Devotion + Doubt

Devotion + Doubt (sometimes formatted as Devotion+Doubt) is the second studio album by Richard Buckner, and his first album released on a major label.[1] It was released on March 11, 1997 by MCA Records. Buckner recorded the album shortly after the end of his first marriage.[2]

Devotion + Doubt
Studio album by
Richard Buckner
ReleasedMarch 11, 1997 (1997-03-11)
GenreFolk rock
Length39:13
LabelMCA
ProducerJ. D. Foster
Richard Buckner chronology
Bloomed
(1994)		 Devotion + Doubt
(1997)		 Since
(1998)

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The Austin Chronicle[4]
Chicago Tribune[5]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[6]
Rolling Stone[7]
Spin9/10[8]
The Village VoiceB−[9]

Mark Deming of AllMusic gave Devotion + Doubt 4.5 stars out of 5, writing that it was "a significantly more ambitious and accomplished effort than [Buckner's 1994 debut album] Bloomed" and "a creative left turn that more than lived up to the promise of [Bloomed]".[3] Trouser Press' Erik Hage wrote that Devotion + Doubt was "...a gut-wrenching song cycle that deserves a place in the divorce-album hall-of-fame alongside Dylan's Blood on the Tracks".[10] Peter Blackstock of No Depression wrote that "It's the voice that brings Buckner's music to flesh; he is, above all else, a singer. It's a smooth, melodious croon, by nature, but imbued with such a warm, bittersweet darkness that the sound seems to ooze from the speakers in richly layered browntones with every careful cadence."[11] A review in SF Weekly praised the album's songs, saying that once you can read its lyric sheet, the previously fragmented lyrics cohere. The review said that once this becomes clear, the songs "...complete Devotion & Doubt's promise."[12]

Dan Kening of the Chicago Tribune was less favorable in his review of the album, writing, "Buckner saddles even his better songs, like "Lil' Wallet Picture" and "A Goodbye Rye," with such pretentious lyrics ("Once upon a blue thing or two/Eyes and sighs and a moon confused") that they sink under their own self-conscious weight."[5] Robert Christgau similarly mocked Buckner's lyrics, writing in The Village Voice, "he has just the sensitive baritone to make awful seem awful romantic to sad sacks and the women who love them."[9]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Richard Buckner.

No.TitleLength
1."Pull"2:40
2."Lil' Wallet Picture"4:33
3."Ed's Song"2:22
4."Home"3:09
5."A Goodbye Rye"4:15
6."Fater"1:55
7."Kate Rose"0:36
8."4AM"3:18
9."Roll"3:23
10."Polly Waltz"1:25
11."Figure"2:47
12."On Traveling"4:29
13."Song of 27"4:21

Personnel

Guest artists

References
  1. Puckett, Jeffrey Lee (2015-01-07). "'Devotion + Doubt' a lost classic worth finding". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved 2018-06-06.
  2. "Buckner takes a big leap forward". The Courier-Journal. 1997-05-02. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
  3. Deming, Mark. "Devotion + Doubt – Richard Buckner". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-06-06.
  4. Bertin, Michael (1997-03-14). "Richard Buckner: Devotion and Doubt (MCA)". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2018-06-06.
  5. Kening, Dan (1997-05-02). "Richard Buckner: Devotion + Doubt (MCA)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2018-06-06.
  6. Larkin, Colin (2006). "Buckner, Richard". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 45. ISBN 0195313739.
  7. George-Warren, Holly (1997-04-17). "Richard Buckner: Devotion + Doubt". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2009-12-28. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  8. Powers, Ann (April 1997). "Richard Buckner: Devotion + Doubt". Spin. Vol. 13 no. 1. p. 154. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  9. Christgau, Robert (1997-12-02). "Consumer Guide: Turkey Shoot". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  10. Hage, Erik. "Richard Buckner". Trouser Press. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
  11. Blackstock, Peter (1997-02-28). "Richard Buckner – Devotion & Doubt". No Depression. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
  12. "Lick and a Promise". SF Weekly. 1997-08-27. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
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