Benjamin Booker (album)
| Benjamin Booker | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Studio album by Benjamin Booker | ||
| Released | 9 August 2014 | |
| Recorded | The Bomb Shelter, Nashville, December 2013 | |
| Genre | ||
| Length | 44:20 | |
| Label | ||
| Producer | Andrija Tokic | |
| Singles from Benjamin Booker | ||
|
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Benjamin Booker is the self-titled debut album by American musician Benjamin Booker. It was released on 9 August 2014.[1]
Recording and production
The album was recorded in December 2013 in engineer/producer Andrija Tokic’s all-analog Bomb Shelter in East Nashville, Andrija Tokic who has produced recordings for Hurray for the Riff Raff and Alabama Shakes. The Bomb shelter was recommend to Booker as a place to record his album by Alynda Lee Segarra of Hurray for the Riff Raff and by Sam Doores of The Deslondes.[2] Booker chooses the bomb shelter as a place to recorded his album because he wanted to record the album analog as he stated in an interview: "
| “ | I wanted to do the record analog, not digital. So we went to The Bomb Shelter, a studio that is totally analog and where other bands from our label, Alabama Shakes and Hurray For The Riff Raff, recorded their album. I knew the guy there was good… and analog was important to me. If you want to put out an album on vinyl, you might as well do it right."[3] | ” |
Booker arrived for the recording of the album with his only band mate max Norton. The recording of the album was done using a RCA overhead on Norton’s kit, a Neumann U 87 on kick, and a Shure 57 on snare. Booker’s vocal chain usually included a Neumann U 67 with an Altec tube preamp and a UA 175 compressor, recording was often done with other instruments such as Sennheiser 441, in rotation to the main instruments used. the main guitars used for recording were 60s hollow-body Super Lynx Deluxe Vox, and an ’80s Ibanez Matsumoku Roadster. After recording started Tokic started bring in bass players and keyboardists to "flesh out recordings".[4] The album was mixed on Tokic's MCI JH600 console.
Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 81/100[5] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| NME | 8/10[7] |
| The Guardian | [8] |
| musicOMH | [9] |
| DIY | 8/10[10] |
| Clash Music | 7/10[11] |
| Rolling Stone |  [12] |
| Uncut | 7/10 |
| The Observer | [13] |
| American Songwriter | [14] |
Upon its release Benjamin Booker's self-titled album Benjamin Booker received critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 81, based on 15 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".[5]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Violent Shiver" | 2:46 |
| 2. | "Always Waiting" | 2:19 |
| 3. | "Chippewa" | 3:14 |
| 4. | "Slow Coming" | 4:31 |
| 5. | "Wicked Waters" | 3:27 |
| 6. | "Have You Seen My Son" | 5:07 |
| 7. | "Spoon Out My Eyeballs" | 3:03 |
| 8. | "Happy Homes" | 4:34 |
| 9. | "I Thought I Heard You Screaming" | 3:04 |
| 10. | "Old Hearts" | 2:50 |
| 11. | "Kids Never Grow Older" | 5:35 |
| 12. | "By the Evening" | 3:50 |
Personnel
Credits adapted from AllMusic.[15]
- John Baldwin – mastering
- Benjamin Booker – bass, composer, guitar, primary artist, vocals
- Jem Cohen – bass, vocals (background)
- Eduardo Duquesne – bass, vocals (background)
- Mitch Jones – organ
- Rob Jones – design
- Peter Keys – Fender Rhodes, organ
- Max Norton – drums, photography
- Andrija Tokic – engineer, mixing, producer
- Ben Trimble – bass, mellotron
Charts
| Chart (2014) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[16] | 187 |
| Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[17] | 59 |
| Dutch Albums Chart[18] | 80 |
| US Billboard 200[19] | 46 |
| US Alternative Albums[20] | 10 |
| US Rock Albums[21] | 15 |
| Tastemaker Albums[22] | 10 |
| Independent Albums[23] | 7 |
| Top Album Sales[24] | 46 |
References
- ↑ "STORE - Benjamin Booker". Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- ↑ "The Bomb Shelter's Andrija Tokic on Home Recording and Upcoming Projects". Paste (magazine). Retrieved 9 October 2015.
- ↑ "wordfrom Benjamin Booker". Retrieved 9 October 2015.
- ↑ "Benjamin Booker: Explosive Debut for a Newcomer With an Old Soul". Retrieved 9 October 2015.
- 1 2 "Reviews for Benjamin Booker". Metacritic. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- ↑ "Benjamin Booker - Benjamin Booker". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- ↑ "NME Reviews - Benjamin Booker - 'Benjamin Booker'". NME. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- ↑ "Benjamin Booker: Benjamin Booker review – fiery blues-rock". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- ↑ "Benjamin Booker – Benjamin Booker". musicOMH. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- ↑ "BENJAMIN BOOKER - BENJAMIN BOOKER". DIY. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- ↑ "Benjamin Booker - Benjamin Booker An electrifying introduction to the future of the blues...". Clash (magazine). Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- ↑ "Benjamin Booker Benjamin Booker Album Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- ↑ "Benjamin Booker review – self-titled pugnacious punk blues". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- ↑ "Benjamin Booker: Benjamin Booker". American Songwriter. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- ↑ "Benjamin Booker - Benjamin Booker album credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
- ↑ "BENJAMIN BOOKER - BENJAMIN BOOKER" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- ↑ "BENJAMIN BOOKER - BENJAMIN BOOKER" (in French). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
- ↑ "BENJAMIN BOOKER - BENJAMIN BOOKER" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
- ↑ "Benjamin Booker Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. June 27, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
- ↑ "Benjamin Booker Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- ↑ "Benjamin Booker Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- ↑ "Benjamin Booker Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- ↑ "Benjamin Booker Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- ↑ "Benjamin Booker Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 8 October 2015.