''No Room'' is an album by the
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most ...
, band
the Samples
The Samples is an American rock band formed in Boulder, Colorado in 1987. The band's name came from the members' early sustenance of food samples from the local grocery store. The music has been described as "reggae influenced rock/pop" and a ...
, released in 1992. Prior to recording the album, the band left
Arista Records
Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...
to regain control of their musical direction.
The Samples supported the album with a North American tour; they also played the 1993
H.O.R.D.E.
Horizons of Rock Developing Everywhere or H.O.R.D.E. Festival was a concert tour, touring summer rock music festival originated by the musical group Blues Traveler in 1992. In addition to travelling headliners, the festival gave exposure to bands ...
festival. They wrote and tested the songs while touring their previous album. ''No Room'' sold almost 80,000 copies in its first nine months of release; it had topped more than 150,000 copies by 1998.
Critical reception
The ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' noted the "crystalline production, bubbling keyboard arrangements, snaky guitar lines and a tight, syncopated rhythm section."
[ The '']Daily Breeze
The ''Daily Breeze'' is a 57,000-circulation daily newspaper published in Hermosa Beach, California, United States. It serves the South Bay cities of Los Angeles County. Its slogan is "LAX to LA Harbor".
Early history
The paper was found ...
'' deemed the album "rock with a point—and with touches of jazz fusion, ska, reggae and even a country twang."
Mentioning the Samples' return to an independent label, the ''Tulsa World
The ''Tulsa World'' is an American daily newspaper. It serves the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and is the primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions of Oklahoma. The printed edition is the second-most circulated newspaper in the sta ...
'' opined that "the band's loyalty to its formative ideas gives its music a consistent, yet broad-based, signature." ''Trouser Press
''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...
'' wrote: "'When It's Raining' is a standout, a shimmering melody surfing on a wiggly groove, finally capturing in the studio some of what the Samples transmit onstage."
Track listing
All songs written by Sean Kelly, except where noted.
# "When It's Raining" – 3:33
# "Summertime" (Kelly, Al Laughlin) – 4:57
# "Another Disaster" (Kelly, Andy Sheldon) – 5:15
# "Did You Ever Look So Nice" (Kelly, Laughlin) – 4:02
# "Nothing Lasts for Long" – 4:35
# "Stone Tears" (Sheldon) – 4:43
# "Giants" (Sheldon) – 3:20
# "Suburbia" (Kelly, MacNichol) – 4:49
# "14th and Euclid" (Kelly, Laughlin) – 4:16
# "Won't Be Back Again" (Kelly, Laughlin) – 2:40
# "Pain" – 3:57
# "Little Whale" (Vince Sendra) – :56
# "Seany Boy (Drop Out)" – 2:39
# "Taking Us Home" – 4:03
# "When It's Raining - Live" (hidden track)
Personnel
* Sean Kelly – lead vocals, guitars
* Andy Sheldon – bass, vocals
* Al Laughlin – keyboards, vocals
* Jeep MacNichol – drums/percussion, vocals
References
{{Authority control
The Samples albums
1992 albums
Albums produced by Jim Scott (producer)