Sha Sha (album)

Not to be confused with Shasha.

For the Zimbabwean singer, see Sha Sha (singer).

Sha Sha
Studio album by Ben Kweller
Released	Version 1: 2000 (CD-R) Version 2: March 5, 2002 (US) March 25, 2002 (UK) 20th Anniversary Edition: March 10, 2023 (3 discs)
Recorded	1999
Studio	Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, Alabama Sear Sound, New York City
Genre	Indie rock, power pop
Length	45:02
Label	ATO
Producer	Stephen Harris
Ben Kweller chronology
EP Phone Home (2001) Sha Sha (2000) On My Way (2004)
Singles from Sha Sha
"Wasted and Ready" Released: 2002

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	69/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Austin Chronicle	[3]
The Guardian	[4]
NME	6/10[5]
Pitchfork	6.7/10[6]
The Village Voice	[7]

Sha Sha is the debut album by American indie rock singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and former Radish member Ben Kweller.^[8] The album was originally composed of outtakes from sessions for Radish's unreleased album Discount Fireworks. It was self-released by Kweller, via CD-R, in 2000. In 2002, ATO Records released a second version of the album with a radically different track listing featuring many new recordings and songs.^[9]

Track listing

All tracks written by Ben Kweller except where noted.

2000 CD-R version (PA 101)

1. "Launch Ramp"
2. "Next Time"
3. "Drink Me Away"
4. "How It Should Be (Sha Sha)" (Joe Butcher/Ben Kweller)
5. "Wasted and Ready"
6. "In Other Words"
7. "What It's Like to Live in Commerce" (AKA: "Commerce, TX")
8. "Silent Scene"
9. "Girl in Between"
10. "4.40 (Episode 2)"

2002 ATO Records version (07863 68114-2)

1. "How It Should Be (Sha Sha)" – 1:49 (Joe Butcher/Ben Kweller)
2. "Wasted & Ready" – 3:51
3. "Family Tree" – 4:20
4. "Commerce, TX" – 3:52
5. "In Other Words" – 5:36
6. "Walk on Me" – 3:55
7. "Make It Up" – 4:50
8. "No Reason" – 3:51
9. "Lizzy" – 4:06
10. "Harriet's Got a Song" – 4:50
11. "Falling" – 4:04

2023 20th Anniversary Edition Bonus Discs

Disc 2 (Demos & Outtakes)

1. "Falling - Brooklyn Demo"
2. "Walk on Me - Brooklyn Demo"
3. "Lizzy - Brooklyn Demo"
4. "Lizzy - LA Demo"
5. "Ballad of Wendy Baker - Brooklyn Demo"
6. "How It Should Be (Sha Sha) - Brooklyn Demo" (Joe Butcher/Ben Kweller)
7. "Walk on Me - Live at The Double Door"
8. "Make It Up - Brooklyn Demo"
9. "No Reason - Brooklyn Demo"
10. "No Reason (feat. Nils Lofgren) Live at The Marquee"

Disc 3 (B-sides & Rarities)

1. "Today" (William Patrick Corgan)
2. "Psycho Girl" (Ben Kweller/Jonathan Jeter/Jason McComb)
3. "I Have the Power"
4. "Kokomo (with Adam Green)" (Mike Love/Scott McKenzie/Terry Melcher/John Phillips)
5. "Debbie Don't Worry Doll"
6. "My Drug Buddy - Live at The Mercury Lounge" (Evan Griffith Dando)
7. "SHS-10r"
8. "It's Up to You"
9. "It's Up to You (feat. Evan Dando) Live at The Brattle Theatre"
10. "Undone - The Sweater Song (feat. Juliana Hatfield) Live at Fletchers" (Rivers Cuomo)
11. "Lollipop" (Julius Dixon/Beverly Ross)
12. "It's Not Fair"

Personnel

• Ben Kweller – lead vocals, guitar, piano
• John Kent – drums (also backing vocals on PA-101 version)
• Josh Lattanzi – bass
• Debbie Williams – bass (PA-101 version)
• Joe Butcher – bass (PA-101 version)
• Jane Scarpantoni – string arrangements
• Steve Mazur – engineer
• Stephen Harris – producer, mixing, engineer
• Roger Greenawalt – producer
• C. Taylor Crothers – photography
• Mike Waring – photography
• Liz Smith – photography
• Brett – art direction
• Greg Calbi – mastering

Charts

Album

Chart performance for Sha Sha

Chart (2003)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[10]	82

Singles

Year	Single	Peak positions
		Modern Rock Tracks
2002	"Wasted and Ready"	29

References

1. "Sha Sha by Ben Kweller". Metacritic. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
2. Sullivan, Denise. "Sha Sha". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
3. Haupt, Melanie (2002-04-26). "Review: Ben Kweller". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
4. Costa, Maddy (2002-07-26). "Pop CD: Ben Kweller, Sha Sha". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
5. Fox, Jason. "Sha Sha". NME. Archived from the original on 2004-06-10. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
6. Mitchum, Rob (2002-09-18). "Ben Kweller: Sha Sha Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
7. Christgau, Robert (2002-12-31). "Don't Call It a Comeback". The Village Voice.
8. "Ben Kweller: Sha Sha". PopMatters. May 22, 2002.
9. "B.K Discography". Xanthein.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
10. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 159.