Shaw Blades

{{Short description|American music duo}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}

Shaw Blades is an American musical duo/group formed by Tommy Shaw of Styx and Jack Blades of Night Ranger, both of whom played in the supergroup Damn Yankees. It is an informal duo which has produced two albums between other projects, 1995's Hallucination and 2007's Influence. The first two songs on "Hallucination" -- "My Hallucination" and "I'll Always Be with You"—received modest airplay. "Influence" consisted solely of 1960s and 1970s cover songs that influenced them. Blades' son Colin, a songwriter himself, contributed backing vocals and arrangements to the album. Shaw Blades also recorded a cover of the classic Christmas song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" on the A Classic Rock Christmas album by various classic rock artists in 2002.{{cite web |url=https://www.discogs.com/Various-A-Classic-Rock-Christmas/release/7724489 |title=A Classic Rock Christmas |last= |first= |date= |website= |publisher=Discogs |access-date=26 April 2021 |quote=}}{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/a-classic-rock-christmas-sanctuary-mw0000225310 |title=A Classic Rock Christmas |last= |first= |date= |website= |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=26 April 2021 |quote=}} Shaw Blades did a short tour of America in Spring 2007 and another in Autumn 2007. Both members still principally record and perform with the acts which made them famous. From 2007 to 2009, they were joined on tour by Will Evankovich on the request of Blades, who had seen Evankovich's band American Drag perform and wanted him to join them on acoustic,12-string, harmonica and background vocals.{{Cite web|last=Richter|first=Alison|date=2012-02-01|title=Interview: Producer/Musician Will Evankovich on Importance of Theory and How Guitarists Can Maximize Studio Time|url=https://www.guitarworld.com/features/interview-producermusician-will-evankovich-importance-theory-and-how-guitarists-can-maximize-studio-time|access-date=2021-10-06|website=guitarworld|language=en}}

Discography

=''Hallucination''=

{{Infobox album

| italic_title = no

| name = Hallucination

| type = Studio

| artist = Shaw Blades

| cover = Shaw_Blades_-_Hallucination_Cover.jpg

| alt =

| released = {{start date|1995|3|14}}

| recorded = August/September, 1994

| venue =

| studio = Jack's Barn

| genre = Rock

| length = 42:36

| label = Warner Records

| producer = {{hlist|Don Gehman|Tommy Shaw|Jack Blades}}

| prev_title =

| prev_year =

| next_title = Influence

| next_year = 2007

}}

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|3|5}} {{AllMusic|class=album|id=mw0000124953 |label=Hallucination Review |first=Leslie |last=Mathew |accessdate=26 April 2021 }}

}}

{{track listing

| all_writing = Tommy Shaw and Jack Blades, unless otherwise noted

| total_length =

| title1 = My Hallucination

| length1 = 4:40

| title2 = I'll Always Be With You

| length2 = 4:09

| title3 = Come to Be My Friend

| length3 = 5:08

| title4 = Don't Talk to Me Anymore

| length4 = 4:27

| title5 = I Stumble In

| length5 = 4:32

| title6 = Blue Continental

| length6 = 2:32

| title7 = Down That Highway

| length7 = 3:59

| title8 = How You Gonna Get Used to This

| length8 = 4:05

| title9 = Night Goes On

| length9 = 2:42

| title10 = I Can't Live Without You

| length10 = 5:02

| title11 = The End

| length11 = 1:20

}}

{{track listing

| title12 = How Does It Feel

| note12 = Japanese Bonus Track

| title13 = Straight Down the Line

| note13 = Japanese Bonus Track

}}

==Musicians==

  • Jack Blades – Vocals, Bass, Percussion, Acoustic Guitar on "The End"
  • Tommy Shaw – Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards, Percussion
  • Steve Smith – Drums (except tracks 4,6,7)
  • The Neverleave Brothers – Backing Vocals
  • Michael Cartellone – Drums (tracks 4, 6, 7)

==Production==

  • Tommy Shaw – Producer
  • Jack Blades – Producer
  • Don Gehman – Producer, Mixer, Recorder
  • Eddy Schreyer – Mastering
  • Neil King – Production Engineer
  • Jeff Lord-Alge – Production Engineer
  • Jim Goodwin – Assistant Engineer
  • Janet Levinson – Art Direction/Design
  • Reisig & Taylor – Photography
  • Cory Jacobs – Studio & Musicians Photos

