Leon Russell and the Shelter People
Encyclopedia
Leon Russell and The Shelter People is an album by singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Leon Russell
, released in 1971. It peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 200
.
on a pop recording. Russell called in engineer Terry Manning
, who had just studied this early commercial synthesis under inventor Robert Moog
in Trumansburg, NY., to introduce him to this new technology. The song was covered by Filipino
hard rock/blues band, the Juan de la Cruz Band
on the album Up in Arms in 1971. "Alcatraz" was covered by British rock band Nazareth
on their album Razamanaz
in 1973.
is an introspective piece which holds up a little better from a songwriting standpoint, but this album does a better job at bearing his proficiency as a well-rounded musician." Critic Robert Christgau
wrote "Russell knows how to put music together, but he still has trouble putting it across. His Okie-cum-Brooklyn (ersatz Nworleans?) drawl is the outcry of a confused homeboy driven to fuse rootsy eccentricities with masscult shtick and flash, and his meaningfulness clarifies nothing."
Production notes:
Leon Russell
Claude Russell Bridges , known professionally as Leon Russell, is an American musician and songwriter, who has recorded as a session musician, sideman, and maintained a solo career in music....
, released in 1971. It peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
.
History
The song "Stranger in a Strange Land" contains one of the early uses of the Moog synthesizerMoog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
on a pop recording. Russell called in engineer Terry Manning
Terry Manning
Terry Manning is a music producer, songwriter, photographer and recording engineer known for work in rock, rhythm and blues, and pop music genres....
, who had just studied this early commercial synthesis under inventor Robert Moog
Robert Moog
Robert Arthur Moog , commonly called Bob Moog was an American pioneer of electronic music, best known as the inventor of the Moog synthesizer.-Life:...
in Trumansburg, NY., to introduce him to this new technology. The song was covered by Filipino
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
hard rock/blues band, the Juan de la Cruz Band
Juan de la Cruz Band
The Juan de la Cruz Band was a Filipino rock band formed in 1968. In December 1970, the band was featured in the first open field rock festival in the Philippines, the Antipolo Rock Festival. The band's popularity gained momentum in September 1971 when it backed up the production of Jesus Christ...
on the album Up in Arms in 1971. "Alcatraz" was covered by British rock band Nazareth
Nazareth (band)
Nazareth is a Scottish hard rock band, founded in 1968, that had several hits in the UK in the early 1970s, and established an international audience with their 1975 album Hair of the Dog. Perhaps their best-known hit single was a cover of the ballad "Love Hurts", in 1975...
on their album Razamanaz
Razamanaz
-30th Anniversary Bonus Tracks:* The remastered CD added three bonus tracks and extensive liner-notes:* The master tapes for tracks 10 and 11 could not be located and here were 'cleaned up' from vinyl.-Salvo Records Remaster Bonus Tracks:...
in 1973.
Reception
In his Allmusic review, critic Mike DeGagne called "The Ballad of Mad Dogs and Englishmen" the highlight of the album and wrote "On the whole, Leon Russell and the Shelter People is an entertaining and more importantly, revealing exposition of Russell's music when he was in his prime. ... CarneyCarney (Leon Russell album)
Carney is Leon Russell's third solo studio album, released in 1972. It peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 200 and was the first for Russell to contain a hit single—"Tightrope" b/w ""This Masquerade"—which reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.-Reception:In his Allmusic review,...
is an introspective piece which holds up a little better from a songwriting standpoint, but this album does a better job at bearing his proficiency as a well-rounded musician." Critic Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
wrote "Russell knows how to put music together, but he still has trouble putting it across. His Okie-cum-Brooklyn (ersatz Nworleans?) drawl is the outcry of a confused homeboy driven to fuse rootsy eccentricities with masscult shtick and flash, and his meaningfulness clarifies nothing."
Track listing
All tracks composed by Leon Russell; except where indicated- "Stranger In a Strange Land" (Russell, Don PrestonDon Preston (guitarist)Don Preston is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He recorded in the 1970s with Leon Russell on Leon Russell and the Shelter People and other albums, and with Joe Cocker on Mad Dogs and Englishmen...
) – 4:01 - "Of Thee I Sing" (Russell, Don Preston) – 4:22
- "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna FallA Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall"A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" is a song written by Bob Dylan in the summer of 1962. It was first recorded in Columbia Records' Studio A on 6 December 1962 for his second album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. The lyric structure is based on the question and answer form of the traditional ballad "Lord...
" (Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
) – 5:08 - "Crystal Closet Queen" – 2:59
- "Home Sweet Oklahoma" – 3:26
- "Alcatraz" – 3:51
- "Ballad of Mad Dogs and Englishmen" – 3:51
- "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to CryIt Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry"It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" is a song written by Bob Dylan that was originally released on his seminal album Highway 61 Revisited, and also included on the compilation album Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits 2 that was released in Europe. An alternate version of the song appears on...
