The Black Heart Procession: Amore Del Tropico 2002

 

Pall Jenkins formed The Black Heart Procession in 1997 with Tobias Nathaniel, who had previously collaborated with him on Three Mile Pilot. The duo released six albums over the span of eleven years

and achieved a degree of critical acclaim and recognition for their work. In 2006, Jenkins formed Mr. Tube and the Flying Objects with bass player and trumpeter Brad Lee. In 2010, a reunited Three Mile Pilot released The Inevitable Past Is the Future Forgotten, an album that was five years in the making. Formed in late 1997 in San Diego, the Black Heart Procession have been described as beautifully bleak and brooding indie rock with a dark side.
                                      

Lyrically touching on the melancholy side of human nature, the five-piece band is appropriately named given its themes of isolation, depression, and heartache. The core members of Pall Jenkins and Tobias

Nathaniel (Three Mile Pilot) also collaborate on-stage and in the studio with various musicians whose instruments include guitar, piano, percussion, and even saw. This uniqueness led to a 1998 record deal with Cargo Records, which released their first album, "1". The Black Heart Procession then toured the United States and Europe with A Minor Forest, and the group's follow-up, "2", was released through Touch & Go Records in 1999.
                                             

The final piece to the trilogy, "3", arrived in 2000. Joe Plummer (the Magic Magicians, Modest Mouse)

and violinist Matt Resovich (the Album Leaf) were added to the Black Heart Procession lineup for the recording of the group's fourth effort, 2002's "Amore del Tropico".
                                   

This cinematic songbook of love and deception was an exploration of lounge and blues, making it an

epic set for the band. Two years later, the Black Heart Procession scaled back their usual sinister presentation for In the Fishtank, Vol. 11, a co-release with Dutch prog rockers Solbakken for KonKurrent's celebrated album series.
                              

Bassist Jimmy LaValle, who also plays with the Album Leaf, joined in 2005; the dramatic, torrid love

affair that is The Spell followed in May 2006. The haunting set was recorded and produced at the Black Heart Procession's own SDRL studio in their hometown of San Diego. The group hit a lull as members pursued their other projects. After three years, in 2009, the band released Six. "Blood Bunny/Black Rabbit", a mini-album of prodominantly remixed material followed a year later.
                                   

In 2013 the band went on indefinite hiatus, with Jenkins citing the toil of "years of touring and traveling

and focusing on music" as the impetus. In 2017 the group came out of hibernation and embarked on a European and North American tour, in support of the deluxe reissue of their eponymous 1998 debut album.
                             

Amore del Tropico is the fourth studio album by the American indie rock band The Black Heart Procession. It was released on October 8, 2002, on Touch and Go Records. The Black Heart Procession

took a chapter out of the Nick Cave book of cool for their fourth album, "Amore del Tropico". It's a sultry, mystical book of romance. The crime of love is the culprit in this murder mystery and the Black Heart Procession mix a tantalizing session of lounge and blues aesthetics, dark guitars, and lush string arrangements. It's an epic move for this Californian foursome -- the concept is brilliant and musically the Black Heart Procession are sonically at their best.
                      

PALL  JENKINS

"Amore del Tropico" starts off with the ten-second orchestration titled "The End of Love." The

cinematic approach taken from the beginning sets the scene; "Tropics of Love" and "Why I Stay" shimmy with a Cuban edge. Vocalist Paulo Zappoli croons with a sexy flair while sifting through a world without heart. Steps are retraced on the sinister storm of "The Waiter #4," while "Did You Wonder" spirals around megalomania and Tobias Nathaniel's pinch-hitting guitar work.
                        

As the album draws to a close, elements of discovery are more apparent. "Before the People" presents

the suspects while muted vocal distortions of "Fingerprints" linger around eerie violins. In the end, the soul who was searching for an answer falls to fate. However, the Black Heart Procession believe in the light on the other side and the countrified haze of "The One Who Has Disappeared" is an obvious reason why. Amore del Tropico gives the gift of love's bruised heart.
                                

The mystery of love's pain is never really solved and that's the beauty of this record. In the many years

and albums, the band's line-up has expanded and contracted, but at its heart and soul remains Jenkins and Nathaniel, creating timeless, heart-wrenching classic dirges  that are adventurous, eclectic stories.
[By MacKenzie Wilson]
                                      

The Black Heart Procession – Amore Del Tropico
Label: Touch And Go – tg232cd
Format:    CD, Album
Country: Europe
Released: Oct 8, 2002
Genre: Rock
Style: Indie Rock

TRACKS

01. The End Of Love    0:12
02. Tropics Of Love    4:56
03. Broken World    4:33
04. Why I Stay    3:30
05. The Invitation    3:55
06. Did You Wonder    2:54
07. A Sign On The Road    3:49
08. Sympathy Crime    4:24
09. The Visitor    5:03
10. The Waiter #4    3:32
11. A Cry For Love    6:12
12. Before The People    2:53
13. Only One Way    3:11
14. Fingerprints    2:57
15. The One Who Has Disappeared    3:33

CREDITS

Guitars, Vocals - Pall Jenkins
Acoustic Guitar – Matt Parker (tracks: 3)    
Backing Vocals – Arabella Makalani (tracks: 2, 8, 11, 14), Liz Janes (tracks: 2, 8, 11, 14), Liz Schier (tracks: 14), Susanna Waiche (tracks: 2, 8, 11, 14), Traci Wooley (tracks: 5, 14)
Bass – Matt Parker (tracks: 6, 8, 9, 13)
Cello – Charles Curtis (tracks: 1, 2, 10, 11), Joyce Rooks (tracks: 7)
Double Bass [Upright] – Jim Austin (tracks: 1, 2, 11)
Drums, Xylophone, Percussion – Joe Plummer   
Guitar [Lapsteel] – Matt Parker (tracks: 7, 9)
Guitar, Synthesizer, Organ, Percussion, Saw, Vocals – Paulo Zappoli    
Performer – Dmitri Dziensuwski
Piano, Guitar, Bass, Organ, Organ [Optigan], Percussion – Tobias Nathaniel
Producer, Recorded By, Mixed By – The Black Heart Procession
Recorded By [Grand Piano] – Ben Moore (tracks: 2, 6, 8, 9)
Trumpet – Jason Crane (tracks: 11)
Violin – Matt Resovich (tracks: 1, 2, 7, 11, 14)

PALL JENKINS ART WORK (Visit Here)

                              

A CRY FOR LOVE LYRICS

 
       

Love, not our love
Love it isn't supposed to be this way
Now love is a poison ring
And love has poured you drinks
Now love waits for you to sleep
Don't you lend it to a friend
'cause you may never see that friend again
But don't you bother with a cover 'cause love can
Pick out the fakes
But that's not our love
Not our love
Not our love
This crime of love

Love it isn't supposed to be this way
Love will sting and love will burn
Love will steal all you've learned
Yes it will but not our love
Sometimes in your back
And sometimes in your heart you'll never know
It's a double edged sword
Don't you bother with a cover
'cause in a crowd love can pick out the fakes
But that's not our love
Not our love
Not our love
Not our love
Not our love
Looove

                         

(and the girls sing along) do you hear this cry for
Love
Do you see this crime of love
Love waits for you to sleep
Don't lend it to a friend
You can easily pick out the fakes
Don't you see this crime of love
This crime of love holds you here
Sting burn steal learn
Don't turn your back on my heart
You can easily pick out the fakes

MP3 @ 320 Size: 129 MB
Flac  Size: 355 MB