Benjamin Booker (album)

Benjamin Booker
Studio album by Benjamin Booker
Released 9 August 2014 (2014-08-09)
Recorded The Bomb Shelter, Nashville, December 2013
Genre
Length 44:20
Label
Producer Andrija Tokic
Singles from Benjamin Booker
  1. "Violent Shiver"
    Released: 8 April 2014

Benjamin Booker is the self-titled 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]
NME8/10[7]
The Guardian[8]
musicOMH[9]
DIY8/10[10]
Clash Music7/10[11]
Rolling Stone[12]
Uncut7/10
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]

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

  1. ↑ "STORE - Benjamin Booker". Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  2. ↑ "The Bomb Shelter's Andrija Tokic on Home Recording and Upcoming Projects". Paste (magazine). Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  3. ↑ "wordfrom Benjamin Booker". Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  4. ↑ "Benjamin Booker: Explosive Debut for a Newcomer With an Old Soul". Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Reviews for Benjamin Booker". Metacritic. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  6. ↑ "Benjamin Booker - Benjamin Booker". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  7. ↑ "NME Reviews - Benjamin Booker - 'Benjamin Booker'". NME. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  8. ↑ "Benjamin Booker: Benjamin Booker review – fiery blues-rock". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  9. ↑ "Benjamin Booker – Benjamin Booker". musicOMH. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  10. ↑ "BENJAMIN BOOKER - BENJAMIN BOOKER". DIY. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  11. ↑ "Benjamin Booker - Benjamin Booker An electrifying introduction to the future of the blues...". Clash (magazine). Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  12. ↑ "Benjamin Booker Benjamin Booker Album Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  13. ↑ "Benjamin Booker review – self-titled pugnacious punk blues". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  14. ↑ "Benjamin Booker: Benjamin Booker". American Songwriter. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  15. ↑ "Benjamin Booker - Benjamin Booker album credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  16. ↑ "BENJAMIN BOOKER - BENJAMIN BOOKER" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  17. ↑ "BENJAMIN BOOKER - BENJAMIN BOOKER" (in French). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
  18. ↑ "BENJAMIN BOOKER - BENJAMIN BOOKER" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
  19. ↑ "Benjamin Booker Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. June 27, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  20. ↑ "Benjamin Booker Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  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. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
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