Shakespeare My Butt is the debut album from Toronto's The Lowest of the Low. Its literate leftist lyrics, post-punk jangle pop and Toronto-specific references appealed to Toronto university radio and the Queen Street West scene, on the strength of which it briefly became the best-selling independent release in Canadian history (supplanted later the same year by The Barenaked Ladies' Yellow Tape cassette).
While not being a widespread commercial success, Shakespeare My Butt continues to hold a special place in the hearts of fans, industry insiders and critics, finishing in the top 10 in three successive polls by the Toronto-centric Chart Magazine (#10 in 1996, #6 in 2000, #7 in 2005), and ranking 84th in Bob Mersereau's The Top 100 Canadian Albums, though AllMusic gave it only 2.5 stars (out of 5).
No formal singles were released from Shakespeare My Butt that I know of, but many of the songs have gained notoriety, including "Salesmen, Cheats and Liars" (covered by Western New York's Nine Miles to Empty), "Rosy and Grey" (covered by Australia's Weddings Parties Anything), "Eternal Fatalist," "Bleed a Little While Tonight" (covered by Jeremy Fisher), "Letter from Bilbao" (about the Spanish Civil War), and "Henry Needs a New Pair of Shoes" (also covered by Nine Miles to Empty). Stephen Stanley's later "Fourteen and Me" is a great hockey song and should be listened to while reading Dave Bidini's Keon and Me.
| Hometown: | Toronto |
| Label: | Page Publications, A&M |
| Release Date: | 1991 |
| Producer: | Andy Koyama |
| Style: | alternative rock |
| Mar*Star 125: | did not rank |
| Mar*Star 150: | 47 |
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Track Listing
Personnel
