One Eyed Man is the second studio album by Australian musician Mark Seymour. The album was released in March 2001 and peaked at number 67 on the ARIA Charts. Seymour said the album's title was inspired by an incident during a 1998 Hunters and Collectors tour when he was mugged in Sydney's Kings Cross nightclub precinct by a group led by a man with one eye.Michael Dwyer, "Eyes Wide Open", The Age, 13 July 2001, page 6. He said the album marked a break from the "Hunters hangover" evident on his solo debut, King Without a Clue.
At the ARIA Music Awards of 2001, the album won the award for Best Adult Contemporary Album."Dance music steps up with Avalanches' win", The Age, 4 October 2001, pg 3.
Reception The album received positive reviews, with some noting similarities with the sound of Crowded House.Herald Sun, 15 March 2001, page 52.Sunday Herald Sun, 11 March 2001, pg 76.The Australian, 17 March 2001, "The second solo album from Mark Seymour, one of the most influential front men of Australian rock, further casts off the shadow of Hunters and Collectors, and moves him closer style-wise, oddly enough, to the musical musings of his brother Nick's old band, Crowded House. Seymour seems to be in a House-Beatlesque period, using lots of strings and melodious arrangements that ooze class and put him squarely in radio-friendly territory, something he once virtually eschewed with the tough, at times experimental, strains of H&C."CD of the week, The Age, 5 April 2001, page 26. A profile of Seymour in the Sydney Morning Herald also observed a Crowded House connection, claiming the album contained "the poppiest songs he's written",Bernard Zuel, "Charms Around Me", Sydney Morning Herald, 17 March 2001, page 13, "Seymour has unashamedly grafted himself on to Finn's style. Blue Morning and Lost In Your Illusion could be rejects from the final Crowded House album, Together Alone. Strange Little Town is a step-by-step Finn ballad and Sad Songs is a scarily accurate (though overplayed) pastiche. These are the poppiest songs he's written and some, such as Supagirl, even float with uncharacteristic lightness." while Iain Sheddon in The Australian described One Eyed Man as a "polished, cleverly constructed album of strong pop songs that has cast him in the same light as his brother Nick's former band, Crowded House".Iain Sheddon, "Hunters' former frontman goes his own sweet way", The Australian, 13 July 2001, pg 11.
Track listing
Personnel Mark Seymour – Vocals, rhythm guitar Mazz – drums, percussion Tony Floyd – drums Diamond Jim Kempster – bass guitars Rod Davies – keyboards, backing vocals Daniel Denholm – Korg, Hammond organ, string arrangement Cameron McKenzie – acoustic guitar Helen Mountfort – string arrangement, cello Hope Csutoros – violin Jenny Thomas – violin Tim Henwood – electric guitar Bruce Haymes – Wurlitzer Domenique Guiebois – violin Rachel Whealy – cello Michelle Rose – viola Veronique Serret – violin Chryss Plummer – backing vocal Andrew Carswell – tin whistle Nick Batterham – electric guitar Jack Howard – trumpet Barry Palmer – lead guitar Tim Neil – Hammond organ
Charts + Chart performance for One Eyed Man Chart (2001) Peakposition Australian Albums (ARIA) 68
Release history + Release history and formats for One Eyed Man Country Date Format Label Catalogue Australia March 2001 CD Mushroom 333432
References