The Shaming of the True
| The Shaming of the True | ||||
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| Studio album by Kevin Gilbert | ||||
| Released | 2000 | |||
| Recorded |
NRG Studios, Los Angeles, CA |
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| Genre | Progressive rock | |||
| Length | 67:27 | |||
| Label | KMG | |||
| Producer | Kevin Gilbert | |||
| Kevin Gilbert chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |
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NRG Studios, Los Angeles, CA
Lawnmower and Garden Supply, Pasadena, CA
The Shaming of the True is a rock opera by Kevin Gilbert. It is Gilbert's second solo album, released posthumously in 2000. The album was first released in 2000 as a limited edition and later as a conventional jewel-case CD. A remastered version followed in 2008, and another in 2011 as a limited edition.
The album follows the rise and fall of a singer/musician named Johnny Virgil, whose career follows an arc common to many stars of rock and roll. The narrative introduces a gifted young Johnny dreaming of success, before his fall into the trap of exploitation at the hands of record companies, seduced by fame and substance abuse. As his career becomes larger than life, the many compromises he made provoke a sense of disconnection with his former self. He becomes increasingly burned out and withdrawn, eventually experiencin a break down of the psyche. He steps away from his career and enters a period of isolation and depression, which concludes with peaceful self acceptance. Much later in life, Johnny finds himself on the streets and notices one of his songs on the oldies radio late at night.
Recording of the album started in 1995. Mixer John Cuniberti described the recording process as "extremely creative, open-ended, chaotic, or the only way an incredibly intense musical prodigy was capable of working. Bits and pieces of song ideas appeared — a bass track here, a synth track there, scratch vocals with piano, etc. There were no track sheets or notes on the technical information and song titles, just a lot of interesting music." Gilbert had recorded "Johnny's Last Song" on the street outside of the studio, as well as the rain and train whistle. The recording sessions had largely been completed before Gilbert's unexpected death, which "intensified the process of making the album in a way [Cuniberti] could never have predicted".
Gilbert's manager and friend, Jon Rubin, asked Nick D'Virgilio and Cuniberti to finish, archive, and catalog all of Gilbert's recordings for his estate, which proved very difficult as Gilbert did not make notes or track sheets, meaning they needed to piece together the takes of many instruments. After identifying material for at least five albums, Cuniberti was first asked to mix "Imagemaker" to determine if he could improve Gilbert's rough mixes they had on a Digital Audio Tape. The Shaming of the True was the first album they started mixing, on which the work began in early 1997. The mixing and additional recordings were done at Coast Recorders in San Francisco, California because of the vintage Neve console, of which Gilbert reportedly loved the sound. The final mix was based on Gilbert's rough mixes and a handwritten note that was believed to be the last running order of the opera, from which the production staff never ventured too far from. The rough mixes sometimes contained tracks that were not found on the master tracks.
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Wikipedia