'On Don't Stop The Scream home recording artist Jim Shelley careens from sweet Beatle-ish pop ("Religion Is That I Love You") to harsh industrial rock a la Ministry ("Abandoned" and "Before And Ever After") to drum machine driven punk ("Don't Stop The Scream" and "Perfect Song") and that's just in the first six songs! A most highly recommended album from the lo-fi pioneer.' - Earl Dittman, Wireless "On this, his third and most powerful album, home recordist Jim Shelley veers from sunny pop to harsh punk, yet manages to weave both into a cohesive whole. That's because even the sweetest of tunes here has an unsettling edge, while his darkest nightmares are delivered with a leering smile. And all is squeezed through an incredibly distorted guitar such as would make Kevin Shields proud. His passionate performance is tamed not at all by the unashamed demo nature of the proceedings. Those interested in excellent songwriting in its purest, most immediate form must pick up on this guy!" - Jim Santo, Alternative Press DON’T STOP THE SCREAM 1. Abandoned (4: 10) :: Recorded 3.7.92 2. Don't Stop The Scream (2:20) :: Recorded 3.18.92 3. Perfect Song (1:36) :: Recorded 3.25.92 4. Before And Ever After (2:00) :: Recorded 4.16.92 5. Safety In #'s (2:54) :: Recorded 4.5.92 6. Religion Is That I Love You (2:32) :: Recorded 4.20-92, lead vocal re-recorded 5.13.92 7. Cara Anne (2:23) :: Recorded 3.23.92, remixed 5.23.92 8. Party's Over (1:54) :: Recorded 4.17.92 9. Pulling Strings (1:52) :: Recorded 3.20.92 10. When Your Dreams (3:20) :: Recorded 3.28.92 11. Even Peace Becomes Warfare (2:24) Recorded 4.11.92 12. No Scars (2:13) :: Recorded 4.23.92 13. I Was Born With A Razor In My Hand (1:07) :: 4.23.92 14. She Cracked* (3:15) :: Recorded 5.16.92 15. Abandoned, Version 3** (6:07) :: Recorded ‘live’ at Attic studios 3.2.86 16. Face (1:18) :: Recorded 3.13.92 17. Turned My World Around (3:59) :: Recorded live at Attic Studios 3.2.85 Remixed and remastered from the original cassette 8 track tapes, January 21-29, 2007 except ‘Before And Ever After’, the master tape of which has been lost. Transferred to digital at 24 bits for maximum resolution. D e d i c a t e d t o W i n s t o n O ' B o o g i e Original 1992 Notes: All songs written and performed by Jim Shelley except where noted. Recorded on an eternally malfunctioning TOA-MR-8T at the Fabulous Attic Studios in Dayton, Virginia and at Big Garage Studios in Bridgewater, Virginia. Tracks 1-14 originally mastered digitally on a Sony DTC-700 April 24 and 29, 1992. Thanks to George and Louise, George and Linda, Anne and Jeff, Aaron, Robert, Gary, Jordy, Patti, Linda Ann, Teri, Dave, Jim, Kurt, Bob, Kenneth, Kim, Neil, Mike Johnson, and of course, Christian and Daniel. Special thanks to Jay and Tom for providing an outlet for my music and the music of other local musicians. Big, big thanks to Jim Santo and Bryan Baker for their dedication to grunts like me manning the front lines. *Written by Jonathan Richman. **Electric rhythm guitar - David Taylor, Electric Bass Guitar - Jordy Williams, Electric Lead Guitar and Lead/Backing Vocals - Jim Shelley, Drums - Yamaha RX-17. Love and thanks. Check out Bookofkills.com for extensive information on the music of Jim Shelley. Write: Jim Shelley 206 High Street Bridgewater, VA 22812 Email: bookofkils@aol.com 2001 Reissue Notes: 'Abandoned' was written I think sometime '83 or '84. It was originally much more of a straight rock song. (You can hear the old arrangement if you happen to have one of the old 8 From the Attic tapes that I gave away to subscribers of the old 'Notes From Underground' newsletter that I ran for several years back in the early to mid '90s. I think I included it later on some tape copies of Don't Stop the Scream.) Anyway, I got into back in 1989 and started changing my...umm...outlook on what music should sound like. I guess in a way the whole Scream album was an homage to Ministry and that genre that they pretty much started, though none of the songs are truly what you'd call industrial. 'Don't Stop the Scream' was written in '92 the day before I recorded it. I came across the phrase in a book of beatnik poetry and built a song around it. The solos on the song are first takes, as is almost everything on the record actually. I recorded 'Perfect Song' one warm morning in March. I had the lyrics and while I was at work the arrangement came to me and I took a couple hours off, raced home and recorded the thing in one shot. 'Before and Ever After' has always been a misunderstood song. When the album came out, some people thought I was turning into some sort of Hitler worshipper, but then some people just aren't very bright. ‘Safety in #'s' was one of those songs that just comes out of the blue. I don't know what it's about really ... just some surreal mumbo jumbo that doesn't really mean anything, but it's a good song. I wasn't ever really satisfied with the arrangement, but then I have never had much to work with in the way of recording equipment so you go with what you have and hope for the best. 'Religion is that I love you' has always been one of my favorite songs of mine. I think it's almost a perfect arrangement. 'Cara Anne' was sort of my tribute to Dinosaur Jr. and j. mascis in particular. I think if you're a big Neil Young fan you're probably aware of j. The solo at the end of the song is probably the best one I've ever pulled off. 'Party's Over' is some sort of bullshit thing I recorded to fill out the tape. But I know some people like it, so what can I say. 'Pulling Strings' was kind of a Vasolines thing that I wrote to mourn artist/photographer Aaron Farrington's departure for the wilds of New York and NYU. I pretty much meant 'When Your Dreams' to be the most over the top fuzz box freakout of all time and I'm not so sure I didn't come pretty damn close. 'Even Peace Becomes Warfare' was just another filler song. The samples are from the film "Pump Up the Volume." 'No Scars' sort of mourns a friend I lost to a car crash many years ago. A lot of my songs are about her. I still had about about a minute and a half of space left of the projected thirty minute running time for the album so, not wanting to waste anymore precious iron oxide than I had to, I wrote 'I was Born with a Razor in my Hand' in about three seconds and recorded it in about two minutes. 'She Cracked' was written by Jonathan Richman and comes from his first brilliant album with the Modem Lovers. I loved the song and knew exactly where he was coming from with the lyrics so I thought I'd knock out my own version. This was originally going to be included on a 7" but the 7" never got made and it ended up on 8 From the Attic. 'Abandoned, ver. 3' was just some Neil Young type thing I and a couple friends churned out along with a drum machine one March evening way back in 1986. 'Face' is a re-recording of a song on the first BOK album, 1989's Bloom or Die? 'Turned My World Around' is a live acoustic recording from the '80s that I made in the attic of my old house in Dayton with a couple young ladies in attendance. Hope you like the album. I tried to make it as good as I could.