" (Dylan) – 4:00 - "She Smiles Like A River" – 2:58
- "Sweet Emily" – 3:20
- "Beware of Darkness" (George HarrisonGeorge HarrisonGeorge Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
) – 4:40- The CD re-issue contains the following bonus tracks:
- "It's All Over Now, Baby BlueIt's All Over Now, Baby Blue"It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan and featured on his Bringing It All Back Home album, released on March 22, 1965 by Columbia Records . The song was originally recorded on January 15, 1965 with Dylan's acoustic guitar and harmonica and William E. Lee's bass...
" (Dylan) - 3:38 - "Love Minus Zero/No LimitLove Minus Zero/No Limit"Love Minus Zero/No Limit" is a song written by Bob Dylan for his fifth studio album Bringing It All Back Home, released in 1965 . The song was originally written as a tribute to Dylan's future wife Sara Lowndes...
" (Dylan) - 3:19 - "She Belongs to MeShe Belongs to Me"She Belongs to Me" is a song by Bob Dylan, and was first released as the second track on his 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home. It was one of the first anti-love songs and one of Dylan's first of many songs that describe a "witchy woman"...
" (Dylan) - 3:26
Personnel
- Leon Russell – vocals, guitar, piano, organ
- Jesse Ed DavisJesse Ed DavisJesse Edwin Davis was an American guitarist. He was well regarded as a session artist. His death in 1988 is attributed to a drug overdose.-Biography:...
– guitar - Claudia LennearClaudia LennearClaudia Lennear is an American soul singer who has worked with many acts including Ike and Tina Turner, Humble Pie and Joe Cocker. She recorded a solo album entitled Phew! in 1973.She was part of a trio of backup singers for Delaney and Bonnie, that also included Rita Coolidge...
– vocals - Jim Price – organ
- Jim KeltnerJim KeltnerJames Lee "Jim" Keltner is an American drummer known primarily for his session work. He has contributed to the work of many well-known artists...
– drums - Jim GordonJim Gordon (musician)James Beck "Jim" Gordon is an American recording artist, musician and songwriter. The Grammy Award winner was one of the most requested session drummers in the late 1960s and 1970s, recording albums with many well-known musicians of the time, and was the drummer in the blues-rock supergroup Derek...
– drums - Barry BeckettBarry BeckettBarry Edward Beckett was a keyboardist who worked as a session musician with several notable artists on their studio albums...
– organ - Chuck Blackwell – drums
- Joey Cooper – guitar, vocals
- John Gallie – organ
- Roger HawkinsRoger HawkinsRoger G Hawkins , is an American drummer best known for playing as part of the studio backing band known as The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section of Alabama...
– drums - David HoodDavid HoodDavid Hood , is a bassist from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. He also plays the trombone and is a member of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame....
– bass - Jimmy JohnsonJimmy Johnson (musician)Jimmy Johnson is an American a member of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section that was attached to FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama for a period in the 1960s and 1970s, and later was the a founder of Muscle Shoals Sound Studio located at first on 3614 Jackson Highway in Sheffield, Alabama and at...
– guitar - Kathi McDonald – vocals
- Don PrestonDon PrestonDonald Ward Preston also known as Dom DeWilde or Biff Debrie born September 21, 1932 in Flint, Michigan. Preston is an American jazz and rock and roll musician.-Biography:Preston was born into a family of musicians and began studying music at an early age...
– guitar, vocals - Carl RadleCarl RadleCarl Dean Radle was a bass guitarist who toured and recorded with many of the most influential recording artists of the late 1960s and 1970s...
– bass - Chris StaintonChris StaintonChristopher "Chris" Stainton is an English session musician, keyboard player and songwriter, who first gained recognition with Joe Cocker in the late 1960s...
– guitar
Production notes:
- Leon RussellLeon RussellClaude Russell Bridges , known professionally as Leon Russell, is an American musician and songwriter, who has recorded as a session musician, sideman, and maintained a solo career in music....
– producer - Denny CordellDenny CordellDenny Cordell was an English record producer. He is notable for his late 1960s and early 1970s productions of hit singles for The Moody Blues, The Move, Procol Harum and Joe Cocker.-Career:...
– producer - Glyn JohnsGlyn JohnsGlyn Johns is a musician, recording engineer and record producer.-Career:He has worked with such artists as Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Easybeats, The Band, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Eagles, Eric Clapton, The Clash, The Steve Miller Band, Small Faces, Spooky Tooth, The Ozark...
– engineer - Andy JohnsAndy JohnsAndy Johns is an engineer and producer who worked on well-known rock albums such as Led Zeppelin's IV and The Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street. His sound is exemplified by Free's album Highway, which he engineered and produced....
– engineer - Nick DeCaro – string arrangements
Chart positions
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
17 |