What Silence Knows | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 20 September 1993[1] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 48:18 | |||
Label | Cooltempo | |||
Producer | Michael Peden | |||
Shara Nelson chronology | ||||
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Singles from What Silence Knows | ||||
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Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Chicago Reader | (favorable)[7] |
Los Angeles Times | [8] |
Melody Maker | (favorable)[9] |
Music Week | [10] |
NME | 6/10[11] |
Spin | (favorable)[12] |
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".[13] The album peaked at No. 22 on the UK Albums Chart[14] and was later certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry for sales in excess of 100,000 copies.[15]
The album was shortlisted for the 1994 Mercury Music Prize.[16]
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]
Track listing
- "Nobody" (Shara Nelson, Kenny Nicholas, Trevor Jacobs, Suni Suleynan) – 4:22
- "Pain Revisited" (Shara Nelson, Howie Bernstein) – 5:16
- "One Goodbye in Ten" (Shara Nelson, Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs) – 5:50
- "Inside Out" (Shara Nelson, Kevin Armstrong) – 3:19
- "Uptight" (Shara Nelson, Prince Be) – 5:04
- "Down That Road" (Shara Nelson, Prince Be) – 5:15
- "Chance" (Shara Nelson, Kenny Nicholas, Trevor Jacobs, Suni Suleynan) – 3:58
- "Thoughts of You" (Shara Nelson, John Coxon) – 4:16
- "How Close" (Shara Nelson, Prince Be) – 3:59
- "What Silence Knows" (Shara Nelson, Style Scott) – 6:59
Personnel
- Shara Nelson – vocals
- Billy Liesegang, G.A. Parricelli – guitar
- Mike Peden – bass
- Mel Wesson – keyboards, synthesizer
- Michael Timothy, Pete Wingfield – keyboards
- Rupert Brown, Trevor Murrell – drums
- Miles Bould – percussion
- Lyn Gerald, Tee Green – backing vocals
- Philip D. Todd – flute, electronic wind instrument
- London Session Orchestra – strings
- Nick Ingman – string arrangements
- Gavyn Wright – orchestral leader and conductor
Charts
Album
Chart (1993) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums Chart[17] | 131 |
Austrian Albums Chart[18] | 32 |
UK Albums Chart[14] | 22 |
Singles
Year | Single | UK chart [14] |
---|---|---|
1993 | "Down That Road" | 19 |
"One Goodbye in Ten" | 21 | |
"Inside Out" | – | |
1994 | "Uptight" | 19 |
"Nobody" | 49 | |
"Inside Out" / "Down That Road" (remix) | 34 |
References
- ↑ "Album Releases". Music Week. 18 September 1994. p. 24. Misprinted as the previous week, 13 September, on source.
- ↑ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 10 July 1993. p. 21.
- ↑ "Single Releases". Music Week. 6 November 1993. p. 23.
- ↑ "Single Releases". Music Week. 29 January 1994. p. 25.
- ↑ "Single Releases". Music Week. 21 May 1994. p. 27.
- ↑ "Single Releases". Music Week. 27 August 1994. p. 27.
- ↑ Johnson, Martin (20 October 1994). "No Need to Shout". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- ↑ Hunt, Dennis (7 August 1994). "Shara Nelson, 'What Silence Knows' (Chrysalis/ERG)". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
- ↑ Bush, Calvin (18 September 1993). "Albums". Melody Maker. p. 39. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
- 1 2 Jones, Alan (25 September 1993). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Albums" (PDF). Music Week. p. 17. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
- ↑ Morton, Roger (18 September 1993). "Long Play". NME. p. 37. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
- ↑ Bernstein, Jonathan (July 1994). "Spins". Spin. p. 70. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
- ↑ "SHARA NELSON | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
- 1 2 3 "Official Charts > Shara Nelson". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "Mercury Prize". www.mercuryprize.com.
- ↑ "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 13 September 2016". Imgur.com. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
- ↑ "austriancharts.at > Shara Nelson". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 July 2017.