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The Shades — Basement Sessions 1978-1980
(Think Like a Key TLAK1250, 1980/2026, CD / DL)

by Henry Schneider, Published 2026-10-08

Basement Sessions 1978-1980 Cover art

Think Like a Key continues its excavation of regional obscurities with Basement Sessions, a collection of recordings made by New Jersey's The Shades between 1978 and 1980. The title tells you almost everything you need to know. These are basement tapes, and they sound like it. The Shades were energetic, competent musicians with wide-ranging tastes. Across these recordings they move from British Invasion-inspired pop to psychedelia, garage rock, new wave, barrelhouse piano, island rhythms, and even a curious detour into Scottish-flavored anthem rock. Variety is never in short supply. The problem is that the band rarely stays in one place long enough to develop a distinctive identity. Tracks often introduce appealing ideas, then abandon them in favor of another stylistic turn. More than once I found myself wishing they would stop changing direction and simply explore a good idea more fully. The strongest example is "Crime Club," the longest track in the set. Its funky beat, descending scarping guitar strings motif, and atmospheric touches finally suggest a band carving out its own personality. "Men from the Boys" is another surprise, using a galloping rhythm and keyboard "bagpipes" to create something memorable and unexpectedly effective. The opening "Hello" remains a solid rocker, while "Close at Hand" benefits from an excellent guitar break. Elsewhere, there are flashes of promise rather than fully realized songs. A Dr. John-meets-Elton John piano feel briefly lifts "Where's My Hat?" Interesting keyboard textures appear throughout the collection. Yet too many tracks feel like a band trying on influences rather than refining its own sound. The source material doesn't help. The recordings are noticeably thin, with too much treble and not enough low-end support. Guitars, vocals, keyboards, and percussion often compete in the same frequency range, creating a bright, fatiguing sound. The two single versions appended at the end demonstrate how much a proper studio improved matters. The performances are tighter and the production more polished, though they also confirm that fidelity was never the band's main issue. What ultimately emerges is not a lost classic but a snapshot of a young band searching for its voice. That's valuable in its own right. Think Like a Key has presented the material with little apparent filtering, preserving everything from false starts and studio chatter to the final moments of the album, where the music ends and the tape simply rolls on through joking, random noises, and conversation. Some listeners will appreciate the authenticity. Others may wonder whether a little editing would have been beneficial. Still, there are enough worthwhile moments here to justify the excavation. Basement Sessions captures a band full of enthusiasm, ability, and ideas. What it doesn't quite capture is a band that knew exactly who it wanted to be.

Filed under: Archives, 2026 releases, 1980 recordings

Related artist(s): The Shades

More info
http://thinklikeakey.bandcamp.com/album/basement-sessions-1978-1980

 

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