Leon Russell and the Shelter People

Leon Russell and the Shelter People
Studio album by Leon Russell
Released	May 3, 1971
Recorded	August 23–26, September, December 23, 1970, and January 1971 at Island Studios, London; A&M Studios, Hollywood; Skyhill/Shelter Studios, Hollywood; and Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, Sheffield, Alabama[1]
Genre	Pop, rock
Label	Shelter
Producer	Leon Russell, Denny Cordell
Leon Russell chronology
Leon Russell (1970) Leon Russell and the Shelter People (1971) Asylum Choir II (1971)
Singles from Leon Russell and the Shelter People
"The Ballad of Mad Dogs and Englishmen" Released: 1971 "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" Released: 1971 "Stranger in a Strange Land" Released: 1971

Leon Russell and the Shelter People is the second solo album by the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Leon Russell, released in 1971. It peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 200 in the United States. The album has gold certification for sales of over 500,000 albums in the US and Canada.

"The Ballad of Mad Dogs and Englishmen" is a song written by Leon Russell from the soundtrack of the 1971 film Mad Dogs & Englishmen.

Reception[]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
Christgau's Record Guide	B[3]

In a review for Allmusic, the critic Mike DeGagne called "The Ballad of Mad Dogs and Englishmen" the highlight of the album and wrote, "On the whole, Leon Russell and the Shelter People is an entertaining and more importantly, revealing exposition of Russell's music when he was in his prime. ... Carney is an introspective piece which holds up a little better from a songwriting standpoint, but this album does a better job at bearing his proficiency as a well-rounded musician."^[2]

Track listing[]

All tracks composed by Leon Russell except where indicated

1. "Stranger in a Strange Land" (Russell, Don Preston) – 4:01
2. "Of Thee I Sing" (Russell, Don Preston) – 4:22
3. "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" (Bob Dylan) – 5:08
4. "Crystal Closet Queen" – 2:59
5. "Home Sweet Oklahoma" – 3:26
6. "Alcatraz" – 3:51
7. "The Ballad of Mad Dogs and Englishmen" – 3:51
8. "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" (Dylan) – 4:00
9. "She Smiles Like a River" – 2:58
10. "Sweet Emily" – 3:20
11. "Beware of Darkness" (George Harrison) – 4:40

The CD re-issue contains the following bonus tracks:

1. "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" (Dylan) – 3:38
2. "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" (Dylan) – 3:19
3. "She Belongs to Me" (Dylan) – 3:26

Charts[]

Personnel[]

• Leon Russell – vocals, guitar, piano, Hammond organ
• Jim Price, John Gallie, Barry Beckett – Hammond organ
• Jim Keltner, Chuck Blackwell, Jim Gordon, Roger Hawkins – drums
• David Hood, Carl Radle – bass guitar
• Don Preston – guitar, vocals
• Joey Cooper – guitar, vocals
• Claudia Lennear – vocals
• Kathi McDonald – vocals
• Jesse Ed Davis, Eric Clapton, Chris Stainton, Jimmy Johnson – guitar

Production

• Leon Russell – producer
• Denny Cordell – producer
• Terry Manning – Moog programmer, engineer
• Glyn Johns – engineer
• Andy Johns – engineer
• Nick DeCaro – string arrangements

Covers[]

• "Alcatraz" – was covered by on his 1972 album Ululu
• "Alcatraz" – was covered by Nazareth on their 1973 album Razamanaz

References[]