''Sand in Your Shoes'' is a studio album by English singer-songwriter

Ralph McTell Ralph McTell (born Ralph May, 3 December 1944) is an English singer-songwriter and acoustic guitar player who has been an influential figure on the UK folk music scene since the 1960s. McTell is best known for his song " Streets of London" (19 ...

. It was released in the UK in 1995 by Transatlantic Records and received a US release in 1998 through Red House Records.

Critical reception

Upon its release, Michael Ruby of '' No Depression'' commented, "Standout tracks here, such as 'Tous Les Animaux Sont Tristes', 'Peppers and Tomatoes' and 'I Don't Think About You', find McTell doing what he does best: telling unique stories from unique viewpoints." Clark Collis of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' wrote, "Few easy singalongs emerge, but the album offers further evidence of McTell's reflective strengths. Three decades after his 'Streets of London', a song called 'Care in the Community' highlights one of the social issues troubling him now." William Ruhlmann of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

described the album as a "full, expansive collection of songs that makes a worthy addition to the singer/songwriter's catalog". He added, "''Sand in Your Shoes'' finds McTell over 50 and reflecting philosophically on the passage of time, the approach of death, and several social concerns. The overall tone of the collection is elegiac, the songs full of loss and regret."

Track listing

Personnel

- vocals, guitar, harmonica, keyboards *

Maartin Allcock Maartin Allcock (born Martin Allcock; 5 January 1957 – 16 September 2018) was an English multi-instrumentalist musician and record producer. Biography Born in Middleton, Greater Manchester, Middleton, Lancashire (now Greater Manchester), E ...

- accordion, arranger, bouz, drums, guitars, bass, keyboards, mandolin, uillean pipes, background vocals * Alun Davies - guitar * Jerry Donahue - electric guitar * - piano, arranger *

Chris Leslie Christopher Michael Leslie (born 28 June 1972) is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Shipley from 1997 to 2005 and Nottingham East from 2010 to 2019. A former member of the Labour Party, he defected to form ...

- fiddle, viola, violin, violone * Frank Gallagher - fiddle, whistle * Philip Todd - clarinet, saxophone *

Guy Barker Guy Jeffrey Barker, (born 26 December 1957) is an English jazz trumpeter and composer. Early life Barker was born in Chiswick, London, the son of an actress and a stuntman. He started playing the trumpet at the age of twelve, and within a year ...

- trumpet * Chris Laurence, Dave Pegg - bass *

Gerry Conway Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" ("Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, screenwriter, t ...

Ralph Salmins The Waterboys are a folk rock band formed in Edinburgh in 1983 by Scottish musician Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. Mike Scott has remained ...

- drums * Patric Molard - sampling * Mary Hopkin - vocals * Leah May, Phil Beer, Rebecca Moncur,

Steve Knightley Steve Knightley (born 1954) is an English singer, songwriter and acoustic musician. Since 1992 he has been one half of folk/roots duo Show of Hands along with Phil Beer. Knightley was named "Songwriter of the Nineties" by BBC Radio 6 Music in ...

- background vocals Production * Ralph McTell, Maartin Allcock - producers * Mark Frith, Tim Matyear, Mark Tucker - engineers * Nick Watson - mastering Other * Hugh Gilmour, Eric Peltoniemi - design * David Lieberman, Mike Smallcombe - photography

References

{{Authority control 1995 albums Ralph McTell albums Transatlantic Records albums Red House Records albums