Shop Assistants (album)

Last updated
Shop Assistants
ShopAssistLP.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 1986
RecordedAugust 1986
StudioHart Street Studios, Edinburgh
Genre Indie pop, noise pop
Label Blue Guitar
Producer Mayo Thompson, John Ryan, Shop Assistants
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [1]

Shop Assistants is the only album released by Shop Assistants. It was released in November 1986 on the Chrysalis Records "indie" offshoot Blue Guitar. The album was critically acclaimed by Sounds staff who put Shop Assistants on the list of top 50 best albums of 1986. [2]

Contents

The album was reissued in 1997 by Overground Records under the title Will Anything Happen, and again on CD by Cherry Red in 2008 with two bonus tracks, [3] both of which had originally appeared on the B-side of the single "I Don't Wanna Be Friends With You". The album was described by Allmusic's Jason Ankeny as "an essential artefact of its times". [4]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Shop Assistants; except where noted.

  1. "I Don't Wanna Be Friends With You" - 2:18
  2. "All Day Long" - 1:50
  3. "Before I Wake" - 2:42
  4. "Caledonian Road" - 2:13
  5. "All That Ever Mattered" - 2:15
  6. "Fixed Grin" - 2:51
  7. "Somewhere in China" - 3:13
  8. "Train from Kansas City" (Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry) - 3:42
  9. "Home Again" - 1:41
  10. "Seems to Be" - 2:22
  11. "After Dark" - 2:36
  12. "All of the Time" - 2:23
  13. "What a Way to Die" (David Leone - uncredited) - 1:59
  14. "Nature Lover" - 1:55
  15. "Looking Back" (CD reissue only) - 1:45
  16. "All Day Long" (slow version) (CD reissue only) - 2:27

"What a Way to Die" was credited to "unknown", but it is a cover of David Leone's small hit for Pleasure Seekers.

Personnel

Shop Assistants

with:

Technical

Related Research Articles

<i>Funkadelic</i> (album) 1970 studio album by Funkadelic

Funkadelic is the debut album by the American funk rock band Funkadelic, released in 1970 on Westbound Records.

<i>Third/Sister Lovers</i> 1978 studio album by Big Star

Third is the third album by American rock band Big Star. Sessions started at Ardent Studios in September 1974. Though Ardent created promotional, white-label test pressings for the record in 1975, a combination of financial issues, the uncommercial sound of the record, and lack of interest from singer Alex Chilton and drummer Jody Stephens in continuing the project prevented the album from ever being properly finished or released at the time of its recording. It was eventually released in 1978 by PVC Records.

Blood Duster was an Australian extreme metal and stoner rock band from Melbourne. Their name came from the song "Blood Duster" by John Zorn, from the 1989 album Naked City.

<i>Lets Get It On</i> Album by Marvin Gaye

Let's Get It On is the thirteenth studio album by American soul singer, songwriter, and producer Marvin Gaye. It was released on August 28, 1973, by the Motown subsidiary label Tamla Records on LP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Wanna Be Your Man</span> Lennon–McCartney song first recorded by the Rolling Stones

"I Wanna Be Your Man" is a Lennon–McCartney-penned song first recorded and released as a single by the Rolling Stones, and then recorded by the Beatles for their second studio album With the Beatles. The song was primarily written by Paul McCartney, and finished by Lennon and McCartney in the corner of a Richmond, London club while Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were talking.

<i>The Monkees</i> (album) 1966 studio album by the Monkees

The Monkees is the debut studio album by the American band the Monkees. It was released on October 10, 1966 by Colgems Records in the United States and RCA Victor in the rest of the world. It was the first of four consecutive U.S. number one albums for the group, taking the top spot on the Billboard 200 for 13 weeks, after which it was displaced by the band's second album. It also topped the UK charts in 1967. The Monkees has been certified quintuple platinum by the RIAA, with sales of over five million copies.

Shop Assistants were a Scottish indie pop band from Edinburgh, Scotland, formed in 1984, initially as 'Buba & The Shop Assistants'. After achieving success with independent releases they signed to Chrysalis Records sublabel Blue Guitar, releasing their only album in 1986. After splitting in 1987, with singer Alex Taylor moving on to The Motorcycle Boy, they reformed for two further singles in 1990.

<i>Soundtracks</i> (Can album) 1970 compilation album by Can

Soundtracks is a compilation album by the Krautrock group Can. It was first released in 1970 and consists of tracks written for various films. The album marks the departure of the band's original vocalist Malcolm Mooney, who sings on two tracks, to be replaced by new member Damo Suzuki. Stylistically, the record also documents the transition from the psychedelia-inspired jams of their earliest recordings to the more meditative, electronic, and experimental mode of the studio albums that followed.