{{clear}}

=''Influence''=

{{Infobox album

| italic_title = no

| name = Influence

| type = Studio

| artist = Shaw Blades

| cover = Shaw_Blades_-_Influence_Cover.jpg

| alt =

| released = {{start date|2007|3|6}}

| recorded =

| venue =

| studio = {{Unbulleted list|Jack's Barn, Sonoma County, CA|Tommy's House, Los Angeles, CA}}

| genre = Rock

| length = 38:31

| label = VH1 Classic Records

| producer = {{hlist|Tommy Shaw|Jack Blades}}

| prev_title = Hallucination

| prev_year = 1995

| next_title =

| next_year =

}}

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|3.5|5}} {{AllMusic|class=album|id=mw0000573253 |label=Influence Review |first=Greg |last=Prato |accessdate=26 April 2021 }}

}}

{{track listing

| total_length =

| extra_column = Original Artist

| title1 = Summer Breeze

| extra1 = Seals and Crofts (1972)

| writer1 = {{hlist|Jim Seals|Dash Crofts}}

| length1 = 3:33

| title2 = Time of the Season

| extra2 = The Zombies (1968)

| writer2 = Rod Argent

| length2 = 3:49

| title3 = Your Move

| extra3 = Yes (1971)

| writer3 = {{hlist|Jon Anderson|Chris Squire}}

| length3 = 3:42

| title4 = I Am a Rock

| extra4 = Simon & Garfunkel (1966)

| writer4 = Paul Simon

| length4 = 3:48

| title5 = Lucky Man

| extra5 = Emerson, Lake & Palmer (1970)

| writer5 = Greg Lake

| length5 = 4:36

| title6 = The Sound of Silence

| extra6 = Simon & Garfunkel (1964)

| writer6 = Paul Simon

| length6 = 3:12

| title7 = California Dreamin{{'-}}

| extra7 = The Mamas & The Papas (1963)

| writer7 = {{hlist|John Phillips|Michelle Phillips}}

| length7 = 2:40

| title8 = On a Carousel

| extra8 = The Hollies (1965)

| writer8 = {{hlist|Graham Nash|Allan Clarke|Tony Hicks}}

| length8 = 3:25

| title9 = Dirty Work

| extra9 = Steely Dan (1972)

| writer9 = {{hlist|Donald Fagen|Walter Becker}}

| length9 = 3:13

| title10 = For What It's Worth

| extra10 = Buffalo Springfield (1967)

| writer10 = Stephen Stills

| length10 = 3:06

| title11 = Dance With Me

| extra11 = Orleans (1975)

| writer11 = {{hlist|John Hall|Johanna Hall}}

| length11 = 3:27

| title12 = No Matter What

| note12 = Japanese Bonus Track

| extra12 = Badfinger (1970)

| writer12 = Pete Ham

| length12 = 3:01

}}

==Musicians==

  • Jack Blades – Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Percussion, Vocals
  • Tommy Shaw – Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Keyboards, Percussion, Vocals
  • Michael Lardie – Keyboards
  • Brian Tichy – Drums
  • Kelly Keagy – Drums on "Dirty Work"
  • Ben Krames – Drums on "Time of the Season"
  • Colin Blades – Backing Vocals on "Your Move"
  • Randy Mitchell – Loops

==Production==

  • Tommy Shaw – Producer
  • Jack Blades – Producer
  • Michael Lardie – Engineer, Mixer
  • Noel Golden – Mixer
  • Dave Donelly – Mastering
  • John Kalodner – Mastering
  • Diane Burk – Album Coordination
  • Leslie Langlo – Album Coordination
  • Jeanne Shaw – Photos
  • Jennifer Starr – Photos
  • Scott Rosen – Photos

Track information and credits verified from the album's liner notes.{{Cite AV media notes |title=Hallucination |others=Shaw Blades |type=liner notes |access-date= |year=1995 |publisher=Warner Brothers |id=9 45835-2}}{{Cite AV media notes |title=Influence |others=Shaw Blades |type=liner notes |access-date= |year=2007 |publisher=VH1 Classic Records |id=VH00106}}

{{clear}}

In other media

"California Dreamin'" was used at the end of the last episode of season 2 of the TV show Californication.{{cite web |url=https://www.popisms.com/Song/17108/California-Dreamin-Shaw-Blades?rnid=141752 |title=Californication S2-E12 |last= |first= |date= |website= |publisher=Popisms |access-date=26 April 2021 |quote=}}{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1320581/soundtrack |title=Californication Soundtrack |last= |first= |date= |website= |publisher=IMDB |access-date=26 April 2021 |quote=}}

"My Hallucination" was used in the movie Tommy Boy.{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/tommy-boy-music-from-the-motion-picture-mw0000171986 |title=Tommy Boy Soundtrack |last= |first= |date= |website= |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=26 April 2021 |quote=}}

References