Shame
Studio album by
Brad
ReleasedApril 27, 1993
RecordedOctober 4–21, 1992 at Avast Recording Co., Seattle, Washington
GenreAlternative rock, grunge
Length42:35
LabelLoosegroove, Epic
ProducerBrad
Brad chronology
Shame
(1993) 		Interiors
(1997)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Classic Rock7/10[2]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[3]
Q[4]

Shame is the debut studio album by the American rock band Brad. It was released on April 27, 1993, through Epic Records.

Overview

Brad formed officially in 1992, although the band members had been playing together for a long time before that. The band originally wanted to go by the name Shame, but the name was already taken by a band featuring musician Brad Wilson.[5] Instead, the band took the name Brad and decided to name their debut album Shame.

The album was recorded in October 1992 in roughly 20 days at Avast Recording Co. in Seattle, Washington. Many tracks are taken from in-studio jam sessions. The band members produced the album themselves. The album was mixed by Brendan O'Brien. The album's cover art was provided by Seattle's Crocodile Cafe.

Shame, featuring a raw sound and an eclectic mix of styles, was released to mixed reviews and moderate sales.[6] The track "20th Century" was a minor hit in the UK. The album charted at number 14 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart. While sometimes categorised as “grunge”, the band sit apart in some ways: “Despite all of Brad’s connections to ’90s grunge, neither Shame nor Interiors sound much like the defining music of that scene, instead featuring soft, nocturnal rock, giddy rhythms and glossy funk jams. More importantly, Shawn Smith’s presence defines Brad even more than Gossard’s musical contributions or inherent fame. Smith is an unusual vocalist even without the nebulous grunge influences of Brad’s apparent circle of friends; adjacent to era contemporaries like Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Gossard and Jeff Ament’s Green River or Regan and Andrew Wood’s Malfunkshun, Smith’s honeyed falsetto starts to sound like the song of another species altogether.” Spectrumculture”

Music videos were made for the songs "Buttercup" and "20th Century".

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Shawn Smith, except where noted; all music is composed by Stone Gossard, Regan Hagar, Smith, and Jeremy Toback, except where noted

No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Buttercup"  4:14
2."My Fingers"  3:19
3."Nadine" Gossard3:31
4."Screen" Smith5:11
5."20th Century"  4:02
6."Good News" Smith4:23
7."Raise Love"  4:14
8."Bad for the Soul"  1:11
9."Down"TobackToback4:17
10."Rockstar"  2:47
11."We"  5:26

Personnel

Chart positions

Album

Chart (1993) Peak
position
US Billboard Top Heatseekers[7] 14

Singles

Year Single UK peak
chart position
[8]
1993 "20th Century" 64

Accolades

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Kerrang! United Kingdom "100 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die"[9] 1998 88

References

  1. ^ Raggett, Ned. "Shame – Brad". AllMusic. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
  2. ^ Hotten, Jon (January 2014). "Brad: Shame / Interiors". Classic Rock. No. 192. p. 123.
  3. ^ Frost, Deborah (April 30, 1993). "Shame". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  4. ^ "Brad: Shame". Q. No. 108. September 1995. p. 128.
  5. ^ Gumbuoy. "Hang Out In Discovery Park With Brad"[permanent dead link]. fasterlouder.com.au. September 27, 2005.
  6. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas and Torreano, Bradley. "Brad". Allmusic. Retrieved on January 31, 2009.
  7. ^ "Brad – Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved 2007-11-13.
  8. ^ "UK Singles & Albums Official Charts Company — Brad". Retrieved 2007-12-08.
  9. ^ "100 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". Kerrang!. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
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