| Pictures from the Front | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Jon Butcher |
| Cover: | Pictures from the Front.jpg |
| Released: | 1989 |
| Studio: | The Pasha Music House |
| Genre: | Rock, pop |
| Label: | Capitol[1] |
| Producer: | Glen Ballard, Jon Butcher, Spencer Proffer |
| Prev Title: | Wishes |
| Prev Year: | 1987 |
| Next Title: | Positively the Blues |
| Next Year: | 1995 |
Pictures from the Front is an album by the American musician Jon Butcher, released in 1989.[2] [3] It was Butcher's second album fronting the Jon Butcher Group.[4] He supported the album with a North American tour.[5]
The album peaked at No. 121 on the Billboard 200.[6] "Send Me Somebody" peaked at No. 7 on Billboards Album Rock Tracks chart.[7]
Produced by Glen Ballard, Butcher, and Spencer Proffer, the album was recorded in Los Angeles.[8] [9] "Come and Get It" is an instrumental track; "Beating Drum" is about apartheid in South Africa.[10] [11]
The Los Angeles Times wrote that the album shows that "Butcher is capable of conveying honest emotion while turning out a reasonably palatable brand of arena rock."[12] The St. Petersburg Times deemed it "tuneful, if rather bland, guitar-driven rock."[13]
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution determined that the album "continues the music-with-a-message style of Wishes, with guitar-playing that ranges from gently melodic to blistering and lyrics that come from Mr. Butcher's life and his concerns."[4] The Omaha World-Herald thought that "Butcher's biggest stumbling block—his throaty voice—too often crowds out his guitar playing this time out."[14] The Advocate concluded that "Butcher's lyrics are a cut above most other rockers ... his problem is that his musical style falls into that middle ground between grinding hard rock and the pop metal which is now in vogue."[15]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide considered Pictures from the Front to be "a desperate-sounding grab bag."