Shapes and Patterns

Shapes and Patterns is a 1997 album by the British pop group Swing Out Sister. It was first released in Japan in March 1997, and then in Europe and USA the year after. Producer Paul Staveley O'Duffy, who co-wrote half of the songs, was back at the helm. As an orchestra was once again employed (led by Gavyn Wright), the lush arrangements characteristic of Kaleidoscope World resurfaced. The album features the track "Now You're Not Here" which was used as the theme to the Japanese programme Mahiru No Tsuki, as well as a reworked version of "Better Make It Better" which had featured on their previous studio album, The Living Return.

Shapes and Patterns
Studio album by
Swing Out Sister
ReleasedMarch 1997
RecordedJuly 1995 - May 1996
Length52:14
LabelFontana Records (Japan)
Mercury Records (U.S.)
ProducerPaul Staveley O'Duffy
Swing Out Sister chronology
Best of Swing Out Sister
(1996)		 Shapes and Patterns
(1997)		 Filth and Dreams
(1999)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [1]

This album would also mark the beginning of the group's collaborations with Japanese musicians in their studio sessions.

The liner notes, written by composer/singer-songwriter Mary Edwards, point out the influences of Burt Bacharach, Jimmy Webb, and John Barry are perceptible in the string arrangements and Latin rhythms, as well as Minnie Riperton, Rotary Connection and The 5th Dimension. Mercury Records distributed Shapes and Patterns in the United States. In an interview with Paul Sexton of Billboard magazine, a marketing executive from Mercury described the challenge associated with promoting the album in the U.S. due to the evolution of the group's music: "When you have a band like Swing Out Sister, you'd have a tough time pinpointing their sound. It's pop, it's urban, it's adult, it's jazz. Europe and Japan don't adhere to those rules as much as America does. It crosses over so many lines, and that's where Swing Out's strength is."[2]

Track listing
  1. "Somewhere in the World" - 3:45 (Andy Connell/Corinne Drewery/Paul Staveley O'Duffy)
  2. "Here and Now" - 5:06 (A. Connell/C. Drewery/P. S. O'Duffy)
  3. "We Could Make It Happen" - 5:13 (A. Connell/C. Drewery/P. S. O'Duffy)
  4. "Shapes and Patterns" - 0:52 (A. Connell/C. Drewery/P. S. O'Duffy)
  5. "Better Make It Better" - 5:23 (A. Connell/C. Drewery)
  6. "Something Out of This World" - 5:02 (A. Connell/C. Drewery/P. S. O'Duffy)
  7. "Joe Meek's Cat" - 0:23 (C. Drewery/A. Connell/P. S. O'Duffy)
  8. "Stoned Soul Picnic" - 5:08 (Laura Nyro)
  9. "You Already Know" - 4:34 (A. Connell/C. Drewery/P. S. O'Duffy)
  10. "Always" - 5:05 (A. Connell/C. Drewery/P. S. O'Duffy)
  11. "Now You're Not Here" - 4:36 (A. Connell/C. Drewery/P. S. O'Duffy)
  12. "Icy Cold as Winter" - 5:13 (A. Connell/C. Drewery/P. S. O'Duffy)
  13. "Shapes and Patterns" (Reprise) - 1:23 (A. Connell/C. Drewery/P. S. O'Duffy)

Personnel

Swing Out Sister

Additional Musicians

  • Tim Cansfield – guitars
  • Luís Jardim – bass guitar, percussion
  • Andrew Small – drums (1, 2, 5)
  • Gota Yashiki – drums (3, 4, 6-13), rhythm programming (3, 8, 9)
  • Steve Sidelnyk – rhythm programming (4, 6, 9, 13)
  • Larry Williams – saxophone (1, 4, 9, 13)
  • Snake Davis – saxophone (3, 6), flute (3, 6), horn arrangements (3, 6)
  • Hideyo Takakuwa – flute (11)
  • Osamu Koike – saxophone (11)
  • Takuo Yamamoto – saxophone (11)
  • Bill Reichenbach, Jr. – trombone (1, 4, 9, 13)
  • Fayyaz Virji – trombone (3, 6)
  • Yoichi Murata – trombone (11), bass trombone (11), horn arrangements (11)
  • Gary Grant – trumpet (1, 4, 9, 13), flugelhorn (1, 4, 9, 13)
  • Jerry Hey – trumpet (1, 4, 9, 13), flugelhorn (1, 4, 9, 13), horn arrangements (1, 4, 9, 13)
  • Steve Sidwell – trumpet (3, 6), flugelhorn (3, 6)
  • Toshio Araki – trumpet (11), flugelhorn (11)
  • Masahiko Sugasaka – trumpet (11), flugelhorn (11)
  • Robin Smith – string arrangements (1, 2, 8)
  • Gavyn Wright – string conductor (1, 2, 8)
  • The London Session Orchestra – strings (1, 2, 8)
  • George Chandler – backing vocals
  • Leon Daniels – backing vocals
  • Derek Green – backing vocals
  • Stevie Lange – backing vocals
  • Sylvia Mason-James – backing vocals
  • Melodie Sexton – backing vocals
  • Beverley Skeete – backing vocals
  • Lance Ellington – backing vocals (7)
  • Miriam Stockley – backing vocals (7)
  • Frank Campbell – vocal arrangements (7)

Production
  • Paul Staveley O'Duffy – producer, mixing
  • Ben Darlow – engineer
  • Jon Bailey – assistant engineer
  • Steve Cook – assistant engineer
  • Ben Georgiades – assistant engineer
  • Scott Howland – assistant engineer
  • Valerie Jaquot – assistant engineer
  • Tatsuya Shimokawa – assistant engineer
  • Yutaka Shimoyama – assistant engineer
  • Ibi Tijani – assistant engineer
  • Yutaka Uematsu – assistant engineer
  • Dah Len – photography[3]
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References
  1. "Shapes and Patterns - Swing Out Sister - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  2. Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications), page 382.
  3. Album details SwingOutSister.com. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
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