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Shades of Liberty

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Shades of Liberty is the debut album from Belfast new wave/rock band Silent Running, released in 1984.

Background

After the minor success in the UK of the 1983 debut single "When the 12th of Never Comes",[1] the band recorded their first full album for EMI Records.[2]

Prior to signing to EMI the band recruited George Beavis on keyboards and together the band recorded tracks such as 'Speed of Life' for the proposed first album although Beavis was subsequently dismissed and replaced with Alex White. The resulting album was Shades of Liberty.

A total of three singles were released from the album; "Emotional Warfare", "Young Hearts", and "Sticks and Stones". Despite attempts at success via the album's singles, the band never achieved the desired breakthrough. The only impact made was by "Young Hearts" which peaked at #92 in the UK for a total of 2 weeks.[3] The Shades of Liberty album failed to chart.

Both "Young Hearts" and "Sticks and Stones" were released within the UK and Europe only, whilst "Emotional Warfare" was released in America as well as Europe.[4]

Following the commercial failure of the album, it was the band's only full album release for EMI. A second album was planned, although with the very limited success of the 1985 single "No Faith is Blind", the second album was cancelled, causing the band to sign to Atlantic Records after, where they would record two albums.[5]

Recording

The album was produced and engineered by British producer Peter Walsh, whilst all tracks are original, written by various members of the band.[6]

The album was recorded at both The Manor and Windmill Lane Studios, whilst it was mixed at The Manor and Air Studios. It was recorded in Dublin during January/February 1984.[6]

On all editions, guitarist Tony Scott is incorrectly credited as A. Scott for writing credits.[7]

Release

The album was released via EMI Records in the UK, Europe and North America.[2]

In America and Canada, the album was titled Emotional Warfare, after the leading (and only American) single. This version also featured slightly different front artwork, where a black background replaces the white background of the European artwork. The back artwork on the European and North America editions are completely different.[8] The album's vinyl release featured an inner sleeve.[7]

On the American and Canadian release, the tracks "Shades of Liberty" and "Young Hearts" are swapped around in the track listing.[8]

The track "Go for the Heart" had been previously released as the b-side to the band's 1983 debut single "When the 12th of Never Comes".[9]

To date, the album remains only available on now out-of-print vinyl, having never received a CD release. The album remains the only of the three albums from the band not to exist on CD.[10]

Promotion

A music video was created for "Emotional Warfare"[11] and "Young Hearts".[12]

In 1984, the band appeared on UK TV show The Tube, where they performed "Emotional Warfare"[13] and "Sticks and Stones".[14]

On the German TV show Musik Convoy, the band performed "Young Hearts".[15]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Home is Where the Heart Is"Richard Collett, Peter Gamble3:58
2."Emotional Warfare"Tony Scott, Ian Gault, Alex White, Richard Collett, Peter Gamble5:08
3."One in a Million Day"Richard Collett, Peter Gamble, Tony Scott3:50
4."Sticks and Stones"Tony Scott, Ian Gault, Alex White, Richard Collett, Peter Gamble4:08
5."That's Life (In the Real World)"Tony Scott, Ian Gault, Alex White, Richard Collett, Peter Gamble5:52
6."Shades of Liberty"Richard Collett, Peter Gamble, Ian Gault, Tony Scott4:20
7."Crimson Days"Peter Gamble, Ian Gault, Tony Scott3:58
8."Young Hearts"Richard Collett, Peter Gamble, Ian Gault, Tony Scott3:38
9."Go for the Heart"Peter Gamble5:50

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Melody Maker
Allmusic[16]
Billboardfavorable[17]

Upon release, the album received a five out of five star review in the Melody Maker magazine headlined "Silent Classic".

In the official American Billboard Magazine of October 13, 1984, Shades of Liberty was included under the 'Recommended' section of the 'Pop' albums section. The magazine described the album as "U2-style wall of sound to a disco beat."[17]

Chart performance

Singles

Young Hearts

Chart (1984) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart[3] 92

Personnel

Silent Running

  • Peter Gamble - Vocals, Writer
  • Tony Scott - Guitar, Writer
  • Alex White - Keyboards, Writer
  • Richard Collett - Bass, Writer
  • Ian Gault - Drums, Writer

Additional personnel

  • Peter Walsh - Producer, Engineer
  • Jif - Engineer (Assistant at Air)
  • Steve Chase - Engineer (Assistant at The Manor)
  • Kevin Killen - Engineer (Assistant at Windmill Lane)
  • Design RX - The Creative Department Ltd. - Sleeve Artwork
  • Ursula Steiger - Photography

References

  1. ^ "The Official Charts Company - When The 12th Of Never Comes by Silent Running Search". The Official Charts Company. 6 May 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Silent Running - Shades Of Liberty at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
  3. ^ a b "The Official Charts Company - Young Hearts by Silent Running Search". The Official Charts Company. 6 May 2013.
  4. ^ "Silent Running - Emotional Warfare at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
  5. ^ "Silent Running Discography at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
  6. ^ a b "Silent Running - Shades Of Liberty (Vinyl, LP, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
  7. ^ a b "Images for Silent Running - Emotional Warfare". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
  8. ^ a b "Silent Running - Emotional Warfare (Vinyl, LP, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
  9. ^ "Silent Running - When The 12th Of Never Comes at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-06-26.
  10. ^ "silent running: Music". Amazon.com. 2009-09-09. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
  11. ^ YouTube (2010-01-22). "Silent running - Emotional warfare.flv". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
  12. ^ YouTube (2010-05-10). "SILENT RUNNING - Young Hearts". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
  13. ^ YouTube (2007-08-20). "Silent Running - Emotional Warfare". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
  14. ^ YouTube (2007-08-20). "Silent Running - Sticks and stones". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
  15. ^ YouTube (2011-09-27). "Silent Running Young Hearts Musik Convoy". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
  16. ^ "Shades of Liberty - Silent Running : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
  17. ^ a b Billboard - Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. 1984-10-13. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
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