| Punch the Big Guy | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | John Stewart |
| Cover: | Punch the Big Guy.jpg |
| Released: | 1987 |
| Genre: | Folk, folk rock |
| Label: | The Ship/Cypress |
| Prev Title: | The Last Campaign |
| Prev Year: | 1985 |
| Next Title: | The Complete Phoenix Concerts |
| Next Year: | 1990 |
Punch the Big Guy is an album by the American musician John Stewart, released in 1987.[1] [2] The album title was suggested by Stewart's son.[3] Stewart supported the album with a North American tour.[4] Punch the Big Guy was a commercial disappointment, selling around 25,000 in its first six months of release.[5]
Recorded in Malibu, Nashville, and Denver (on a Fostex B-16), Stewart spent $50,000 on the sessions.[6] [7] He wrote the album's songs to appeal specifically to baby boomers.[8] Most of the songs deal with societal and personal problems; Stewart decided not to include songs with a lighter tone.[9] He was backed by members of New Grass Revival on several tracks.[10] Rosanne Cash contributed backing vocals on "Angels with Guns" and "Price of the Fire".
The Washington Post wrote that "the songs are doomed by their liberal breast-beating and vacuous mysticism."[11] The Los Angeles Times concluded that "this record is generally so humorless that Stewart often reminds you of a door-to-door proselytizer who won't go away."[12] The Chicago Tribune deemed the album "gentle folk songs with hard-bitten lyrics."[13]
The Advocate opined that "parts of the album have a certain charm, but it's unlikely to provide any excitement for those who haven't kept up with his previous music."[14] The Denver Post labeled Punch the Big Guy "one of the finest folk-rock albums of the 1980s, an overlooked gem of evocative lyrics and striking melodies."[15] The Arizona Republic praised the "odd mixture of '50s/'60s folk, '70s sensibilities and righteous back beat."[16]
AllMusic wrote that "Stewart achieves a genuine merger of the personal, the spiritual, and the political on Punch the Big Guy and wraps it all up in a darkly colored but accessible package."