Liquor Store Blues

"Liquor Store Blues" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars from his debut studio album Doo-Wops & Hooligans (2010), featuring Jamaican artist Damian Marley. It was released as the first promotional single from the record, on September 21, 2010 by Elektra Records. "Liquor Store Blues" is a reggae track with dub influences written by Mars, Phillip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Dwayne Chin-Quee, Mitchum Chin, Marley and Thomas Pentz. It was produced by the former three, under their alias, the Smeezingtons and Chin-Quee. Lyrically, the song addresses a way of avoiding problems by drinking with hope that afterwards everything will be fine.

"Liquor Store Blues"
Promotional single by Bruno Mars featuring Damian Marley
from the album Doo-Wops & Hooligans
Released	September 21, 2010 (2010-09-21)
Genre	Reggae
Length	3:49
Label	Elektra WEG
Songwriter(s)	Bruno Mars Philip Lawrence Ari Levine Dwayne Chin-Quee Mitchum Chin Damian Marley Thomas Pentz
Producer(s)	The Smeezingtons Dwayne "Supa Dups" Chin-Quee
Music video
"Liquor Store Blues" on YouTube

"Liquor Store Blues" received positive reviews from music critics, who praised Marley's appearance but called it a copy of Sublime's style. The song peaked at number 97 on the Canadian Hot 100, number 20 on the Latin Pop Songs and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The music video, directed by Jake Summer, features Mars and Marley singing together with a colorful background and "acid-trip" visual effects. It was nominated for International Video of the Year at the Danish GAFFA Awards. Mars performed "Liquor Store Blues" on The Doo-Wops & Hooligans Tour (2010–2012) and the Hooligans in Wondaland Tour (2011).

Background and release

In an interview with Sound on Sound, Ari Levine said that the team, the Smeezingtons, never met Supa Dups personally and that "Liquor Store Blues" was finished by exchanging files of the song. The latter producer helped finishing the track by providing a dub sound, something the three of them "could just not nail it".^[1] During an interview granted to Vibe, Bruno Mars said that he never met Damian Marley, since the latter did "his part" after a show in Washington. Nevertheless, the singer explained how Marley was guested in the song:

I just wrote the song called "Liquor Store Blues". It had this reggae vibe...when I wrote, I was like, "Man, what if we could just get Damian on this?" So we [the Smeezingtons] made the phone call, and he came in with open arms and destroyed it.^[2]

On September 21, 2010, the song was released as the first promotional single as an iTunes Store-exclusive prior to Doo-Wops & Hooligans album release in October 2010, under Elektra Records.^[3] In the countries outside the United States, such as Germany, it was released under Warner Entertainment Group.^[4]

Composition and production

 

"Liquor Store Blues"

A 21-second sample of the song features Mars singing over a moderate reggae groove.

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Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Liquor Store Blues" is a reggae song with a "melodious boom-box midtempo".^[5][6] It is heavily influenced by dub music and borrowes "heavily from roots reggae".^[7][8][9] It has been compared to Travie McCoy and Mars's previous song "Billionaire" and the music of Sublime, Michael Jackson and Bedouin Soundclash.^[5][10][11] According to the digital sheet music the song was composed in common time and in the key of C# minor with a tempo of 144 beats per minute. Mars's and Marley's vocals range spans from the low note of G3 to the high note of C6.^[12]

The song's lyrics describe feelings of "pain" and "sorrow", using alcohol as a method to flee "bad fortune in an odd foreshadowing of events". In the end, hope is found by "getting messed up today" since on the following day everything will be fine.^[13][14] Tyrone S. Reid from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer said that the record explores addiction "wonderfully, if humorously" through the lyrics "I take one shot for my pain, one drag for my sorrow/Get messed up today, I’ll be okay tomorrow".^[6] Entertainment Weekly's, Brad Wete stated that Mars is about to "drown his sorrows in a tall glass of alcohol".^[14] Rap-Up magazine commented that the recording's lyrics regard "a quick escape from his bad fortune in an odd foreshadowing of events".^[13]

