Shake the world

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Shake the world
Black Swan studio album

Publication
(s)

February 14, 2020

admission

2019

Label (s) Frontiers Records

Format (s)

LP , CD , streaming, download

Genre (s)

Rock music , hard rock

Title (number)

11

running time

57:09

occupation

production

Jeff Pilson

Studio (s)

Pilsound Studio, Santa Clarita

Shake the World is the title of the debut album by the supergroup Black Swan , released on February 14, 2020 .

background

The idea to found the band arose during a conversation between Jeff Pilson and Frontiers Records boss Serafino Perugino, who was looking for musicians for a new project who could not only support singer Robin McAuley but also form a strong band for him. Pilson took up the idea.

Pilson had worked at Dokken in 1999 and 2000 with Reb Beach , who had taken on the role of lead guitarist in the band after the departure of George Lynch . On a joint tour of their two current bands, Whitesnake and Foreigner , Beach and Pilson met again and again for small jam sessions and used a ten-day tour break to work on song ideas. When Pilson asked if a band was an option for him, Beach said yes. After a tip from Paul Gilbert , Pilson found a drummer in Matt Starr who completed the group.

The band got a record deal with Frontiers Records and recorded the album in Pilson Pilsound - Studio in Santa Clarita ( Los Angeles County ) that Pilson produced it. The title track was released as a single on December 10, 2019 , followed by Big Disaster on January 13, 2020 .

Musically, influences from Dokken, The End: Machine and the later Winger albums can be recognized, but the music of the McAuley Schenker Group also influenced the songwriting.

The song Divided / United was written by Jeff Pilson after going to the cinema where he saw the film Bohemian Rhapsody . It was only then that he “really became aware” of the influence Queen had on “legions of artists”. For him, the band was “always the epitome of passion and inspiration”. The melody and refrain of Divided / United then emerged “on the piano as if from nowhere” at home.

The album was released on record , CD, and online music services on February 14, 2020 . On the same day, the third single called Make It There was released.

Track list

Cover of the album

Link to the picture
(please note copyrights )

Shake the world 
No. title Songwriter length
1. Shake the world Jeff Pilson, Reb Beach, Robin McAuley 4:35
2. Big disaster Pilson, Beach, McAuley 4:37
3. Johnny Came Marching Pilson, Beach, McAuley 5:46
4th Immortal Souls Pilson, Beach, McAuley 6:12
5. Make It There Pilson, Beach, McAuley 5:49
6th She's on to us Pilson, Beach, McAuley 4:41
7th The Rock That Rolled Away Pilson, Beach, McAuley 6:21
8th. Long Road to Nowhere Pilson, Beach, McAuley 4:18
9. Sacred Place Pilson, Beach, McAuley 4:46
10. Unless We Change Pilson, Beach, McAuley 3:58
11. Divided / United Pilson, Beach, McAuley 5:59
Overall length: 57:09

reception

Daniel Böhm wrote in his review for Rocks , "nothing since the end of the McAuley Schenker Group in the early nineties has only vaguely indicated that he would ever hear his former singer again in such good hard rock condition as it is now on Shake the World". With the album, “one of the strongest and most vital genre productions of the last few years” emerged, which one had to admit “sovereign band character”. The album is "outstanding". Markus Baro noted in the same issue that Shake the World benefited from a “considerably vital group dynamic”, while Amir Shaheen , also in Rocks, stated that McAuley sang “almost unleashed”.

For Rock Hard , Alexandra Michels stated that the group “happily turns out to be a cool, independent hard rock combo”. With the “scratchy, rocky title track” it becomes clear that the musicians are following “an honest, snotty, tough line with rough edges”. This impression is strengthened “from song to song”: “Despite really good melodies”, “the tracks didn't seem smoothed out or overproduced”, which is certainly also due to the fact that their material was “written by themselves and produced in Pilson's home studio”. Occasionally the band remembers "something of the young Scorpions", fans of Whitesnake, Dokken & Co. should be "just as enthusiastic". At the end she shouted: “Great voice, impressive instrumental solos, growling along and mosh potential - everything in it, everything on. Great debut ”and awarded eight out of ten possible points.

Chris Strieder remarked on darkstars.de that the involvement of old music heroes in Frontiers Records projects “doesn't always have to lead to great results.” But there are also “always great results,” and Shake the World is one of them. Robin McAuley sings as “fantastic as in his best times”, and the album offers “great classic hard rock that is guaranteed to rapture every fan of this genre”. Reb Beach pulls out "all registers of virtuoso guitar art". A great song like the "epic" Immortal Souls or the "driving" The Rock That Rolled Away chase the next. There were no failures. One can only hope that the group will not remain “a flash in the pan” and will deliver “even more such hits” in the future. Strieder awarded 9 out of 10 points.

Charts and chart placements

Charts Top ranking Weeks
Chart placements
Germany (GfK) Germany (GfK) 72 (1 week) 1

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Information about the band at discogs.com , accessed on January 15, 2020
  2. ↑ a b c d e f The band of misunderstood geniuses in: Rocks - The magazine for Classic Rock, issue 02/2020, pages 34–37
  3. ↑ Reviews in Rocks - Das Magazin für Classic Rock, issue 02.2020, page 95
  4. ↑ Review for Rock Hard , accessed online February 19, 2020
  5. ↑ Review at darkstars.de , accessed on February 12, 2020
  6. ↑ Black Swan - Shake the World. GfK Entertainment , accessed on February 21, 2020 .