What Silence Knows

What Silence Knows
Studio album by
Shara Nelson
Released20 September 1993 (1993-09-20)[1]
Genre
Length48:18
LabelCooltempo
ProducerMichael Peden
Shara Nelson chronology
What Silence Knows
(1993) 		Friendly Fire
(1995)
Singles from What Silence Knows
  1. "Down That Road"
    Released: 12 July 1993[2]
  2. "One Goodbye in Ten"
    Released: 1993
  3. "Inside Out"
    Released: 8 November 1993[3]
  4. "Uptight"
    Released: 31 January 1994[4]
  5. "Nobody"
    Released: 23 May 1994[5]
  6. "Inside Out" / "Down That Road (remix)"
    Released: 30 August 1994[6]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Chicago Reader(favorable)[7]
Los Angeles Times[8]
Melody Maker(favorable)[9]
Music Week[10]
NME6/10[11]
Select[12]
Spin(favorable)[13]

What Silence Knows is the debut solo album by English singer Shara Nelson, released in September 1993 on Cooltempo Records. It includes five singles which reached the UK Singles Chart: "Down That Road", "One Goodbye in Ten", "Inside Out", "Uptight" and "Nobody".[14] The album peaked at No. 22 on the UK Albums Chart[15] and was later certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry for sales in excess of 100,000 copies.[16]

The album was shortlisted for the 1994 Mercury Music Prize.[17]

Critical reception

Alan Jones from Music Week wrote, "A glittering solo debut for this talented vocalist. The current single, "One Goodbye in Ten", is particularly fine: a rich string arrangement underpinning a Sixties feel. Other tracks, such as "Nobody", recall her past with Massive Attack, while the vox/piano style of "Inside Out" has a haunting, stark beauty. Could be a Dina Carroll-style breakout."[10] Adam Higginbotham from Select said, "It's a tremendous soul album, with Nelson's searing voice matched to a full spectrum of musical textures and resonant lyrics that will frighten the pants off Derek and Shirley canoodling on the sofa in Swindon."[12]

Track listing

  1. "Nobody" (Shara Nelson, Kenny Nicholas, Trevor Jacobs, Suni Suleynan) – 4:22
  2. "Pain Revisited" (Shara Nelson, Howie Bernstein) – 5:16
  3. "One Goodbye in Ten" (Shara Nelson, Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs) – 5:50
  4. "Inside Out" (Shara Nelson, Kevin Armstrong) – 3:19
  5. "Uptight" (Shara Nelson, Prince Be) – 5:04
  6. "Down That Road" (Shara Nelson, Prince Be) – 5:15
  7. "Chance" (Shara Nelson, Kenny Nicholas, Trevor Jacobs, Suni Suleynan) – 3:58
  8. "Thoughts of You" (Shara Nelson, John Coxon) – 4:16
  9. "How Close" (Shara Nelson, Prince Be) – 3:59
  10. "What Silence Knows" (Shara Nelson, Style Scott) – 6:59

Personnel

  • Shara Nelson – vocals
  • Billy Liesegang, G.A. Parricelli – guitar
  • Mike Peden – bass
  • Mel Wesson – keyboards, synthesizer
  • Michael Timothy, Pete Wingfield – keyboards
  • Rupert Brown, Trevor Murrell – drums
  • Miles Bould – percussion
  • Lyn Gerald, Tee Green – backing vocals
  • Philip D. Todd – flute, electronic wind instrument
  • London Session Orchestra – strings
  • Nick Ingman – string arrangements
  • Gavyn Wright – orchestral leader and conductor

Charts

Album

Chart (1993) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[18] 131
Austrian Albums Chart[19] 32
UK Albums Chart[15] 22

Singles

Year Single UK
chart
[15]
1993 "Down That Road" 19
"One Goodbye in Ten" 21
"Inside Out" –
1994 "Uptight" 19
"Nobody" 49
"Inside Out" / "Down That Road" (remix) 34

References

  1. ^ "Album Releases". Music Week. 18 September 1994. p. 24. Misprinted as the previous week, 13 September, on source.
  2. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 10 July 1993. p. 21.
  3. ^ "Single Releases". Music Week. 6 November 1993. p. 23.
  4. ^ "Single Releases". Music Week. 29 January 1994. p. 25.
  5. ^ "Single Releases". Music Week. 21 May 1994. p. 27.
  6. ^ "Single Releases". Music Week. 27 August 1994. p. 27.
  7. ^ Johnson, Martin (20 October 1994). "No Need to Shout". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  8. ^ Hunt, Dennis (7 August 1994). "Shara Nelson, 'What Silence Knows' (Chrysalis/ERG)". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  9. ^ Bush, Calvin (18 September 1993). "Albums". Melody Maker. p. 39. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  10. ^ a b Jones, Alan (25 September 1993). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Albums" (PDF). Music Week. p. 17. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  11. ^ Morton, Roger (18 September 1993). "Long Play". NME. p. 37. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  12. ^ a b Higginbotham, Adam (October 1993). "New Albums". Select. p. 91. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  13. ^ Bernstein, Jonathan (July 1994). "Spins". Spin. p. 70. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  14. ^ "SHARA NELSON | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
  15. ^ a b c "Official Charts > Shara Nelson". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  16. ^ "BPI > Certified Awards > Search results for 'Shara Nelson' (from bpi.co.uk)". Imgur.com (original source published by British Phonographic Industry). Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  17. ^ "Mercury Prize". www.mercuryprize.com.
  18. ^ "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 13 September 2016". Imgur.com. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  19. ^ "austriancharts.at > Shara Nelson". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 July 2017.