Shades in Bed

Shades in Bed (also known as The Records) is the debut album by the British power pop band the Records, released in 1979 by Virgin Records. The album features their best-known song "Starry Eyes."

Shades in Bed
Studio album by
The Records
Released18 May 1979 (1979-05-18)
RecordedFebruary–April 1979
StudioWessex Sound Studios, London
Townhouse Studios, London
GenrePower pop
Length39:45
LabelVirgin
ProducerRobert John "Mutt" Lange
Tim Friese-Greene
The Records chronology
Shades in Bed
(1979)		 Crashes
(1980)
The Records
US album cover

Recording and production

Recording sessions for the album took place from February to April 1979 at Wessex Sound Studios and Townhouse Studios in London. The first four songs recorded, "Teenarama," "Girls That Don't Exist," "Rock and Roll Love Letter" and a new version of the previously released single "Starry Eyes," were produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. Lange could not complete the album due to other commitments so the rest of the album was produced by Tim Friese-Greene. The last song recorded, "The Phone," was a late addition to the album and was produced by Huw Gower. "The Phone" replaced "Rock and Roll Love Letter" which was dropped from the album after it was released as a single in April but was not well received.[1]

Release and reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Q[3]
Smash Hits6/10[4]
The Village VoiceB−[5]

Shades in Bed was released on 18 May 1979 in the United Kingdom but did not chart.

In the United States, the album was titled The Records and featured a different album cover and track listing. The album version of "Starry Eyes" was replaced with the single version, and the tracks opening each side of the LP were switched. Released on 19 July 1979, the album peaked at No. 41 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart in October 1979. The single "Starry Eyes" was a minor hit, peaking at No. 56 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[6] The Records was received positively in publications such as Creem and Trouser Press.[7][8]

Limited edition UK pressings of the album contained a bonus 12-inch EP titled High Heels featuring four cover songs. In the US the EP was included with the first 25,000 copies of the album as an untitled 7-inch record.

AllMusic called the album "a pure pop masterpiece".[2] Trouser Press called it "a wonderful LP".[9]

The album was released on compact disc in 2002 with 10 bonus tracks. The bonus tracks consisted of the four songs from the bonus EP plus the A and B sides of their first three singles, including the US single version of "Teenarama" remixed by Craig Leon.

Track listing

All songs written by Will Birch and John Wicks except where noted.

UK release
Side one
  1. "Girl" (Birch, Wicks, Phil Brown) – 4:11
  2. "Teenarama" – 3:59
  3. "Girls That Don't Exist" (Birch, Richie Bull) – 3:38
  4. "Starry Eyes" – 4:45
  5. "Up All Night" – 4:40
Side two
  1. "All Messed Up and Ready to Go" – 3:52
  2. "Insomnia" – 3:00
  3. "Affection Rejected" (Birch, Wicks, Huw Gower) – 3:52
  4. "The Phone" (Gower, Birch) – 3:21
  5. "Another Star" – 3:58

US release
Side one
  1. "All Messed Up and Ready to Go" – 3:52
  2. "Teenarama" – 3:59
  3. "Girls That Don't Exist" (Birch, Richie Bull) – 3:38
  4. "Starry Eyes" (single version) – 4:21
  5. "Up All Night" – 4:40
Side two
  1. "Girl" (Birch, Wicks, Phil Brown) – 4:11
  2. "Insomnia" – 3:00
  3. "Affection Rejected" (Birch, Wicks, Huw Gower) – 3:52
  4. "The Phone" (Gower, Birch) – 3:21
  5. "Another Star" – 3:58

Bonus EP
Side one
  1. "Abracadabra (Have You Seen Her)" (Frank Secich, Bill Bartolin) – 2:41
  2. "See My Friends" (Ray Davies) – 3:40
Side two
  1. "1984" (Randy California) – 3:41
  2. "Have You Seen Your Mother Baby (Standing in the Shadow)" (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) – 2:52

CD bonus tracks
  1. "Starry Eyes" (single version) – 4:23
  2. "Paint Her Face" – 3:08
  3. "Rock and Roll Love Letter" (Tim Moore) – 3:51
  4. "Wives and Mothers of Tomorrow" – 4:15
  5. "Held Up High" – 3:33
  6. "Teenarama" (remix) – 3:59

Personnel
The Records
Additional musicians
  • Ian Gibbons – keyboards
  • Jane Aire – vocals on "The Phone"

Charts
Chart (1979) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[10] 93
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[11] 80
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[12] 35
US Billboard 200[13] 41

References
  1. Green, Jim (March 1980). "The Records: Changing Records". Trouser Press.
  2. Woodstra, Chris. "Shades in Bed – The Records". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  3. "The Records: Shades in Bed". Q. No. 197. December 2002. p. 130.
  4. Starr, Red (12–25 July 1979). "Albums". Smash Hits. Vol. 1, no. 16. p. 25.
  5. Christgau, Robert (8 October 1979). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  6. Whitburn, Joel (2001). Top Pop Albums 1955–2001. Record Research. p. 721.
  7. Cohen, Mitchell (November 1979). "The Records: The Records". Creem.
  8. Fricke, David (20 September 1979). "The Records: The Records". Rolling Stone. p. 98.
  9. Robbins, Ira. "Records". Trouser Press. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  10. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 247. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  11. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6859b". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  12. "Swedishcharts.com – The Records – Shades in Bed". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  13. "Billboard 200". Billboard. 20 October 1979. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
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