Dim the Lights, Chill the Ham

by Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet

Overview

After making a name for themselves with the outstanding singles collection Savvy Show Stoppers, Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet managed to top themselves with their first proper album, 1991's Dim the Lights, Chill the Ham. As before, the group's music was deeply rooted in vintage instrumental rock and surf music, but with one more year's worth of live work under their belts, the Shadowy Men sounded even tighter and grooved a bit harder on these sessions. Brian Connelly's guitar work is even more explosive on this album, as he filtered the work of everyone from Chet Atkins to Link Wray through his instrument while investing the music with a fierce sense of fun that was miraculously free of hipster irony. Bassist Reid Diamond and drummer Don Pyle match Connelly beautifully, lending both mass and force to these tunes and allowing them to rock impressively without a bit of clutter along the way. And while many instrumental bands have to labor hard in order to give each song a distinct personality, SMOASP have enough twists and turns up their sleeves on Dim the Lights that these tunes cover an impressively broad canvas, from the dreamy pop sincerity of their cover of "In My Room" to the short, sharp shot of fractured noise on "Dewy Drops of Spring." And best of all, you can dance to nearly all of it. Without changing up their formula, the strength of Dim the Lights, Chill the Ham confirmed Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet were no novelty act, and it's a smart and snappy joy to behold. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	10/14/2016
Label:	Yep Roc
UPC:	0634457246416

Tracks

1. Dim the Lights, Chill the Ham
2. Reid's Situation
3. I Know a Guy Named Larry
4. Exit from Vince Lombardi High School
5. Aunt's Invasion
6. Running Meredith
7. Bang Bang
8. Hot Boxcar
9. In My Room
10. Dewy Drops of Spring
11. 5 American 6 Canadian
12. Who Painted Whistler's Mother
13. Case of the Missing Lady Fingers
14. Jackpot
15. D. Tour
16. Hunter S. Thompson's Younger Brother
17. Misogomy & the Object
18. Ben Hur Picked off in a Gazebo
19. Who's Afraid of Alyson Hymer
20. Wow Flutter Hiss
21. You Spin Me Round '86
22. Babakganoosh
23. Siesta Cinema
24. Dim the Lights, Chill the Ham Reprise
25. The Alouette (She Was Canada's First Satellite, Way Before the Americans Even)
26. Tired of Waking up Tired
27. Rover and Rusty
28. Foreign
29. Aft
30. Santa's Compromise
31. Winterfresh
32. Deck the Halls
33. Having an Average Weekend '78
34. Thanks for Buying Our Vinyl

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Armond Jobin   Engineer
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet   Composer
Coyote Shivers   Producer
Sonny Bono   Composer
Gary Usher   Composer
Vince Clarke   Composer
Brian Wilson   Composer
Ormond Jobin   Engineer
Louis Prima   Composer