Shangri-La (The Blackeyed Susans album)

Shangri-La
Studio album by
The Blackeyed Susans
ReleasedJuly 21, 2003
RecordedSing-Sing Studios,
Melbourne (2002)
GenreRock / Folk rock
Length56:14
LabelTeardrop
ProducerPhil Kakulas, Craig Pilkington
The Blackeyed Susans
The Blackeyed Susans chronology
Dedicated to the Ones We Love
(2001) 		Shangri-La
(2003) 		Close Your Eyes And See
(2017)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Oz Music Project[1]

Shangri-La is the sixth studio album by The Blackeyed Susans, released in July 2003. After initial writing sessions in mid-1999,[2] recording of the album was scheduled for 2000.[3] It was postponed when the band’s then record company, Mds, was bought by Festival Records. The band eventually returned to the project in 2002, after their covers album Dedicated to the Ones We Love.[4] It was released on their own label, Teardrop, the following year.[5]

The title of the album Shangri-La, refers to an illusory island paradise, a lost utopia that exists only in imagination and metaphor an apt name considering it was almost abandoned as an impossible project. In an interview Phil Kakulas commented

"It was named before, back when I still had all faith that it would be released," Kakulas begins, "but it seems almost prophetic in that we did almost lose it. The name 'Shangri-La' seems to sum up a lot of what the album is about. The songs seem to deal with what happiness might be and where you might find happiness. Also I've been listening to a lot of the Shangri-Las, the girl group, and I like that seedy neon lights appeal. My vision of Shangri-La is much more like Vegas or something like that. It's a fools paradise."[6]

Shangri-La was nominated for 'Best Adult Contemporary Album' at the 2003 ARIA Awards,[7][8] missing out to John Farnham's The Last Time.[9]

Track listing

All songs written by Phil Kakulas and Rob Snarski, except where noted.[10]

  1. "A Cat Needs A Mouse" (Phil Kakulas, Dan Luscombe, Rob Snarski) – 3:15
  2. "End Of Time" – 5:04
  3. "Open All Hours" (Kiernan Box, Phil Kakulas, Dan Luscombe) – 4:47
  4. "My Body (Has A Mind Of Its Own)" (Kiernan Box, Phil Kakulas, Dan Luscombe) – 3:27
  5. "Deliver Me" – 5:26
  6. "Lost Horizon" (Kiernan Box, Phil Kakulas, Dan Luscombe, Rob Snarski) – 4:43
  7. "Hard Stuff" (Phil Kakulas, Dan Luscombe, Smith) – 3:48
  8. "The Eastern States" (Phil Kakulas, Dan Luscombe) – 5:52
  9. "Shangri-La" (Kiernan Box, Phil Kakulas) – 3:27
  10. "It’s Gonna Rain" – 5:34
  11. "Indian Summer" (Kiernan Box, Matt Habben) – 2:57
  12. "Endless Night" (Mark Dawson, Phil Kakulas, Rob Snarski) – 7:50

Personnel

Blackeyed Susans

  • Mark Dawson
  • Phil Kakulas
  • Kiernan Box
  • Dan Luscombe
  • Rob Snarski

Additional musicians

  • Matt Habben – clarinet, saxophone
  • Adam Hutterer – trombone
  • Craig Pilkington – trumpet
  • Jen Anderson – violin, viola
  • Helen Mountford – cello

References

  1. ^ "Oz Music Project". Archived from the original on 3 September 2007. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
  2. ^ "A cat needs a mouse". ABC. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved 26 June 2008.
  3. ^ "Sydney Morning Herald 15 August 2003". The Sydney Morning Herald. 15 August 2003. Retrieved 31 October 2007.
  4. ^ "The Blackeyed Susans". Australia Music Online. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 26 June 2008.
  5. ^ "Blackeyed Susans / Shangri-La". Sanity Music. Retrieved 26 June 2008. [dead link‍]
  6. ^ Hocking, Steve. "Blackeyed Susans". dB Magazine. Archived from the original on 1 October 2005. Retrieved 26 June 2008.
  7. ^ "Top of the pops". Sydney Morning Herald. 19 October 2003. Retrieved 26 June 2008.
  8. ^ "ARIA Awards nominations". Sydney Morning Herald. 22 September 2003. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2008.
  9. ^ "2003 ARIA Award winners". Channel Ten. Retrieved 26 June 2008.
  10. ^ "APRA search engine". APRA. Archived from the original on 24 January 2008. Retrieved 26 June 2008. Note: requires user to input song title e.g. A CAT NEEDS A MOUSE