What Silence Knows

Last updated

What Silence Knows
Shara nelson - what silence knows (1993).jpg
Studio album by
Released20 September 1993 (1993-09-20) [1]
Genre
Length48:18
Label Cooltempo
Producer Michael Peden
Shara Nelson chronology
What Silence Knows
(1993)
Friendly Fire
(1995)
Singles from What Silence Knows
  1. "Down That Road"
    Released: 12 July 1993 [2]
  2. "One Goodbye in Ten"
    Released: 1993
  3. "Inside Out"
    Released: 8 November 1993 [3]
  4. "Uptight"
    Released: 31 January 1994 [4]
  5. "Nobody"
    Released: 23 May 1994 [5]
  6. "Inside Out" / "Down That Road (remix)"
    Released: 30 August 1994 [6]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Chicago Reader (favorable) [7]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Melody Maker (favorable) [9]
Music Week Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [10]
NME 6/10 [11]
Select U+25A0.svgU+25A0.svgU+25A0.svgU+25A1.svgU+25A1.svg [12]
Spin (favorable) [13]

What Silence Knows is the debut solo album by English singer Shara Nelson, released in September 1993 on Cooltempo Records. It includes five singles which reached the UK Singles Chart: "Down That Road", "One Goodbye in Ten", "Inside Out", "Uptight" and "Nobody". [14] The album peaked at No. 22 on the UK Albums Chart [15] and was later certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry for sales in excess of 100,000 copies. [16]

Contents

The album was shortlisted for the 1994 Mercury Music Prize. [17]

Critical reception

Alan Jones from Music Week wrote, "A glittering solo debut for this talented vocalist. The current single, "One Goodbye in Ten", is particularly fine: a rich string arrangement underpinning a Sixties feel. Other tracks, such as "Nobody", recall her past with Massive Attack, while the vox/piano style of "Inside Out" has a haunting, stark beauty. Could be a Dina Carroll-style breakout." [10] Adam Higginbotham from Select said, "It's a tremendous soul album, with Nelson's searing voice matched to a full spectrum of musical textures and resonant lyrics that will frighten the pants off Derek and Shirley canoodling on the sofa in Swindon." [12]

Track listing

  1. "Nobody" (Shara Nelson, Kenny Nicholas, Trevor Jacobs, Suni Suleynan) – 4:22
  2. "Pain Revisited" (Shara Nelson, Howie Bernstein) – 5:16
  3. "One Goodbye in Ten" (Shara Nelson, Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs) – 5:50
  4. "Inside Out" (Shara Nelson, Kevin Armstrong) – 3:19
  5. "Uptight" (Shara Nelson, Prince Be) – 5:04
  6. "Down That Road" (Shara Nelson, Prince Be) – 5:15
  7. "Chance" (Shara Nelson, Kenny Nicholas, Trevor Jacobs, Suni Suleynan) – 3:58
  8. "Thoughts of You" (Shara Nelson, John Coxon) – 4:16
  9. "How Close" (Shara Nelson, Prince Be) – 3:59
  10. "What Silence Knows" (Shara Nelson, Style Scott) – 6:59

Personnel

Charts

Album

Chart (1993)Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart [18] 131
Austrian Albums Chart [19] 32
UK Albums Chart [15] 22

Singles

YearSingleUK
chart
[15]
1993"Down That Road"19
"One Goodbye in Ten"21
"Inside Out"
1994"Uptight"19
"Nobody"49
"Inside Out" / "Down That Road" (remix)34

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Björk discography</span>

The discography of Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk consists of ten studio albums, two soundtrack albums, one compilation album, six remix albums, seven live albums, four box sets, three collaboration albums, forty-five singles, ten promotional singles and eight remixes series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transvision Vamp</span> English alternative rock band

Transvision Vamp were an English pop rock band. Formed in 1986 by Nick Christian Sayer and Wendy James, the band enjoyed chart success in the late 1980s, particularly in 1989. James, the lead singer and focal-point of the group, attracted media attention with her sexually charged and rebellious image. The band had 10 UK chart hits and also enjoyed considerable success in Australia. Transvision Vamp's top single was 1989's "Baby I Don't Care", which reached number three in the UK and Australian charts.

