Shelter Me (Richard Page album)

Shelter Me is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Richard Page, released on October 22, 1996, by Blue Note Records. It remained Page's only solo studio album until the release of Peculiar Life (2010), fourteen years later. Page dedicated the album to the memory of his mother, Joyce Horton Page, who died in the same year it was released.

As part of Shelter Me's promotion, a bonus extended play (EP) called Acoustic was also distributed by Blue Note Records.

Background

According to Page, Shelter Me was a "bittersweet experience", because while the album was creatively fulfilling for him, Blue Note Records "fell apart" when he finished it:

So it was really kind of a horrible experience, and like I said it was a high and low experience — I loved the music, the creative part of it was fantastic. But then it was bungled, and literally just lost in the shuffle. It kind of left a bad taste in my mouth about what I wanted to do and how much more time I wanted to put into something that might not see the light of day.

All other Mr. Mister's members were involved in the album's production. "My Oxygen" was originally written by Nik Kershaw as "Oxygen", and was first recorded by Elaine Paige in her album Love Can Do That (1991). Page wrote three additional verses for his version, which was later covered by Avalon in their album Oxygen (2001). "A Simple Life" was also sung by John Farnham and released as a single from his album Romeo's Heart (1996). "Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away" is a cover version of a 1974 Stevie Wonder song.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic

A reviewer from Billboard called Shelter Me's lead single "The Best Thing" a "breezy love song" which "captures knack for fine pop songwriting" while being "a promising preview to the forthcoming album."

Track listing

All tracks produced by Richard Page and Kim Bullard.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Best Thing"	Richard Page Marc Jordan	4:35
2.	"My Oxygen"	Nik Kershaw Page	4:13
3.	"Even the Pain"	Page	5:50
4.	"Shelter Me"	Page	5:21
5.	"Let Me Down Easy"	Page Jon Lind	3:26
6.	"A Simple Life"	Page Lind	4:05
7.	"Dependence"	Page	5:25
8.	"Just to Love You"	Page	3:58
9.	"If All Else Fails"	Page	5:38
10.	"Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away"	Stevie Wonder	4:48
Total length:			45:19

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.

Musicians

Cecelia Bullard – backing vocals
Kim Bullard – production, electric organ, electric piano, synthesizers, keyboards
Carmen Carter – backing vocals
Luis Conte – percussion
Lance Eaton – backing vocals
Steve Farris – electric guitar
Denny Fongheiser – drums
Steve George – backing vocals
James Harrah – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, classic guitar
Jimmy Johnson – bass
Marc Jordan – songwriting
Nik Kershaw – songwriting
Jon Lind – songwriting
Jerry Marotta – drums, percussion, ocarina
Pat Mastelotto – percussion, drum machine programming
Keith McCabe – mandolin
Arnold McCuller – backing vocals
Tollak Ollestad – harmonica
Richard Page – lead vocals, backing vocals, songwriting, production, acoustic piano, electric piano, grand piano, acoustic guitar, keyboards
John Pierce – bass
Louis Price – backing vocals
Rick Sailon – violin
Suzanne Teng – flute
Michael Thompson – electric guitar, acoustic guitar
Stevie Wonder – songwriting

Technical

Shawn Berman – engineering
Kim Bullard – engineering
Doug Sax – mastering
Elliot Scheiner – mixing
Bill Smith – engineering

Design

Laurie Goldman – graphic design
Dennis Keeley – photography
E.J. Kempf – typography
Robin Lynch – art direction

Acoustic EP

Acoustic

EP by Richard Page
Released	October 22, 1996
Genre	Acoustic
Length	23:56
Label	Blue Note
Producer	Kim Bullard

Acoustic is a promotional bonus extended play (EP) by Richard Page, released on October 22, 1996, by Blue Note Records. For a limited time, the EP was given to customers who bought Shelter Me. It features four alternate versions of selected songs from its parent album, plus a solo acoustic version of Mr. Mister's "Broken Wings".

Track listing

All tracks produced by Kim Bullard.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Broken Wings" (Acoustic version)	Richard Page John Lang Steve George	5:18
2.	"The Best Thing" (Acoustic version)	Page Marc Jordan	4:35
3.	"A Simple Life" (Acoustic version)	Page	3:57
4.	"Even the Pain" (Acoustic version)	Page	5:13
5.	"Shelter Me" (Acoustic version)	Page	5:33
Total length:			23:56

Personnel

Credits adapted from the EP's liner notes.

Kim Bullard – production, engineering, organ
Denny Fongheiser – drums, percussion
Steve George – songwriting
James Harrah – guitar
Marc Jordan – songwriting
Mike Landy – mastering
John Lang – songwriting
Richard Page – vocals, songwriting, acoustic guitar, acoustic piano
John Pierce – bass

References

^ Shelter Me (Liner notes). Richard Page. Blue Note Records. 1996. BTD-7006.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
Wardlaw, Matt (August 11, 2010). "The Popdose Interview: Richard Page". Pop Dose.
Love Can Do That (Liner notes). Elaine Page. RCA Records. 1991. PD 74932.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
Oxygen (Liner notes). Avalon. Sparrow Records. 2001. SPD 1796.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
A Simple Life (Liner notes). John Farnham. BMG Australia. 1996. GOTH96012.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
Fulfillingness' First Finale (Liner notes). Stevie Wonder. Tamla Records. 1974. T6-332S1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
"Shelter Me - Richard Page". AllMusic. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
"Reviews & Previews". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 40. New York. October 5, 1996. ISSN 0006-2510.
^ Acoustic (Liner notes). Richard Page. Blue Note Records. 1996. BTDM-3095.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

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