Shelter Me is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Richard Page, released on October 22, 1996, by Blue Thumb Records. It remained Page's only solo studio album until the release of Peculiar Life (2010), fourteen years later. Page dedicated the album to the memory of his mother, Joyce Horton Page, who died in the same year it was released.
As part of Shelter Me'''s promotion, a bonus extended play (EP) called Acoustic was also distributed by Blue Note Records.
Background According to Page, Shelter Me was a "bittersweet experience", because while the album was creatively fulfilling for him, Blue Thumb Records "fell apart" when he finished it:
So it was really kind of a horrible experience, and like I said it was a high and low experience — I loved the music, the creative part of it was fantastic. But then it was bungled, and literally just lost in the shuffle. It kind of left a bad taste in my mouth about what I wanted to do and how much more time I wanted to put into something that might not see the light of day.
All other Mr. Mister's members were involved in the album's production. "My Oxygen" was originally written by Nik Kershaw as "Oxygen", and was first recorded by Elaine Paige in her album Love Can Do That (1991). Page wrote three additional verses for his version, which was later covered by Avalon in their album Oxygen (2001). "A Simple Life" was also sung by John Farnham and released as a single from his album Romeo's Heart (1996). "Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away" is a cover version of a 1974 Stevie Wonder song.
Reception
A reviewer from Billboard called Shelter Me's lead single "The Best Thing" a "breezy love song" which "captures [Page's] knack for fine pop songwriting" while being "a promising preview to the forthcoming album."
Track listing All tracks produced by Richard Page and Kim Bullard.
Personnel Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.
Musicians
Cecelia Bullard – backing vocals Kim Bullard – production, electric organ, electric piano, synthesizers, keyboards Carmen Carter – backing vocals Luis Conte – percussion Lance Eaton – backing vocals Steve Farris – electric guitar Denny Fongheiser – drums Steve George – backing vocals James Harrah – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, classic guitar Jimmy Johnson – bass Marc Jordan – songwriting Nik Kershaw – songwriting Jon Lind – songwriting Jerry Marotta – drums, percussion, ocarina Pat Mastelotto – percussion, drum machine programming Keith McCabe – mandolin Arnold McCuller – backing vocals Tollak Ollestad – harmonica Richard Page – lead vocals, backing vocals, songwriting, production, acoustic piano, electric piano, grand piano, acoustic guitar, keyboards John Pierce – bass Louis Price – backing vocals Rick Sailon – violin Suzanne Teng – flute Michael Thompson – electric guitar, acoustic guitar Stevie Wonder – songwriting
Technical
Shawn Berman – engineering Kim Bullard – engineering Doug Sax – mastering Elliot Scheiner – mixing Bill Smith – engineering
Design
Laurie Goldman – graphic design Dennis Keeley – photography E.J. Kempf – typography Robin Lynch – art direction
Acoustic EP Acoustic is a promotional bonus extended play (EP) by Richard Page, released on October 22, 1996, by Blue Note Records. For a limited time, the EP was given to customers who bought Shelter Me''. It features four alternate versions of selected songs from its parent album, plus a solo acoustic version of Mr. Mister's "Broken Wings".
Track listing All tracks produced by Kim Bullard.
Personnel Credits adapted from the EP's liner notes.
Kim Bullard – production, engineering, organ Denny Fongheiser – drums, percussion Steve George – songwriting James Harrah – guitar Marc Jordan – songwriting Mike Landy – mastering John Lang – songwriting Richard Page – vocals, songwriting, acoustic guitar, acoustic piano John Pierce – bass
References