Shaking the Foundations

Shaking the Foundations is the fourth studio album by the Toronto new-wave band Rough Trade. It was released in 1982 and became a hit in Canada in 1983, spending 21 weeks on the charts,^[1] peaking at #9 in February, putting it at #1 on the CANCON listing.^[2]

Shaking the Foundations
Studio album by Rough Trade
Released	1982
Genre	New wave, synth-pop, rock
Length	37:18
Label	True North
Producer	Gene Martynec, Carole Pope, Kevan Staples
Rough Trade chronology
For Those Who Think Young (1981) Shaking the Foundations (1982) Weapons (1983)
Singles from Shaking the Foundations
"Crimes of Passion" Released: 1982

The only standard single release from the album was "Crimes of Passion" b/w "Endless Night",^[3] which peaked at #18.^[4] Both this and the title track were included on the 10-track 1985 greatest hits album Birds of a Feather: The Best of Rough Trade.^[5] "I Want to Live" b/w "Numero Fatale" and "The Sacred and the Profane" (the last track being from the previous album For Those Who Think Young) was released as a 12-inch picture sleeve disc.^[6]

Reception

Shaking the Foundations hit gold in Canada four weeks after its release^[7] (50,000 units, certified by the CRIA on March 1, 1983),^[8] and was the #68 album of the year for 1983.^[9] It won the 1983 U-Know Award for Album of the Year.^[10]

Track list

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Crimes of Passion"	3:57
2.	"Endless Night" (From the film Track Two)	4:40
3.	"Shaking the Foundations"	3:59
4.	"Vertigo"	3:15
5.	"Numero Fatale"	3:38
6.	"America: Bad and Beautiful"	3:30
7.	"I Want to Live"	3:56
8.	"Kiss Me Deadly"	3:48
9.	"Fire Down Below"	3:41
10.	"Beg for It"	2:54

All tracks are written by Carole Pope and Kevan Staples.

Note that the UK release of Shaking the Foundations adds the track "All Touch" to the album, placing it at the beginning of side two (right before "America: Bad and Beautiful").

Charts

Chart (1983)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[11]	96
Canadian RPM Top Albums Chart	9
Canadian RPM CANCON Albums Chart	1

Personnel

During the recording of this album, Terry Wilkins and Bucky Berger left the band and were replaced by Howard Ayee and Jorn Anderson.

• Carole Pope - vocals
• Kevan Staples - guitar, keyboards, percussion, piano, synthesizer, vocals
• Terry Wilkins - bass
• Bucky Berger - drums
• Howard Ayee - bass
• Jorn Andersen - drums
• David McMorrow - synthesizer

Additional vocals

• Ray Borg
• Bruce Cockburn
• Scott Davey
• Nona Hendryx
• Tevan Kaplan
• Sharon Lee Williams

Production

Gary Gray was nominated for the Recording Engineer of the Year Juno Award for his work on this album.^[12]

• Gene Martynec - producer
• Carole Pope - producer
• Kevan Staples - producer, art direction
• Gary Grey - engineer
• Peter Lee - assistant engineer
• Rick Starks - assistant engineer
• George Marino - mastering
• Peter J. Moore - remastering, restoration
• Bart Schoales - art direction
• Christopher Dew - photography