The Grid are an English electronic dance group, consisting of David Ball and Richard Norris, with guest contributions from other musicians. They are best known for the hits "Swamp Thing", "Texas Cowboys", "Crystal Clear", "Rollercoaster" and "Floatation".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uptight (Everything's Alright)</span> 1965 single by Stevie Wonder

"Uptight (Everything's Alright)" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder for the Tamla (Motown) label. One of his most popular early singles, "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" was the first hit single that Wonder himself co-wrote.

<i>Jollification</i> 1994 studio album by the Lightning Seeds

Jollification is the third album by English rock band the Lightning Seeds. All songs were written by Ian Broudie, with contributions on some tracks from Alison Moyet, Ian McNabb and Terry Hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One Day in Your Life (Michael Jackson song)</span> 1981 single by Michael Jackson

"One Day in Your Life" is a song recorded by American singer Michael Jackson for his 1975 album, Forever, Michael. Music written by Sam Brown III and lyrics by Renée Armand, it was later released on March 20, 1981 as a single from the compilation album One Day in Your Life due to the commercial interest that generated from the sales of Jackson's hit 1979 album Off the Wall, despite the fact that Jackson had released that album on Epic Records instead of Motown.

Shara Nelson is an English singer and songwriter. She worked with Massive Attack in the early 1990s, and as a solo artist had five UK top 40 hit singles. Her 1993 debut album, What Silence Knows, was shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Safe from Harm (song)</span> 1991 single by Massive Attack

"Safe from Harm" is the third single and opening track from Blue Lines, the 1991 debut album from British trip hop collective Massive Attack, with vocals by Shara Nelson and Robert Del Naja. It was released in May 1991 by Virgin Records. The bass, guitar, and drums are sampled from the song "Stratus" by Billy Cobham, from his album Spectrum. Additional drums are sampled from "Good Old Music" by Funkadelic. Other samples come from Herbie Hancock's "Chameleon", and some of the background vocals are based on Johnny "Guitar" Watson's 1961 song Looking Back.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belinda Carlisle discography</span>

The solo discography of Belinda Carlisle, an American pop singer, contains eight studio albums, 11 compilations and six video albums. Her singles discography features 32 physical releases, eight digital-only and five promotional releases. She has also made nine other appearances and 31 music videos.

The discography of Eternal, a British female R&B and pop group, consists of four studio albums, five compilation albums, one remix album, two video albums and twenty-two singles on EMI Records. Eternal has sold over 10 million albums, with Always & Forever (15), Power of a Woman (25) and Before the Rain (35) ranked in the UK Official Charts Company's Top 40 biggest girl band studio albums of the last 25 years.

The discography of Gabrielle, an English singer, consists of eight studio albums, three greatest-hits compilations, 30 singles and a number of other appearances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shakespears Sister discography</span>

The discography of UK-based pop-rock act Shakespears Sister consists of four studio albums, five compilation albums, one EP, and seventeen singles. Originally a solo act consisting of ex-Bananarama member Siobhan Fahey, it eventually evolved into a duo between Fahey and Marcella Detroit. They released their debut studio album Sacred Heart in 1989, which reached number 9 on the UK Albums Chart and was certified gold by the BPI. The album's lead single, double A Side "Break My Heart / Heroine" did not chart, the second single however, "You're History", reached number 7 on the UK Singles Chart, and managed similar top 20 success internationally. Their next three singles, "Run Silent", "Dirty Mind", and "Goodbye Cruel World", all failed to peak within the UK top 50. The second single from Hormonally Yours, "Stay" was the group's first and only number 1, staying at the top position for 8 weeks. The song also reached number 1 in Ireland and Sweden, and peaked within the top 5 in several other territories. Hormonally Yours peaked at number 3 in the UK and was certified double platinum, and reached similar success in international territories. The fifth and final single from the album, "My 16th Apology", was not a commercial success due to both members being on hiatus at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Down That Road (Shara Nelson song)</span> 1993 single by Shara Nelson

"Down That Road" is a song by British singer-songwriter Shara Nelson, released July 1993 on Cooltempo Records as the debut single from her first solo album, What Silence Knows (1993). The song was written by Nelson with Attrell Cordes and produced by Michael Peden. It peaked at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart, as well as number one on the European Dance Radio Chart by Music & Media, and also became a top-20 hit on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. The accompanying music video sees the singer performing the song on a beach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One Goodbye in Ten</span> 1993 single by Shara Nelson

