Long Violent History
{{Infobox album
| name = Long Violent History
| type = studio
| artist = Tyler Childers
| cover = Long violent history.jpg
| alt =
| released = {{start date|2020|9|18}}
| recorded =
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = Country, bluegrass Old Time
| length =
| label = Hickman Holler
| producer = Tyler Childers
| prev_title = Country Squire
| prev_year = 2019
| next_title = Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven?
| next_year =2022
}}
Long Violent History is the fourth studio album by American country music singer Tyler Childers. It is an album centralized on the title track, a protest song against racism. Childers released the album in 2020 with no publicity other than a six-minute video.
Content
In September 2020, Childers announced the album's release via a video message posted on YouTube.{{cite web | url=https://artsfuse.org/212586/music-review-tyler-childers-long-violent-history-an-appalachian-murder-ballad-for-breonna-taylor/ | title=Folk Album Review: Tyler Childers's "Long Violent History" – An Appalachian Murder Ballad for Breonna Taylor | publisher=Arts Fuse | date=September 26, 2020 | accessdate=January 18, 2022}} In the six-minute video, Childers addresses the album's central themes in opposition of racism, especially when viewed from the perspective of "rural white" listeners. The album is mostly composed of traditional fiddle tunes, but ends on the title track, a protest song.{{cite web | url=https://theboot.com/tyler-childers-long-violent-history-statement/ | title=Tyler Childers Hopes 'Long Violent History' Makes Listeners Think, Then Act | publisher=The Boot | date=September 18, 2020 | accessdate=January 18, 2022 | author=Angela Stefano}} According to NPR, Childers cited the Black Lives Matter movement, along with the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921, as the two main influences of the album's themes.{{cite web | url=https://www.npr.org/sections/we-insist-a-timeline-of-protest-music-in-2020/2020/09/18/914469882/tyler-childers-pushes-back-on-southern-values-and-our-long-violent-history | title=Tyler Childers Pushes Back On Southern Values And Our 'Long, Violent History' | publisher=NPR | date=September 18, 2020 | accessdate=January 18, 2022}}
Critical reception
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that it was "the rare protest album that doesn't need words to shout, and it's all the more powerful because of it."{{cite web | url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/long-violent-history- | title=Long Violent History | publisher=AllMusic | accessdate=January 18, 2021}}
Track listing
All tracks public domain except "Long Violent History", written by Tyler Childers.
- "Send In the Clowns" - 4:08
- "Zollie's Retreat" - 2:25
- "Squirrel Hunter" - 3:59
- "Sludge River Stomp" - 4:38
- "Midnight on the Water" - 4:08
- "Camp Chase" - 3:54
- "Jenny Lynn" - 3:10
- "Bonaparte's Retreat" - 2:46
- "Long Violent History" - 3:10
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| scope="col"| Chart (2020)
! scope="col"| Peak |
|---|
| {{album chart|Billboard200|45|artist=Tyler Childers|rowheader=true}} |
| {{album chart|BillboardCountry|6|artist=Tyler Childers|rowheader=true}} |