<i>I Wanna Be with You</i> (album) 2000 studio album (reissue) by Mandy Moore

I Wanna Be with You is the reissue of American singer Mandy Moore's debut studio album, So Real (1999). It was released on May 9, 2000 through Epic Records, five months after the release of its parent album. Internationally, I Wanna Be with You was released as Moore's debut album as opposed to So Real. The album has sold over 805,000 copies in the United States. Upon its release, I Wanna Be with You garnered mixed reviews from music critics, with many deeming it an improvement over its predecessor So Real while also criticizing the album for containing previously released material.

<i>March 16–20, 1992</i> 1992 studio album by Uncle Tupelo

March 16–20, 1992 is the third studio album by alternative country band Uncle Tupelo, released on August 3, 1992. The title refers to the five-day span during which the album was recorded. An almost entirely acoustic recording, the album features original songs and covers of traditional folk songs in near equal number, and was produced by R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck.

<i>Sparks</i> (Sparks album) 1971 studio album by Sparks

Sparks, originally titled Halfnelson, is the debut album by the Los Angeles rock band Sparks. The album was first released as Halfnelson, the band's original name, and reissued a year later under the group’s new name.

<i>Live at The Moore</i> 1995 video by Mad Season

Live at The Moore is a live album and concert film featuring the final live performance by the American rock supergroup Mad Season. It was originally released on VHS August 29, 1995.

Disorder are an English street punk band that formed in the Bristol area of England in 1980, and has existed with varying line-ups. They are aligned with politically charged punk bands.

<i>What Cha Gonna Do for Me</i> 1981 studio album by Chaka Khan

What Cha' Gonna Do for Me is the Gold certified third solo album by American R&B/funk singer Chaka Khan, released on Warner Bros. Records in 1981.

<i>I Am What I Am</i> (Ruth Copeland album) 1971 studio album by Ruth Copeland

I Am What I Am is the second album by English singer Ruth Copeland. The album was released by Invictus Records in 1971 and was produced and arranged by Ruth Copeland, though it is widely believed that the actual producer of the album was her then husband Jeffrey Bowen. As with her debut, Self Portrait, I Am What I Am contains contributions from George Clinton and the musicians from Parliament-Funkadelic, as well as local Detroit session players such as guitarist Ray Monette.

<i>The Adventures of the Hersham Boys</i> 1979 studio album by Sham 69

The Adventures of the Hersham Boys is an album by punk band Sham 69, released in 1979. It is their most successful album, peaking at No. 8 in the UK.

<i>Walk Under Ladders</i> 1981 studio album by Joan Armatrading

Walk Under Ladders is the seventh studio album by British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading, released on 4 September 1981 by A&M Records. The album peaked at No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart and was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry for sales in excess of 100,000 copies. The album peaked at No. 16 in Australia. Two minor hits from the album both fell just short of cracking the UK Top 40: "I'm Lucky", which peaked at No. 46, and "No Love", which peaked at No. 50.

<i>Life on the Line</i> 1977 studio album by Eddie and the Hot Rods

Life on the Line is the second studio album by English rock band Eddie and the Hot Rods. The album was mixed by Ed Hollis and Steve Nicol, produced by Ed Hollis, and engineered by Steve Lillywhite. This release is considered a step in the Punk direction for The Rods sound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Don't Wanna Get Drafted</span> 1980 single by Frank Zappa

"I Don't Wanna Get Drafted" was a 1980 single by American musician Frank Zappa. The song peaked at #103 US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 and #68 on the Cash Box charts, but more successfully reached #3 in Sweden. The original single version has never been reissued on LP or CD.

<i>Breakfast Dance and Barbecue</i> 1959 live album by Count Basie and His Orchestra with Joe Williams

Breakfast Dance and Barbecue is a live album by pianist, composer and bandleader Count Basie and his Orchestra with vocalist Joe Williams featuring tracks recorded at a Disc Jockey convention in Florida in 1959 and originally released on the Roulette label.

References

  1. Jason Ankeny, "Shop Assistants - Will Anything Happen", AllMusic
  2. Andrzej Buda (2006) Historia rocka, popu i hip-hopu wedlu krytykow, Wydawnictwo Niezalezne: 68, 2006, ISBN   978-83-915272-8-3
  3. "Shop Assistants - Will Anything Happen", Cherry Red
  4. Ankeny, Jason: "Shop Assistants", in Bogdanov, Vladimir, Woodstra, Chris, Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2002) All Music Guide to Rock , Backbeat Books, ISBN   978-0-87930-653-3