Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Leon's Sophmore Jinx, September 22, 2000
Russell's great self-titled debut set the bar pretty darn high (The DCC Gold Disc is another Steve Hoffman five star masterpiece). The sophomore jinx was not in effect, with "Shelter People" being one of his best record. Leon has gone on to write a lot more wonderful, beautiful music, but it's "Shelter People" that stands as both a defining collection and sign of the times.
You could attribute this to hindsight, but this record has always been my signpost for the end of the sixties 'peace and love' marketing campaign. There is a certain... ache, a nod that there are some dark times a' comin'. The weariness (wisdom?) is palpable.
The opener "Stranger In A Strange Land" sets the mood perfectly. It's not just one of Leon's best songs, but should be on any *real* Best Songs Ever list.
Maybe some of the weariness it's simply having just pulled off the impossible: putting together and leading Joe Cocker's "Mad Dogs And Englishman" band. That alone's worth sainthood (read the liner notes in the Cocker record). Leon delivers a nice four minute travelog of the tour with "The Ballad Of Mad Dogs And Englishmen."
We get two Dylan covers (five, counting the bonus tracks), "It's A Hard Rain Gonna Fall" and "It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry" are both great reads.
"Alcatraz" tells the tale of the (then) latest hose job the American Indians were getting.
The original closer, George Harrison's "Beware Of Darkness" is as good a read as the orginal. The three excellent bonus tracks tacked to the end makes for a softer landing.
The sound quality is great as usual, thanks to the DCC "trademark of quality" Steve Hoffman. If there's a complaint to make, it's that this disc hasn't gotten the same gold/remaster treatment that Leon's debut did.
If you're new to Leon's music, this or "Leon Russell" are the best places to start. Classic rock and Joe Cocker fans both should have these records. Highly recommended.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Master of Space and Time, October 15, 2003
This album reflects Leon at his peak, in my opinion. The album contains his classic song "Stranger In A Strange Land" as well as good amount of Bob Dylan covers ("Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall," "Love Minus Zero," "She Belongs To Me," "It Takes A Lot To Laugh (It Takes A Train To Cry" and "It's All Over Now Baby Blue)." It also contains "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" which he wrote about his tour with Joe Cocker. I don't mind telling you when this thing came out in 1971 it blew us all away and frankly it rated high indeed on any stoner's list of LP's. Listening to it today, it holds up just fine and sounds as well as if it were just released. Some people might consider a little too country (although more accurately it's country blues) but this baby rocks. It only reached #17 on the charts but it stayed there for over 20 weeks as I recall. A classic album and it is the reason Leon acquired his reputation of "The Master of Space and Time." Check it out and see why.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
old fan, February 10, 2002
The Lawton, OK-born Master of Space and Time was a great favorite of mine from more than thirty years ago, and Leon Russell and the Shelter People was my favorite album. I loved the guy; I even wanted to talk like him - didn't have to work much at that one. Loved that piano work. I had everything of his up through Hank Wilson's Back or whatever that was. I was driving to Virginia from Texas last spring, reached into the stash of casettes when the CD's had run out, pulled something out, and popped it in. Stranger in a Strange Land came up; what a sweet, pleasant surprise - I hadn't heard it in perhaps twenty years, thought I had lost the tape, but it was wonderful to hear again. What a great opening song, like Lauper's I Drove All Night, it whacks you in the head straightaway. You just jump straight into this soulful song in the first notes and that bluesy moan of Leon's. I still enjoyed the songs straight through to the end of the tape, some more than ever. Beware of Darkness, Hard Rain Gonna Fall, It Takes a Train to Cry. It was great music then and now. It's fabulous music on its own merits, and it's a little moment of time in music that means a great deal to me. Made me dig out Mad Dogs and Englishmen at my next stop. Leon's blues- and gospel-influenced early work may not be for everyone, but I call him a master and I call this his best work.
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by Leon Russell 
