ATO Records released Boys & Girls 10 Year Anniversary Deluxe Edition, a two-disc collection of Alabama Shakes’ internationally acclaimed debut album. Repackaged in a foil-board gatefold jacket with new, unreleased photos and a bonus radio session, Boys & Girls 10 Year Anniversary Deluxe Edition is available HERE. See below for track listing.
“I can’t believe it has been 10 years since the release of Boys & Girls,” says singer/guitarist Brittany Howard. “At the time, we were just excited to be putting out music and playing shows. We had pretty much recorded the album in between our day jobs and had zero expectations. What followed completely blew our minds. This was such a magical period in all of our lives.”
In addition to the album’s original 11 songs, the deluxe edition offers 11 tracks from the band’s explosive live performance on KCRW’s “Morning Becomes Eclectic.” Recorded in January 2012 during Alabama Shakes’ first trip to Los Angeles, the set included a performance of “Always Alright” – a non-album track that appeared on the soundtrack for the Oscar-nominated film Silver Linings Playbook and received a GRAMMY nomination.
Hailed as one of the best albums of 2012 by Rolling Stone and numerous other publications, Boys & Girls entered Billboard’s Independent Albums chart at No. 1. It went on to attain Platinum certification and earn the band multiple GRAMMY nominations. Lead single “Hold On” was voted the #1 Best Song of 2012 by Rolling Stone..
Alabama Shakes – comprising Howard, guitarist Heath Fogg, bassist Zac Cockrell, and drummer Steve Johnson – recorded Boys & Girls at Bomb Shelter in Nashville. Soon after its release, the bandmates found themselves thrust into the global spotlight, achieving such milestones as performing at the White House and on “Saturday Night Live” along with winning widespread critical praise. Pitchfork lauded “Howard’s gale-force delivery, an instrument that could have blown Otis Redding back.” The New York Times’ Jon Pareles said, “Alabama Shakes sound raw-boned and proudly unprocessed.” NME hailed the band as “a genuine, word-of-mouth, go-see-them-then-tell-10-friends-how-amazing-they-are thing.” The Guardian observed, “their music, a deep earthy pit of blues and soul and swamp, is the sort of stuff that honeys the soul and puts fire in the loins.”
As the album’s legacy continues to grow – NPR included “Hold On” in the top five of its list of “The 200 Greatest Songs By 21st Century Women+” in 2018 – Boys & Girls remains a major cultural touchstone whose songs of survival, longing and irrepressible hope never lose their transcendent power.
Track Listing – Boys & Girls 10 Year Anniversary Deluxe Edition
Disc 1:
Hold On
I Found You
Hang Loose
Rise To The Sun
You Ain’t Alone
Goin’ To The Party
Heartbreaker
Boys & Girls
Be Mine
I Ain’t The Same
On Your Way
Disc 2:
Hang Loose (Live At KCRW)
I Found You (Live At KCRW)
Be Mine (Live At KCRW)
I Ain’t The Same (Live At KCRW)
Mama (Live At KCRW)
Goin’ To The Party (Live At KCRW)
Hold On (Live At KCRW)
Boys & Girls (Live At KCRW)
Always Alright (Live At KCRW)
Rise To The Sun (Live At KCRW)
Heavy Chevy (Live At KCRW)
