Remy Shand’s influential debut, and only, album, ‘The Way I Feel’, is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a deluxe edition with the addition of six rare tracks that are brand-new to streaming services, including four tracks that have never been released before in Canada and the U.S. The deluxe will be available April 22 on all digital and streaming platforms, and in the meantime, you can download or stream one of the rare tracks “A Day in the Shade.”
“A Day in the Shade” followed “The Way I Feel” as a single exclusive to Canada’s PureTracks, an early streaming service; the other bonus tracks, “Mai” and “Ripened and Consumed,” were previously available only on international editions of the album. Additional instrumental versions of the album’s three biggest tracks highlight Shand’s studio prowess, especially the extended instrumental version of “Take A Message.”
“My vision was to push through and create a solid platform for musical autonomy – the bedroom musician, the one-person band,” says Shand. “Twenty years later it’s the norm. Universal Music Canada and UMe/Motown understood the mission and the authenticity within. The album, music and statement will always be ahead of its time… and the message of love, eternal. It’s the way I feel.”
First released by UMC and Motown on March 12, 2002, ‘The Way I Feel’ was written, arranged and produced by Shand; he also performed all instruments.
In addition, music videos for “Take A Message,” “The Way I Feel” and “Rocksteady” will be officially available at all partners for the first time.
‘The Way I Feel’ received rave reviews, accolades and awards, including four GRAMMY® nominations; a JUNO Award winner for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year and nominations for Artist of the Year, Producer of the Year, and Songwriter of the Year; hit No. 1 for six consecutive weeks in Canada, where it is certified platinum; Top 40 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums chart; #15 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart; and a top 5 chart success for the single, “Take a Message,” on the U.S. Adult R&B chart.
Remy Shand is a songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist and self-producer, and his work is at once accomplished and deeply rooted, yet original. He is an artist who attacks the boundaries of R&B, pop and alternative with his own timeless fusion, as undeniable as it is unconventional.
Remy credits his musical education, in his hometown of Winnipeg, MB to a crate of classic albums salvaged by his dad from a club his construction crew was remodeling. Home-schooled through 10th grade, Remy enrolled at the local high school (mainly to play in the jazz band, whose teacher Remy would later hire for a recording session) but left after just one year. He’d started on acoustic guitar and bass around age 12, and his record collection provided his benchmarks. Here, My Dear, Marvin Gaye’s searingly honest chronicle of his divorce, became Remy’s favourite album and a musical bible: “I look at it as being taught by the masters — the geniuses will take you all the way.” Albums like Ann Peebles’ I Can’t Stand the Rain; the Isley Brothers’ 3+3; Marvin Gaye’s I Want You, Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life and the works of Rufus, Sly Stone and Steely Dan, among others, all became Remy’s sources as a musician, songwriter and producer.
‘THE WAY I FEEL: 20TH ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITION’ TRACK LISTING
The Way I Feel 5:01
Burnin’ Bridges 4:35
Everlasting 4:21
The Second One 4:09
The Colour Of Day 3:35
Take A Message 4:03
I Met Your Mercy 2:43
Rocksteady 3:36
Liberate 3:56
Looking Back On Vanity 4:58
The Mind’s Eye 6:11
BONUS TRACKS
Mai 3:05
Ripened and Consumed 3:28
A Day in the Shade 3:40
The Way I Feel (Instrumental) 5:45
Take a Message (Instrumental) 4:03
Rocksteady (Instrumental) 3:37
About Remy Shand (taken from his 2002 biography):
