Boys & Girls (album)

Boys & Girls is the debut studio album from American rock band Alabama Shakes. It was released on April 9, 2012. The album peaked at number 6 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and number 3 on the UK Albums Chart.

This article is about the Alabama Shakes album. For the 1985 album by Bryan Ferry, see Boys and Girls (album).
Boys & Girls
Studio album by
Alabama Shakes
ReleasedApril 9, 2012 (2012-04-09)
Recorded2011
StudioThe Bomb Shelter
(Nashville, Tennessee)
Genre
Length36:12
LabelATO (US)
Rough Trade (UK)
Producer
Alabama Shakes chronology
Alabama Shakes
(2011)		 Boys & Girls
(2012)		 Sound & Color
(2015)
Singles from Boys & Girls
  1. "Hold On"
    Released: February 6, 2012

The vinyl LP version of the record was pressed by United Record Pressing in Nashville, TN.

Reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.0/10[1]
Metacritic76/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The A.V. ClubB−[4]
The Daily Telegraph[5]
The Guardian[6]
The Independent[7]
Los Angeles Times[8]
NME7/10[9]
Pitchfork7.8/10[10]
Rolling Stone[11]
Spin7/10[12]

Critical reception

The album has been well received by critics. Gavin Haynes of NME gave Boys & Girls a positive review, stating, "In many ways Boys & Girls it is as note-perfect an album as you'll hear all year, yet it's also often perfectly inert. Their new bestie Jack White flagrantly copied vast chunks of the past, but in so doing he also stripped it down and rebuilt it in his own image. Despite their obviously vast talent, still less than a year after they first read about themselves on the internet, the stellar rise and rise of Alabama Shakes possibly hasn't afforded them quite enough time to find out who they really are."[9] Los Angeles Times also gave the album a positive review stating, "The Alabama Shakes’ first album, "Boys & Girls," is an electric jolt that anyone who loves blues-based rock music should track down immediately. Consisting of three men and one young explosion named Brittany Howard on vocals and guitar, the group, which formed in northern Alabama in 2009, offers stripped down truth, minus any affectation, histrionics or irony."[8]

The album was listed at #34 on Rolling Stone's list of the top 50 albums of 2012.[13]

Commercial performance

Boys & Girls debuted in the United States at number sixteen on the Billboard 200. On April 12, 2012 the album entered the Irish Albums Chart at number thirteen.[14] The album entered the UK Albums Chart at number three,[15] and also topped the inaugural Official Record Store Chart.[16] As of April 2015, the album has sold 744,000 copies in the U.S.[17]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Alabama Shakes.

No.TitleLength
1."Hold On"3:46
2."I Found You"2:59
3."Hang Loose"2:24
4."Rise to the Sun"3:08
5."You Ain't Alone"4:44
6."Goin' to the Party"1:45
7."Heartbreaker"3:47
8."Boys & Girls"3:25
9."Be Mine"4:14
10."I Ain't the Same"2:55
11."On Your Way"3:05
12."Heavy Chevy" (bonus track on 7" vinyl)2:25
13."Pocket Change" (bonus track on 7" vinyl)2:25
14."Mama" (bonus track on 7" vinyl)1:34

Personnel

Alabama Shakes:

Additional musicians:

  • Paul Horton – Farfisa organ and Rhodes piano on "Rise to the Sun", piano and organ on "I Ain't the Same"
  • Micah Hulscher – piano and organ on "I Found You" and "Hang Loose"
  • Mitch Jones – organ on "Heartbreaker"
  • Ben Tanner – piano and organ on "Be Mine"

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (2012–13) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[18] 36
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[19] 63
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[20] 4
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[21] 66
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[22] 15
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[23] 18
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[24] 7
French Albums (SNEP)[25] 62
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[26] 59
Irish Albums (IRMA)[14] 5
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[27] 34
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[28] 87
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[29] 34
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[30] 48
UK Albums (OCC)[15] 3
UK Official Record Store Chart (OCC)[16] 1
US Billboard 200[31] 6
US Rock Albums (Billboard)[31] 3
US Alternative Albums (Billboard)[31] 2

Year-end charts
Chart (2012) Position
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[32] 49
Dutch Albums Chart[33] 83
US Billboard 200[34] 93
US Alternative Albums[35] 18
US Independent Albums[36] 8
US Top Rock Albums[37] 26
Chart (2013) Position
US Billboard 200[38] 85
US Alternative Albums[39] 13
US Independent Albums[40] 7
US Top Rock Albums[41] 19

