Description
Shadow Boxing is a solo album by the American singer and songwriter Denes McIntosh (aka Dennis McIntosh) of Shiloh fame, independently released in 1983. The album was recorded and mixed in 1983 by Paul Weaver at Music Annex in Menlo Park, California; with Weaver, Rich Martin, and Denes McIntosh producing. Arranged by McIntosh and Martin. All songs written by Denes McIntosh.
CD re-issue
Sound quality on this one could be better, but veteran singer/songwriter McIntosh admits this upfront – his original masters were lost and these were digitised from an old cassette. However the songs, all original by McIntosh, are strong, even adult oriented in spots (even an s-word!) and performed with energy and commitment by McIntosh and a tight rock band. It certainly does have a late ’70s/early ’80s feel about it – I was reminded of The Byrds, Michael Nesmith, Crosby, Stills & Nash and even the occasional flash of Status Quo sounding rock. There are subtle religious references and imagery – «The Outcast» could be about Jesus, but that’s left open. «The Visitor» is very likely about God (“I think I can love him/ In a way I’ve never known”). There’s certainly a strong social conscience in the album. «Hunger» is about poverty of circumstance and poverty of soul, while «Easy Street» is an almost John the Baptist-like indictment of society – it even breaks into prose, as if the poetry couldn’t contain the intensity – “But where are all the friends of the unfortunate now?/ Have they run to houses on secluded hillsides to hide from the discomfort of their past participation in the pain?”. I’m not a fan of the spoken word in mid-song, but I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt here. [Brendan O’Regan, Cross Rhythms, May 2011]
CD tracklist:
01. What Does It Matter? – 3:36
02. Sky Sometimes – 5:13
03. No Emotion – 4:04
04. Masquerade – 3:54
05. Mannequin – 3:39
06. Luckiest Guy In The World – 4:42
07. The Outcast – 4:14
08. Easy Street – 3:39
09. The Visitor – 2:57
10. Hunger – 4:03
11. Love That I Can Touch – 3:28
Note: Re-issued on CD by McIntosh in 2008. (“The original Master Tapes for this album have been lost. Consequently, this music has been digitized from a cassette tape that remained in my possession. Any reduction in the quality of this recording is due to its transference from the cassette.”) Available at Bandcamp: https://denesmcintosh-theoldcoyote.bandcamp.com/album/shadow-boxing-1983
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.