FlashBack! - Lone Justice - Shelter (1986) (album stream)

Lone Justice was an American country punk/pop/rock band formed in 1982 by guitarist Ryan Hedgecock and singer Maria McKee.

"Shelter" is the second album by Lone Justice, released in 1986. Steve Van Zandt was the producer. This record saw them almost completely abandoning much of their earlier cowpunk, rockabilly, and roots rock influences in favor of what could be considered more typical 1980s pop/rock production, with heavy emphasis on drum machines and synthesizers.


Review by James Chrispell for allmusic.com

Shelter finds Lone Justice abandoning the cowpunk image of their debut in favor of a more polished '80s sound. What they came up with is rather a mishmash of material that only points the way for Maria McKee to don a solo outfit and carry on alone.

Shelter falls into the trap of a record company dictating how a disc should sound no matter what might happen to the group producing it. There are strong cuts here -- most notably, "I Found Love" (a real '80s-sounding product), "Wheels," and "Dixie Storms" (which foretells Maria McKee's future in music) all have something to recommend them. The rest falls into the trap of songs produced to fulfill obligations.

Lone Justice was a group not unlike Big Brother & the Holding Company, who had a great female lead singer and focal point along with competent sidemen. Once the record execs ventured to guess that McKee would sell more on her own, they urged her to jettison the band, which she did after Shelter. Such is life in the record biz.

Personnel
Bruce Brody - keyboard
Shane Fontayne - guitar
Ryan Hedgecock - guitar, vocals
Maria McKee - guitar, harmonica, piano, vocals
Rudy Richman - drums
Greg Sutton - bass guitar, vocals

With:
Alexandra Brown - background vocals
Kevin Dorsey - background vocals
Portia Griffin - background vocals
Charles Judge - keyboard
Little Steven - acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar
Tommy Mandel - keyboard
Audrey Wheeler - background vocals
Brenda White-King - background vocals
Vesta Williams - background vocals

Production
Producers: Jimmy Iovine, Little Steven & the Disciples of Soul, Lone Justice
Associate producer: Joe Chiccarelli
Engineers: Niko Bolas, Joe Borja, Joe Chiccarelli, Robert DeLaGarza, Greg Edward, Bruce Lampcov, Scott Litt, Steve Rinkoff, Don Smith, Shelly Yakus
Assistant engineers: Marc DeSisto, Rob Jacobs, Ross Ian Stein
Mixing: Joe Chiccarelli, Greg Edward, Humberto Gatica, Mike Shipley, Shelly Yakus
Mastering: Stephen Marcussen
Production coordination: Janet Weber
Design: Kim Champagne
Photography: Melanie Nissen