The Shadow Knows
| The Shadow Knows | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roger Chapman's studio album | |||||
|
Publication |
1984 |
||||
|
admission |
1984 |
||||
| Label (s) | Instant Records | ||||
|
Format (s) |
CD, LP |
||||
|
Title (number) |
9 + 4 |
||||
| occupation |
|
||||
|
Roger Chapman / Geoff Whitehorn |
|||||
|
Studio (s) |
The Workhouse Studios / The Chocolate Factory |
||||
|
Location (s) |
London |
||||
|
|||||
|
|||||
The Shadow Knows is Roger Chapman's fifth album. It was released in 1984 on the Instant Records label, stayed in the German charts for ten weeks and reached its highest ranking on October 1, 1984 at number 24. It is thus his highest endowed album, which is assigned to blues rock and pop rock . With How How How it also contains Chapman's only single placement in the charts as a solo artist in Germany (46th place) and Austria (18th place).
Music genre
The album title The Shadow Knows is an American proverb or winged word from the radio crime series The Shadow with Orson Welles of the 1930s. Each episode of the radio show began with the sentences “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows! ”(“ Who knows what evil lurks in people's hearts? The shadow knows! ”) It was followed by a superior ominous laugh from the hero“ The Shadow ”. Like Chapman's last three albums, the cover of the album is in a kind of comic style or pop art and shows a serious face with the finger on the lips to demand calm and listening. The Shadow Knows can be seen as a concept album because Roger Chapman mainly deals with the criminal and general abyss of man.
Musically, the album is very rocky with guitar, saxophone and keyboard arrangements and is very rhythmic. Roger Chapman performs his songs in the usual way, from gently whispering, gently singing to screaming with his typical rough voice.
The first song, Busted Loose, is a cover version by Irish folk singer Paul Brady . Chapman sings about an escaped convict who seeks revenge.
The second track Leader of Men is a funky rock song and the second single from the album. Lyrically, Chapman takes a critical look at the temptation of people to want power and sees this behavior as a devilish delusion. The following piece of music, Ready to Roll, has a bluesy beginning and end with a pop-rock middle section and a cryptic text that describes the situation of a desperate person, with allusions to Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven . The fourth track, I Think of You Now, is a classically performed blues song , which Chapman performs in a rough and screaming voice. The lyrics express the pain of being abandoned and the singer's wailing.
The next track, Sitting Up Pretty, is also a flawless blues song with a strong keyboard background. The song satirically sings of the social divisions between government elites who have come to their position of power at the expense of ordinary people who have to fight for survival. (Song line: "You're just another cuckoo, an unwelcome guest, getting fatter by the minute in another bird's nest.")
The single How How How was in the charts for two weeks in Austria and seven weeks in Germany. The shortlist drummer Sam Kelly described this song as "a great powerful rock-feel track". It remained Chapman's only single as a solo artist that could chart in Germany and Austria. Stylistically, the song contains funky and jazzy elements and is rather an unconventional progressive rock song for the time. How How How describes falling in love again and again as madness.
Only Love Is in Red is a smoothly arranged pop rock song , as is Sweet Vanilla with a catchy guitar riff. Sweet Vanilla is very reminiscent of Huey Lewis & the News song I Want a New Drug . The last track on The Shadow knows , I'm a Good Boy Now , contains an ironic reference to the radio crime series The Shadow in the credits and thus refers to the album title. Every episode of The Shadow began and ended with an ominous or sure of victory laugh. At the end of the song I'm a Good Boy Now you can also hear the sung line: "The Shadow" and an ominous, confident laugh.
