Benjamin Booker (album)

Benjamin Booker
Studio album by
Benjamin Booker
Released9 August 2014 (2014-08-09)
RecordedThe Bomb Shelter, Nashville, December 2013
Genre
Length44:20
Label
ProducerAndrija Tokic
Benjamin Booker chronology
Benjamin Booker
(2014) 		Witness
(2017)
Singles from Benjamin Booker
  1. "Violent Shiver"
    Released: 8 April 2014

Benjamin Booker is the debut studio album by American musician Benjamin Booker. It was released on 9 August 2014 by ATO Records and Rough Trade Records.[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 chose The Bomb Shelter as the place to record his album, as he wanted to record the album in analog like 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, from Tampa, FL. 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
SourceRating
Metacritic81/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
American Songwriter[7]
Clash7/10[8]
DIY8/10[9]
The Guardian[10]
musicOMH[11]
NME8/10[12]
The Observer[13]
Rolling Stone[14]
Uncut7/10[15]

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

All tracks are written by Benjamin Booker.

No.TitleLength
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.[16]

  • 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, organ, mandolin, photography
  • Andrija Tokic – engineer, mixing, producer
  • Ben Trimble – bass, mellotron

Charts

Chart (2014) Peak
position
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[17] 187
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[18] 59
Dutch Albums Chart[19] 80
US Billboard 200[20] 46
US Alternative Albums[21] 10
US Rock Albums[22] 15
Tastemaker Albums[23] 10
Independent Albums[24] 7
Top Album Sales[25] 46

References

  1. ^ "STORE - Benjamin Booker". Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  2. ^ "The Bomb Shelter's Andrija Tokic on Home Recording and Upcoming Projects". Paste. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  3. ^ "wordfrom Benjamin Booker". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  4. ^ "Benjamin Booker: Explosive Debut for a Newcomer With an Old Soul". Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Reviews for Benjamin Booker". Metacritic. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  6. ^ "Benjamin Booker - Benjamin Booker". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  7. ^ "Benjamin Booker: Benjamin Booker". American Songwriter. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  8. ^ "Benjamin Booker - Benjamin Booker An electrifying introduction to the future of the blues..." Clash. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  9. ^ "BENJAMIN BOOKER - BENJAMIN BOOKER". DIY. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  10. ^ "Benjamin Booker: Benjamin Booker review – fiery blues-rock". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  11. ^ "Benjamin Booker – Benjamin Booker". musicOMH. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  12. ^ "NME Reviews - Benjamin Booker - 'Benjamin Booker'". NME. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  13. ^ "Benjamin Booker review – self-titled pugnacious punk blues". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  14. ^ "Benjamin Booker Benjamin Booker Album Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  15. ^ There's artifice in Booker's make-up but the troubled, strutting loner, serving sizzling sides of electrified psyched-swamp blues, is a role he inhabits with conviction and aplomb. [Sep 2014, p.69]
  16. ^ "Benjamin Booker - Benjamin Booker album credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  17. ^ "BENJAMIN BOOKER - BENJAMIN BOOKER" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  18. ^ "BENJAMIN BOOKER - BENJAMIN BOOKER" (in French). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
  19. ^ "BENJAMIN BOOKER - BENJAMIN BOOKER" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
  20. ^ "Benjamin Booker Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. June 27, 2012. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  21. ^ "Benjamin Booker Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  22. ^ "Benjamin Booker Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  23. ^ "Benjamin Booker Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  24. ^ "Benjamin Booker Chart History". Billboard. Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  25. ^ "Benjamin Booker Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
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