Shelter

Description

Shelter is the sophomore album by the American rock band Lone Justice, released on Geffen Records in 1986, manufactured by Warner Bros. Records. The album was recorded at Atlantic Studios in New York City, and at The Village Recorder in Los Angeles, California; with Little Steven, Jimmy Iovine, and the band producing.

Produced Jimmy Iovine told us recently that the most intense vocal performance he had ever witnessed in a studio was that of Bruce Springsteen on the finale of «Adam Raised a Cain» – that is, until he heard Maria McKee sing «Inspiration» with the entire vocal as intense as Springsteens’s peak moments, he said. Not surprisingly, «Inspiration» is the climactic high point of this very inspirational second album from Lone Justice, and even if the rest of McKee’s vocal performances don’t sweat with quite that level of urgency, each on is a distinct marvel nonetheless. She’s easily the best all-around, all-purpose female singer in rock right now, bar none.

On the first Lone Justice album last year, McKee was only responsible for half the songwriting, but on this worthy follow-up she had a hand in all of the material, much of which espouses a fairly blatant Christian point of view. Lone Justice was previously best known for populist anthems of American living and a distinctly country-flavored musical terrain. With the lovely exception of «Dixie Storms», however, this album is much less specific – both on its less rootsy, more mainstream rock strains and in its more universal and more obviously spiritual lyrics. It all may not be as unique as charming as the old Lone Justice, but it’s more mature and probably a bit less mannered at that. McKee has always sung with the authority of an old bluewoman, but on this one, the depth of sentiment – whether concerning the Lord or interpersonal relationships – shows her to be one grown-up 22-year-old.

Fans from way back (of which this writer is one) may quibble with the drastic changes in the band’s identity (not to mention personnel – she’s the only original member left), but there can be no doubt – Maria McKee is just as valid and musically astonishinig as a “mainstream” rocker as she was as a country-rocker. Her ability to wail on the high end (see «Inspiration») is already well-known, but she can also handle the melodic twists and turns of the more subdued, mid-tempo songs here with breathtaking authority (check «Reflected»), and that’s the true test of her talent. That she has unexpectedly integrated her faith and her art so seamlessly is the clincher, as if there needed to be one. “Fill me up,” she sings repeatedly, and the overflow spills onto the vinyl. Call her inspirational. [Chris Willman, CCM, January 1987]

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LP tracklist:

Side One
A1. “I Found Love” – 4:15
A2. “Shelter” – 4:37
A3. “Reflected (On My Side)” – 4:57
A4. “Beacon” – 4:18
A5. “Wheels” – 5:05

Side Two
B1. “Belfry” – 5:03
B2. “Dreams Come True (Stand Up And Take It)” – 4:06
B3. “The Gift” – 4:16
B4. “Inspiration” – 3:49
B5. “Dixie Storms” – 3:37

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