"Liquor Store Blues" was written by Mars, Philip Lawrence, Levine, Dwayne "Supa Dups" Chin-Quee, Mitchum Chin, Marley and Thomas Pentz and produced by the former three, under their alias, the Smeezingtons, and Chin-Quee. The latter was in charge of programming and arranging the drums, which he played. Chin played the guitar, bass, and keys. Levine engineered the song at Levcon Studios in California. The mixing of the track was done at Larrabee Sound Studios in Los Angeles by Manny Marroquin, with Christian Plata and Erik Madrid serving as assistants. It was mastered by Stephen Marcussen at Marcussen Mastering in Hollywood, California.^[15]

Critical reception

"Liquor Store Blues" received positive reviews by music critics. Tyrone S. Reid, considered the song one of the best in the album, "You simply can't get lyrics more droll or brainer than that." The addition of Damian Marley made the track "more alluring".^[6] DJ Gravy praised the fact that the song "has a more authentic yard vibe, thanks to Chiney's Supa Dups".^[10] The Scotsman said that Mars "strikes more of a downer note on simple confessional Liquor Store Blues with Marley providing a veneer of dub reggae credibility."^[16] Kevin Barber from the Consequence of Sound, praised Marley's feature on the song, "In return for all of his generous favors he has given other artists, they give back as well".^[17] When reviewing the album, Tony Clayton-Lea of The Irish Times put the recording on the download list.^[18]

Idolator's writer Robbie Daw had a mixed opinion towards the song, "isn't nearly as infectious as "Just The Way You Are", [but] it should still make for a fairly decent album track".^[19] Andrew Winistorfer of Prefix Magazine criticized the singer, "after conquering the ladies who love weak pop music that is sung by a competent if boring singer, Mars decided to try to carve off a chunk of Sublime's fans". He deemed the track "faux reggae".^[11]

Commercial performance

After being released as a promotional single, "Liquor Store Blues", entered the Canadian Hot 100 at number 97.^[20] Around the same time, it failed to reach the Billboard Hot 100, however it entered the Bubbling Under Hot 100, which acts as an extension of the former chart, peaking at number 105.^[21] On October 22, 2010 the song entered and peaked at number 20 on the US Latin Pop Airplay, spending 7 weeks on the former chart.^[22] "Liquor Store Blues" was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).^[23] It also peaked at number 74 on the Romanian Top 100.^[24]

Music video

Synopsis

 

Mars and Marley in a shot from the music video.

The music video was directed by Jack Summer, and was premiered exclusive on March 3, 2011 for members of Mars's official website.^[25][26] The video features Bruno Mars and Damian Marley singing together in a psychedelic room with a colorful background and "acid-trip" visual effects.^[27][28] Thorough the clip "plumes of smoke" emerge in the screen in every direction with Marley "rapping about being "high as Superman" and shouting out pineapple kush", while Mars is upset about something.^[14][27] They both drown "their sorrows in the colorful visuals".^[27]

Reception

The video has been described as "psychedelic" and as an anthem to marijuana, rather than one about drunkenness.^[11][14][27] Brad Wete for Entertainment Weekly explained that Mars was "ready to drown his sorrows in a tall glass of alcohol" and tipped "find out what concoction Mars and Marley are whipping up" by watching the clip.^[14] Prefix Magazine's Andrew Winistorfer gave the video a harsh critic, he wrote that the smoke was not the only featured in the video as anyone "get to see Damian Marley sell out in real time". He furthered that Damian, "might as well be in McDonald's commercials".^[11] In 2011, the video was nominated for International Video of the Year at the Danish GAFFA Awards.^[29]

Live performances and other media

Mars performed "Liquor Store Blues" on The Doo-Wops & Hooligans Tour (2010–2012) as the ninth track on the setlist.^[30] An extended version of the song was performed as the tenth track during the Hooligans in Wondaland Tour (2011).^[31][32] During the 2016 Grammy Awards, Mars had a flask engraved with the lyrics, "One shot for my pain, one drag for my sorrow" from the song.^[33] In 2020, American singer-songwriter Raiche covered "Liquor Store Blues" as part of the tenth anniversary of Mars's debut album.^[34]

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Doo-Wops & Hooligans.^[15]

Personnel

Bruno Mars – lead vocals, songwriting Philip Lawrence – songwriting Ari Levine – songwriting, engineer The Smeezingtons – production Damian Marley – rapping, songwriting Dwayne "Supa Dups" Chin-Quee – production, songwriting, drums programming and arranging