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[42] Platinum 80,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[43] Gold 128,266[44]
United States (RIAA)[45] Platinum 1,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history
Country Release date Format Label
United States 3 April 2012[46] Download ATO Records
United Kingdom 6 April 2012[47] Rough Trade Records
9 April 2012[48] CD
United States 10 April 2012[49] ATO Records
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References
  1. "Boys & Girls by Alabama Shakes reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  2. "Reviews for Boys & Girls by Alabama Shakes". Metacritic. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  3. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Boys & Girls – Alabama Shakes". AllMusic. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
  4. Greenwald, David (April 10, 2012). "Alabama Shakes: Boys & Girls". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  5. Brown, Helen (April 5, 2012). "Alabama Shakes: Boys & Girls, CD review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  6. Petridis, Alexis (April 5, 2012). "Alabama Shakes: Boys & Girls – review". The Guardian. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  7. Gill, Andy (April 11, 2012). "Album: Alabama Shakes, Boys & Girls (Rough Trade)". The Independent. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  8. Roberts, Randall (April 10, 2012). "Album review: The Alabama Shakes' 'Boys & Girls'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  9. Haynes, Gavin (April 5, 2012). "Alabama Shakes – 'Boys & Girls'". NME. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  10. Maddux, Rachael (April 9, 2012). "Alabama Shakes: Boys & Girls". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  11. Dolan, Jon (April 10, 2012). "Boys & Girls". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  12. Farrar, Justin F. (April 9, 2012). "Alabama Shakes, 'Boys and Girls' (ATO Records)". Spin. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  13. "50 Best Albums of 2012: Alabama Shakes, 'Boys Girls'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
  14. "Irish Albums Chart > Archive > Week Ending: April 12, 2012". GFK. Archived from the original on October 5, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
  15. "Archive Chart". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
  16. Kreisler, Laura (20 April 2012). "Official Record Store Chart Top 40 unveiled!". London: Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  17. Keith Claufield (April 29, 2015). "Alabama Shakes Scores Its First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. (Prometheus Global Media). Archived from the original on April 29, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  18. "Australiancharts.com – Alabama Shakes – Boys & Girls". Hung Medien.
  19. "Austriancharts.at – Alabama Shakes – Boys & Girls" (in German). Hung Medien.
  20. "Ultratop.be – Alabama Shakes – Boys & Girls" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  21. "Ultratop.be – Alabama Shakes – Boys & Girls" (in French). Hung Medien.
  22. "Alabama Shakes Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard.
  23. "Danishcharts.dk – Alabama Shakes – Boys & Girls". Hung Medien.
  24. "Dutchcharts.nl – Alabama Shakes – Boys & Girls" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  25. "Lescharts.com – Alabama Shakes – Boys & Girls". Hung Medien.
  26. "Officialcharts.de – Alabama Shakes – Boys & Girls". GfK Entertainment Charts.
  27. "Norwegiancharts.com – Alabama Shakes – Boys & Girls". Hung Medien.
  28. "Spanishcharts.com – Alabama Shakes – Boys & Girls". Hung Medien.
  29. "Swedishcharts.com – Alabama Shakes – Boys & Girls". Hung Medien.
  30. "Swisscharts.com – Alabama Shakes – Boys & Girls". Hung Medien.
  31. Boys & Girls - Alabama Shakes | Billboard.com
  32. "Ultratop Belgian Charts". ultratop.be. 2013-06-21. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
  33. Steffen Hung. "Dutch charts portal". dutchcharts.nl. Archived from the original on 2013-01-01. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
  34. "Billboard 200 – Year-End 2012". Billboard. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  35. "Alabama Albums – Year-End 2012". Billboard. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  36. "Independent Albums – Year-End 2012". Billboard. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  37. "Hot Rock Albums – Year-End 2012". Billboard. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  38. "Billboard 200 – Year-End 2013". Billboard. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  39. "Alabama Albums – Year-End 2013". Billboard. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  40. "Independent Albums – Year-End 2013". Billboard. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  41. "Hot Rock Albums – Year-End 2013". Billboard. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  42. "Canadian album certifications – Alabama Shakes – Boys & Girls". Music Canada.
  43. "British album certifications – Alabama Shakes – Boys & Girls". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Boys & Girls in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  44. "Official Charts Analysis Josh Groban Scores first No 1 with 20,092 sales". Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  45. "American album certifications – Alabama Shakes – Boys & Girls". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
  46. iTunes - Music - Boys & Girls by Alabama Shakes Archived November 4, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. US
  47. iTunes - Music - Boys & Girls by Alabama Shakes. UK
  48. "Boys & Girls: Alabama Shakes: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-08-17.
  49. Boys & Girls. "Boys & Girls: Alabama Shakes: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
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