"One Goodbye in Ten" is a song by British singer-songwriter Shara Nelson, released in September 1993 by Cooltempo Records as the second single from the singer's first solo album, What Silence Knows (1993). Written by her with British band Saint Etienne and produced by Michael Peden, the song received critical acclaim and peaked at number 21 on the UK Singles Chart. Additionally, it was a top-30 hit in Austria and a top-50 hit in the Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inside Out (Shara Nelson song)</span> 1993 single by Shara Nelson

"Inside Out" is a song by British singer and songwriter Shara Nelson, released in November 1993 on Cooltempo Records as the third single from her first solo album, What Silence Knows (1993). In August 1994, it was re-released as part of a remix single with "Down That Road". The song, which was co-written by Nelson, peaked at number 34 on the UK Singles Chart and number ten on the UK Dance Singles Chart. A music video was also produced to promote the single.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uptight (Shara Nelson song)</span> 1994 single by Shara Nelson

"Uptight" is a song by English singer and songwriter Shara Nelson, released by Cooltempo in January 1994 as the fourth single from her first solo album, What Silence Knows (1993). Co-written by Nelson, the song was a top 20 hit in the UK, peaking at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart and number 12 on the UK Dance Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nobody (Shara Nelson song)</span> 1994 single by Shara Nelson

"Nobody" is a song by British singer-songwriter Shara Nelson, released in May 1994 as the fifth single from her first solo album, What Silence Knows (1993), through Cooltempo Records. The song peaked at number 49 on the UK Singles Chart and number 16 on the UK Dance Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rough with the Smooth</span> 1995 single by Shara Nelson

"Rough with the Smooth" is a song by British singer-songwriter Shara Nelson, released in September 1995 by Cooltempo as the first single from her second solo album, Friendly Fire (1995). The song was written by Nelson with Ashley Beedle and Marc Woolford, and produced by Michael Peden. It peaked at number 30 on the UK Singles Chart and number 21 on the European Dance Radio Chart.

The British singer and songwriter Shara Nelson made three studio albums and 19 singles between 1983 and 2008, in addition to compilations, videos, EPs and other works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wild Wood (Paul Weller song)</span> 1993 single by Paul Weller

"Wild Wood" is a song by British singer-songwriter Paul Weller, released in August 1993 by Go! Discs as the second single from the singer's second solo album, Wild Wood (1993). The song was written by Weller and produced by Brendan Lynch, peaking at number 14 on the UK Singles Charts and being certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). A music video directed by Pedro Romhanyi was produced to promote the single. Portishead remixed the song for the 1999 re-release.

References

  1. "Album Releases". Music Week . 18 September 1994. p. 24.Misprinted as the previous week, 13 September, on source.
  2. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 10 July 1993. p. 21.
  3. "Single Releases". Music Week. 6 November 1993. p. 23.
  4. "Single Releases". Music Week. 29 January 1994. p. 25.
  5. "Single Releases". Music Week. 21 May 1994. p. 27.
  6. "Single Releases". Music Week. 27 August 1994. p. 27.
  7. Johnson, Martin (20 October 1994). "No Need to Shout". Chicago Reader . Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  8. Hunt, Dennis (7 August 1994). "Shara Nelson, 'What Silence Knows' (Chrysalis/ERG)". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  9. Bush, Calvin (18 September 1993). "Albums". Melody Maker . p. 39. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  10. 1 2 Jones, Alan (25 September 1993). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Albums" (PDF). Music Week . p. 17. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  11. Morton, Roger (18 September 1993). "Long Play". NME . p. 37. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  12. 1 2 Higginbotham, Adam (October 1993). "New Albums". Select . p. 91. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  13. Bernstein, Jonathan (July 1994). "Spins". Spin . p. 70. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  14. "SHARA NELSON | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
  15. 1 2 3 "Official Charts > Shara Nelson". The Official UK Charts Company . Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  16. "BPI > Certified Awards > Search results for 'Shara Nelson' (from bpi.co.uk)". Imgur.com (original source published by British Phonographic Industry). Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  17. "Mercury Prize". www.mercuryprize.com.
  18. "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 13 September 2016". Imgur.com. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  19. "austriancharts.at > Shara Nelson". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 July 2017.