" ( Tommy James, Mike Vale, Eddie Gray) - 5:42

Notes

  1. ^ Jenkins, Mark (26 April 1991). "ELVIS SIGHTED AGAIN ON HARDING RECORD" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  2. ^ a b Mason, Stewart. The Name Above the Title at AllMusic. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  3. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 4. MUZE. p. 129.
  4. ^ "The Name Above the Title". EW.com.
  5. ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 526.
  6. ^ a b The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 307.
  7. ^ a b Kane, Peter (5 March 1991). "the Name Above The Title review". Q Magazine. 68: 10.
  8. ^ "John Wesley Harding by Andy Craft - BOMB Magazine". bombmagazine.org.
  9. ^ "John Wesley Harding | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  10. ^ Vice, Jeff (2 June 1991). "HARDING RANKLES AT TOUR REPORTS, COMPARISONS WITH BAND LEADER". Deseret News.
  11. ^ "John Wesley Harding". Trouser Press. Retrieved 12 October 2020.