''Skin 'Em Up'' is the debut album from the Scottish neo-rockabilly group

the Shakin' Pyramids The Shakin' Pyramids (also known as Shakin' Pyramids) were a Scottish rockabilly band formed in Glasgow in 1980. The band consisted of Davie Duncan (vocals, harmonica, percussion) James G. Creighton (acoustic and electric guitar, vocals) and "R ...

, released in 1981 by Cuba Libre, a subsidiary of

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

. It reached no. 48 on the

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, and yielded a single in "Tennessee Rock 'n' Roll". The band released three EPs during 1981, two of which were led by tracks from the album: ''Take a Trip'' and ''Tennessee Rock 'n' Roll'' (the latter backed by single

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

"Alright Alnight" and two new tracks). The album has been described as an important release in the early 1980s

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

revival.''Skin Em' Up''
at

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''Skin 'Em Up'' was recorded in only 50 hours. Producer Ali Mackenzie stated, "The Pyramids had more of an acoustic sound so we could knock the songs out pretty quickly. It was done dirt-cheap."

Reception

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' wrote, "As a debut album, ''Skin 'Em Up'' is confident, fast and fun." ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' noted, "Although The Shakin' Pyramids don't twist the '50's forms into any startling directions, they do invest them with a great deal of spontaneity and freshness." '' Sounds'' stated, "With a deep-rooted love for the Everlys, the hardy ability to busk their way around the nation's bus stops and the confidence to rely on the minimum of instrumental muscle, they are ''different'' from the rest, in a perverse way." ''Skin 'Em Up'' was awarded 5/5 stars in ''

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'' (1983). ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'' wrote, "The album pounds furiously, putting your average megawatt metal band to shame. Songs — mostly non-originals — zip by at a blinding rate; the record's only flaw is its brief running time. Then again, if brevity be the soul of this music, the Shakin' Pyramids are a rockabilly Ramones."

rated the album 4½/5 stars, calling it an "explosive bopping and mostly acoustic set" that "helped define the short-lived rockabilly revival of the early '80s".

Track listing

Side A Side B

Personnel

*The Shakin' Pyramids **Davie Duncan –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

**James G. Creighton –

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

**"Railroad" Ken McLellan – guitar, background vocals *Additional ** Nick Clark –

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

**Brian Young –

Engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

References

{{Authority control 1981 albums The Shakin' Pyramids albums