History of origin
Roger Chapmans completely changed his backing band The Shortlist in 1984 with the exception of guitarist Geoff Whitehorn and saxophonist Nick Pentelo. Tony Stevens on bass (ex- Foghat ), ex- streetwalker Brian Johnstone on keyboard and Sam Kelly as drummer. With this line-up, Chapman and the Shortlist toured continuously through 1984. Six weeks after Mike Oldfields and Roger Chapman's Shadow on the Wall disappeared from the German charts on February 27, 1984 after 20 weeks, his single How How How (Chapman / Whitehorn ) went straight from zero to 48th on April 2, 1984. A week later she reached her highest ranking with 46th place and stayed in the top 100 for seven weeks. How How How was a pre-release of The Shadow Konws album . On July 14, 1984, the concert Lieder im Park in Frankfurt's FSV Stadium was recorded by German television , which showed Chappo with a new sporty outfit and colored hair. The Busted Loose Tour finally took him from October 12th to December 9th 1984 through Germany, Austria and Denmark. In addition to the promotion tour for The Shadow Knows , the second single Leader of Men was presented. The final concerts of his tour on December 8th in West Berlin and on December 9th in East Berlin were recorded and four live tracks were re-released five years later as bonus material (Live in Berlin) with The Shadow Knows .
Immediately after its release on September 24th, the album The Shadow Knows rose to number 50 in the German charts and reached its highest position on October 1st at number 24. It remained his most highly endowed long player to this day.
Track list
01.Busted Loose (Paul Brady) 4:45
02. Leader of Men (Chapman) 5:15
03. Ready to Roll (Chapman) 5:52
04. I Think of You Now (Chapman) 5:11
05.Sitting Up Pretty (Chapman / Whitehorn) 4:40
06. How How How (Chapman / Whitehorn) 5:41
07. Only Love Is in Red (Palmer / Chapman) 4:26
08. Sweet Vanilla (Chapman) 3:58
09. I'm a Good Boy Now (Chapman) 2:53
Bonus-Tracks (Live in Berlin) Label: Mystic Records, 2007
10. Shadow on the Wall (M. Oldfield) 7:50
11. Let Me Down (Chapman) 4:56
12. How How How (Chapman / Whitehorn) 7:12
13. Mango Crazy (Chapman / Whitehorn) 11:10
reception
The album received 2.5 stars from Allmusic . The music critic David Randall, however, described The Shadow Knows as "excellent".
The drummer and then shortlist musician Sam Kelly described How How How as "a great powerful rock-feel track" and he was proud to have worked on the album The Shadow Knows ("Very proud to have played on this album.")
Individual evidence
- ↑ Official German Charts - Official German Charts. Retrieved August 7, 2019 .
- ↑ Search - Official German Charts. Retrieved August 7, 2019 .
- ^ Roger Chapman - How How How - hitparade.ch. Retrieved August 7, 2019 .
- ^ The Shadow with Orson Welles "Voice of the Trumpet" (7-3-38) (HQ) Old Time Radio Crime & Detective. Retrieved August 7, 2019 .
- ↑ Sam Kelly's Station House. Retrieved August 7, 2019 .
- ^ The Shadow with Orson Welles "Voice of the Trumpet" (7-3-38) (HQ) Old Time Radio Crime & Detective. Retrieved August 7, 2019 .
- ↑ Roger Chapman. In: FamilyBandstand. April 4, 2009, Retrieved August 7, 2019 (American English).
- ↑ Official German Charts - Official German Charts. Retrieved August 8, 2019 .
- ^ Roger Chapman Concert Setlists (page 4). Accessed August 8, 2019 .
- ↑ Roger Chapman. In: FamilyBandstand. April 4, 2009, Retrieved August 8, 2019 (American English).
- ↑ Official German Charts - Official German Charts. Retrieved August 8, 2019 .
- ^ Roger Chapman - The Shadow Knows. Retrieved August 7, 2019 .
- ^ The Shadow Knows - Roger Chapman | Songs, reviews, credits. Retrieved August 7, 2019 (American English).
- ↑ Get Ready to ROCK! Review of CD album by Roger Chapman called The Shadow Knows with bonus tracks Live in Berlin. Retrieved August 7, 2019 .
- ↑ Sam Kelly's Station House. Retrieved August 7, 2019 .