Benjamin Booker (album)

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]

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

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.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.[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, organ, mandolin, 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
  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. "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. 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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