Thomas Pentz – songwriting Mitchum "Khan" Chin – songwriting, guitar, bass, keys Manny Marroquin – mixing Erik Madrid – mixing assistant Christian Plata – mixing assistant Stephen Marcussen – mastering

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart performance for "Liquor Store Blues" Chart (2010) Peak position Canada (Canadian Hot 100)^[20] 97 Romania (Romanian Top 100)^[24] 74 US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)^[21] 5 US Digital Song Sales (Billboard)^[35] 68 US Latin Pop Airplay (Billboard)^[22] 20

Certifications Certifications for "Liquor Store Blues" Region Certification Certified units/sales United States (RIAA)^[23] Gold 500,000^‡ ^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Tingen, Paul (June 2011). . Sound on Sound. Archived from the original on April 29, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
2. Hope, Clover (October 4, 2010). Vibe. Archived from the original on July 9, 2015. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
3. (Press release). Marketwire. September 22, 2010. Archived from the original on August 3, 2017. Retrieved September 22, 2010.
4. . iTunes. Archived from the original on June 19, 2014.
5. Wheeler, Brad (October 1, 2010). . The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on October 18, 2010. Retrieved October 16, 2010.
6. S. Reid, Tyrone (April 26, 2011). . Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
7. Mervis, Scott (October 7, 2010). . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on October 11, 2011. Retrieved October 16, 2010.
8. Capobianco, Ken (October 25, 2010). . The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on December 29, 2010. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
9. Caramanica, Jon (October 5, 2010). . The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
10. Gravy, DJ. . LargeUp. Archived from the original on August 26, 2016. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
11. Winistorfer, Andrew (March 4, 2011). . Prefix Magazine. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
12. . Musicnotes. Archived from the original on August 10, 2016. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
13. . Rap-Up. September 21, 2010. Archived from the original on August 10, 2016. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
14. Wete, Brad (March 4, 2011). . Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 26, 2016. Retrieved June 19, 2010.
15. Doo-Wops & Hooligans (CD booklet). United States: Elektra Entertainment Group. 2010. 2-525393.
16. "Album review: Bruno Mars, Doo-Wops & Hooligans". The Scotsman. January 14, 2011. from the original on January 16, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
17. Barber, Kevin (December 3, 2010). . Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on February 9, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
18. Clayton-Lea, Tony (January 21, 2011). "Bruno Mars - Doo-wops and Hooligans Elektra". The Irish Times. from the original on May 11, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
19. Daw, Robbie (September 21, 2010). "Bruno Mars Gets Messed Up With Damian Marley On "Liquor Store Blues"". Idolator. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
20. "Bruno Mars Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
21. "Bruno Mars Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
22. "Bruno Mars Chart History (Latin Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
23. "American single certifications – Bruno Mars – Liquor Store Blues". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
24. "Romanian Top 100 03.07.2011 – 10.10.2011". Kiss FM. from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2011. Note: User may scroll down the 'Podcasturi' menu to play or download the respective podcast.
25. "Liquor Store Blues". United States: MTV Music. Archived from the original on January 29, 2013. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
26. . Bruno Mars official website. March 2, 2011. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
27. . Rap-Up. March 3, 2011. Archived from the original on August 8, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
28. Fresh, Mikey (March 4, 2011). . Vibe. Archived from the original on August 27, 2016. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
29. Steen Vejrup, Morten (November 29, 2011). "De nominerede til GAFFA-Prisen 2011 er..." (in Danish). Gaffa. from the original on January 22, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
30. Frith, Holly (August 17, 2011). . Gigwise. Archived from the original on April 24, 2016. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
31. Gray, Chris (May 19, 2011). "Last Night: Bruno Mars & Janelle Monae At Reliant Arena". Houston Press. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
32. Kivel, Matthew (June 13, 2011). "Bruno Mars". Variety. from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
33. Fisher, Kendall (February 16, 2016). . E! Online. Archived from the original on February 18, 2016. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
34. "Raiche - Liquor Store Blues (Bruno Mars Cover) - 10th Anniversary 'Doo-Wops & Hooligans'". YouTube. November 20, 2020. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
35. "Bruno Mars Chart History (Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved May 28, 2022.