''Swing the Statue!'' is the second album by American singer/songwriter

Victoria Williams Victoria Williams (born December 23, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter and musician, originally from Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, although she has resided in Southern California throughout her musical career. Diagnosed with multi ...

, released in 1990 by

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-pun ...

Background

Williams’ debut, 1987's ''Happy Come Home'', received some good critical reviews but made zero commercial impact, selling only fourteen thousand copies. Her original label Geffen was unimpressed by the nonexistent sales and dropped Victoria, after she fired her manager by mail. Early in 1989 her marriage to

Peter Case Peter Case (born April 5, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His career is wide-ranging, from rock n' roll and blues, to folk rock and solo acoustic performance. Biography Early career Case was born in Buffalo, New York, B ...

also fell apart. After her split with Geffen, Victoria would record “

Don't Let It Bring You Down "Don't Let It Bring You Down" is the seventh track on Neil Young's 1970 studio album ''After the Gold Rush''. Background The song was written by Young. It also appears on the 1971 Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young live album ''4 Way Street'' as well ...

” for the Neil Young tribute album '' The Bridge''. She would record her second album in four days early in 1990, focusing on the more joyful of the dozens of songs she had written over the three years since the debut album. Williams would sign with

early in 1990, as one of that label's last ever signings.Young, Rob; ''Rough Trade'', p. 176 Despite many positive critical reviews, the collapse of Rough Trade would mean ''Swing the Statue!'' fared even worse commercially that its predecessor, selling a mere eleven thousand copies.

Track listing

Personnel

*Victoria Williams - vocals, acoustic guitar, piano, dulcimer *Willie Aron - electric and acoustic guitar, organ, backing vocals *Andrew Williams - acoustic guitar *Don Falzone - upright double bass, acoustic bass *Marty Rifkin - pedal steel guitar *Steven Soles - mandolin, trombone *

Byron Berline Byron Douglas Berline (July 6, 1944 – July 10, 2021) was an American fiddle player who played many American music styles, including old time, ragtime, bluegrass, Cajun, country, and rock. Life and career Berline was born in Caldwell, Kansas ...

- fiddle, mandolin *

John Philip Shenale John Philip Shenale (often mentioned as Phil Shenale) is a Canadian composer, arranger, musician and producer based in Los Angeles. Background Shenale was born in Canada in 1951. His family relocated to the United States in the late-1950s ...

- Hammond organ, Kurzweil horns *Michael Blair - drums, Chinese drums, marimba, cowbell, vibraphone, glockenspiel, accordion, organ pedals, washboard, checkerbox, tambourine, backing vocals *David Williams - piano, backing vocals *Melissa Hasin - cello on "Wobbling" *

Buddy Miller Steven Paul "Buddy" Miller (born September 6, 1952) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist and producer, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee. Miller is married to and has recorded with singer-songwriter Julie Miller. ...

- vocals, guitar on "Lift Him Up" *

Julie Miller Julie Anne Miller (born Julie Griffin, July 12, 1956) is a songwriter, singer, and recording artist living in Nashville, Tennessee. She married Buddy Miller in 1981. They sing and play on each other's solo projects and have recorded three duet ...

- vocals on "Lift Him Up"

References

{{reflist 1990 albums Rough Trade Records albums