Amethyst Rock Star is the debut solo studio album by Saul Williams. It was released by American Recordings in 2001. It peaked at number 135 on the French Albums Chart.[1]
| Amethyst Rock Star | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 8, 2001 | |||
| Genre | Alternative hip hop | |||
| Length | 58:26 | |||
| Label | American Recordings | |||
| Producer | Rick Rubin, Musa Bailey, Krust, Saul Williams | |||
| Saul Williams chronology | ||||
| ||||
Critical reception edit
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [2] |
| Robert Christgau |  [3] |
| Drowned in Sound | 9/10[4] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[5] |
| NME | [6] |
| Pitchfork | 8.1/10[7] |
| RapReviews.com | 8/10[8] |
Steve Kurutz of AllMusic gave the album 1.5 stars out of 5, saying: "Some of the language is downright laughable (see the trite themes of 'Fearless' for example) in any context, and the rest is mediocre at best."[2] Kitty Empire of NME gave the album 3.5 stars out of 5, calling it "an ambitious collision of rock, hip-hop and spoken word, all united by a refusal to conform to the conventions of any of them."[6]
Track listing edit
All tracks are written by Saul Williams, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Lalala" | 2:40 | |
| 2. | "Penny for a Thought" | Williams, Musa Bailey | 4:34 |
| 3. | "Robeson" | 4:21 | |
| 4. | "Tao of Now" | Williams, Musa Bailey | 4:19 |
| 5. | "Fearless" | Williams, Thom Bahler | 3:12 |
| 6. | "Untimely Meditations" | 3:55 | |
| 7. | "Om Nia Merican" | 3:06 | |
| 8. | "1987" | 5:21 | |
| 9. | "Coded Language" | Williams, Krust | 8:48 |
| 10. | "Our Father" | 7:06 | |
| 11. | "Wine / Do You Know (hidden track)" | 11:04 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Brown Bags" | 3:16 |
Personnel edit
Credits adapted from liner notes.
Musicians
- Saul Williams – vocals, co–production, arrangement
- Rick Rubin – production
- Musa Bailey – additional production (2), additional programming, turntables
- Krust – additional production (9)
- Esthero – vocals (4)
- Chad Smith – drums (7)
- Jerome Jordan – guitar, backing vocals
- Maximina Juson – bass guitar
- Maryam Blacksher – viola
- Nioka Workman – cello
- Kwame Brandt-Pierce – keyboards
- Chris Eddleton – drums
- Greg Gordon – recording
- Russell Elevado – recording, mixing
Technical personnel
- Marcia Jones – visual art
- Michael Crivello – visual art
- Brandy Flower – graphic design
- Michele Miller – photography
- B+ – photography
- Mei Lei – journals
- Dorothy E. Wilcox – penpal
- Lindsay Chase – coordination
Charts edit
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| French Albums (SNEP)[1] | 135 |
References edit
- ^ a b "Lescharts.com – Saul Williams – Amethyst Rockstar". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
- ^ a b Kurutz, Steve. "Amethyst Rock Star - Saul Williams". AllMusic. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "Saul Williams". Christgau's Consumer Guide. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
- ^ Adams, Sean (August 5, 2001). "Album Review: Saul Williams - Amethyst Rock Star". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on October 4, 2018. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
- ^ Sullivan, James (November 2, 2001). "Amethyst Rock Star". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
- ^ a b Empire, Kitty (September 12, 2005). "Saul Williams : Amethyst Rock Star". NME. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
- ^ Adickes, Kevin (November 26, 2001). "Saul Williams: Amethyst Rock Star". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
- ^ Juon, Steve (April 2, 2002). "Saul Williams :: Amethyst Rock Star". RapReviews.com. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
External links edit
- Amethyst Rock Star at Discogs (list of releases)
- Amethyst Rock Star at MusicBrainz (list of releases)