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	Blues rock garage rock indie rock
Length	44:20
Label	ATO Rough Trade
Producer	Andrija Tokic
Benjamin Booker chronology
Benjamin Booker (2014) Witness (2017)
Singles from Benjamin Booker
"Violent Shiver" Released: 8 April 2014

Benjamin Booker is the 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
Source	Rating
Metacritic	81/100 [5]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
American Songwriter	[7]
Clash	7/10 [8]
DIY	8/10 [9]
The Guardian	[10]
musicOMH	[11]
NME	8/10 [12]
The Observer	[13]
Rolling Stone	[14]
Uncut	7/10 [15]

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

All tracks are written by Benjamin Booker.

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. ^[16]

• 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) [17]	187
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia) [18]	59
Dutch Albums Chart [19]	80
US Billboard 200 [20]	46
US Alternative Albums [21]	10
US Rock Albums [22]	15
Tastemaker Albums [23]	10
Independent Albums [24]	7
Top Album Sales [25]	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". September 2014. 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. "Benjamin Booker: Benjamin Booker". American Songwriter. 21 August 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
8. "Benjamin Booker - Benjamin Booker An electrifying introduction to the future of the blues..." Clash. 5 August 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
9. "BENJAMIN BOOKER - BENJAMIN BOOKER". DIY. 13 August 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
10. Mokoena, Tshepo (14 August 2014). "Benjamin Booker: Benjamin Booker review – fiery blues-rock". The Guardian . Retrieved 8 October 2015.
11. "Benjamin Booker – Benjamin Booker". musicOMH. 16 August 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
12. "NME Reviews - Benjamin Booker - 'Benjamin Booker'". NME. 8 August 2014. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
13. Empire, Kitty (16 August 2014). "Benjamin Booker review – self-titled pugnacious punk blues". The Guardian . Retrieved 8 October 2015.
14. "Benjamin Booker Benjamin Booker Album Review". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 8 October 2015.
15. There's artifice in Booker's make-up but the troubled, strutting loner, serving sizzling sides of electrified psyched-swamp blues, is a role he inhabits with conviction and aplomb. [Sep 2014, p.69]
16. "Benjamin Booker - Benjamin Booker album credits". AllMusic . Retrieved 9 October 2015.
17. "BENJAMIN BOOKER - BENJAMIN BOOKER" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
18. "BENJAMIN BOOKER - BENJAMIN BOOKER" (in French). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
19. "BENJAMIN BOOKER - BENJAMIN BOOKER" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
20. "Benjamin Booker Chart History". Billboard . Prometheus Global Media. June 27, 2012. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
21. "Benjamin Booker Chart History". Billboard . Retrieved 8 October 2015.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
22. "Benjamin Booker Chart History". Billboard . Retrieved 8 October 2015.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
23. "Benjamin Booker Chart History". Billboard . Retrieved 8 October 2015.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
24. "Benjamin Booker Chart History". Billboard . Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
25. "Benjamin Booker Chart History". Billboard . Retrieved 8 October 2015.^{[ permanent dead link ]}