''Shake the Spirit'' is the second studio album by American singer

Elle King Tanner Elle Schneider (born July 3, 1989), known professionally as Elle King, is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Her musical style was influenced by Country music, country, Rock music, rock and blues. In 2012, King released her d ...

, released on October 19, 2018 by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

. It was recorded in

Denton, Texas Denton is a city in and the county seat of Denton County, Texas, United States. With a population of 139,869 as of 2020, it is the 27th-most populous city in Texas, the 197th-most populous city in the United States, and the 12th-most populous ...

. Commercially, ''Shake the Spirit'' peaked at No. 9 on the US

Top Rock Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

( ''Billboard'') and No. 6 on the US

Top Alternative Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

( ''Billboard''). Upon the album's release it received critical acclaim from music critics. Many stated since King's global success with " Ex's and Oh's" it proves that she has much more to offer, stating it is infused with "divorce, self-doubt, medicinal drinking, and

PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on a ...

," all of which King suffered in her personal life after being in the spotlight.

Music

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' described ''Shake the Spirit'' as "confessional rock and roll". ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' said it is "a cathartic, rough-edged diary entry of a project that couldn't be more personal".

Critical reception

Chris Willman of ''Variety'' called the album "a first-rate second album that deals frankly with a rough year or two the singer has had since " Ex's and Oh's" took her big-time. It's infused with divorce, self-doubt, medicinal drinking, PTSD and, well, more divorce." Eric R. Danton of '' Paste'' said the album "plays like a kind of musical revue, with nods at muscular rock, old-school spy movie songs, vintage soul, '60s girl groups and tunes that blend elements of all four", but that they do not "hang together as a group, which gives ''Shake the Spirit'' a scattershot feel. It's an Elle King album, to be sure—her voice is what stitches these songs together, though what is probably supposed to be evidence of her range often feels like she's trying on musical costumes. The result is a lack of cohesion that turns ''Shake the Spirit'' into a series of genre exercises."

Track listing

Personnel

Adapted credits from the liner notes of ''Shake the Spirit''. ;Vocals *Lead vocals – Elle King, Cameron Neal *Background vocals – Denton Choir, Paul DeVincenzo, Jesse Gibbon, Joey McClellan, Cameron Neal, Cherish Robinson, Dave Scalia *Gang vocals – Tim Pagnotta, Brian Phillips ;Instruments *Alto, Tenor, Flute and Clarinet – David Monsch * Bari Sax – Mike Morisson *Bass – Paul DeVincenzo, Elle King,

Greg Kurstin Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and written and produced four songs t ...

, Brian Phillips, Paul Unger *

Cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

s – Shawna Hamilton, Buffi Jacobs *Drums and percussion – Elliott Jacobson, Elle King, Greg Kurstin, Dave Scalia *

Guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

s – Elle King, Greg Kurstin, Rebecca Lovell, Joey McClellan, Cameron Neal, Tim Pagnotta *

Keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

– Jesse Gibbon, Brian Phillips *

Lap Steel The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of playing a traditional ac ...

– Elle King, Megan Lovell *Trombone – David J. Piere *

Violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

s – Catherine Price Allain, Anne Bonnett, Arthur Busby, Ordabek Duissen, Steven Li, Amy Faires Lin, Swang Lin (Concertmaster), Florence Wang ;Production * A&R –

Keith Naftaly Keith Phillip Naftaly (born 1962) is an American music industry executive. He is the president of Artists and repertoire, A&R at RCA Records. Naftaly previously held senior A&R positions at record companies including Arista Records, Arista, Drea ...

Engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

– Julian Burg, Paul DeVincenzo, Greg Kurstin, Alex Pasco, Brian Phillips * Mastering – Ryan Smith,

Stephen Marcussen Stephen Marcussen is the founder and chief mastering engineer at Marcussen Mastering in Hollywood, California, United States. He has been mastering music since 1979. Biography Marcussen's introduction to music recording happened in 1976 when, at ...

("Baby Outlaw") * Mixing –

Neal Avron Neal Avron (born December 31, 1965) is an American record producer, mixer, audio engineer, and musician. Working predominantly in rock music, Avron began working on records in 1993 and achieved his production breakthrough when he co-produced Eve ...

Michael H. Brauer Michael Brauer is a New York-based mix engineer. He received a Grammy for "Best Pop Vocal Album" for his work on John Mayer's ''Continuum (John Mayer album), Continuum'', "Best Alternative Album" for Coldplay's ''Parachutes (Coldplay album), Parachu ...

Tony Hoffer Tony Hoffer is an American record producer, songwriter, and music mixer. Career Hoffer is credited for his work on multiple platinum-selling albums including The Kooks, The Thrills, Beck, Supergrass, Turin Brakes and Air. His records have been ...

Dave Rowland Dave & Sugar was a pop-styled American country music trio which enjoyed its peak success in the mid- to late-1970s. The trio consisted of lead singer Dave Rowland and initially on backing vocals, Vicki Hackeman and Jackie Frantz. Over time, the ...

, Mark "Spike" Stent *Mixing assistant – Micheal Freeman, Scott Skrzynski, Steve Vealey * Producer – Elle King, Greg Kurstin, Tim Pagnotta,

Matt Pence Matthew Louis Pence (born April 13, 1972) is an American recording engineer, producer, and drummer. He owns and manages The Echo Lab studio in Denton, Texas. Early life and education Pence is from St. Louis, Missouri. In 1990, Pence moved to Den ...

;Imagery *Art director – Meghan Foley *Creative producer – Tyler Morgan *Hair – Marwa Basihr *Makeup – Michelle Clark *Photography – Dennis Leupold *Stylists – Dani + Emma

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2018 albums Elle King albums RCA Records albums Albums produced by Greg Kurstin