Shake It Out
"Shake It Out" is a song by English indie rock band Florence and the Machine, released as the first official single from their second studio album, Ceremonials (2011). It was written by Florence Welch and Paul Epworth, while production was handled by Epworth. The song was digitally released in Australia on 14 September 2011, and it was available in the United States on 19 October. It had its radio debut on XFM on 14 September 2011 in the United Kingdom. Welch revealed that the song was written within an hour and according to her it talked about shaking the regrets and the things that were haunting her.
"Shake It Out"
"Shake It Out (The Weeknd Remix)"
14 September 2011
2010–2011
Abbey Road Studios, London
- 4:37 (album version)
- 3:52 (radio edit)
Paul Epworth
"Shake It Out" is a gothic pop song with gospel[1] elements which contains organs, bells and tambourines as its main instrumentation. The song received acclaim from music critics who praised Welch's vocals and its anthemic nature. An accompanying music video for the song premiered on 19 October 2011 and it was directed by Dawn Shadforth. It showed Welch attending an old party in England, evoking references to Eyes Wide Shut. It received acclaim from critics who praised its imagery and compared it to videos by Annie Lennox and Madonna.
"Shake It Out" was nominated for the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards.
Composition[edit]
"Shake It Out" is a four-and-a-half-minute baroque pop[6] song which contains "swelling, gospel-flavored pop, with churchy organ and pounding drums setting a cathartic scene for Welch's fiery singing" in the lines "It's hard to dance with the devil on your back. So shake him off!"[7] Digital Spy's Robert Copsey stated: "earthy drums are dressed with bells and tambourines before Flo chants 'Shake it out, shake it out, ooh-waaoah!' on the song's anthemic and dangerously addictive chorus."[8] Consequence of Sound's Alex Young concluded that the song "takes approximately 37 seconds to build up before a pulsating drum enters".[9] AllMusic's James Christopher Monger commented that when the swelling guitars, organs, and strings, staccato percussion, and Florence Welch's "air-raid siren of a voice" start in the song, begins a "battle over which one is going to launch itself into the stratosphere first."[10] In the song, Welch sings about dancing with a devil in the lyrics "It's hard to dance with a devil on your back".[11][12] Lewis Corner of Digital Spy found references to "exorcism of demons and regrets with a backdrop of village church organs and ritualistic thuds and jingles courtesy",[13] while Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork Media found lyrics talking about "getting past one's troubles."[14]
Rolling Stone's Jody Rosen wrote, "'Shake It Out' is a treatise on heartbreak and spiritual rebirth. I am done with my graceless heart/So tonight I'm gonna cut it out and then restart, she cries, over guitars and keyboards that heave and chime. This is the sound of a human turbine – a wind machine."[15] In his review of Ceremonials, Rob Harvilla of Spin wrote: "Consider rapturous call to arms 'Shake It Out,' a feast of droning organs and concussive drums that begins as an assassination/martyrdom attempt, throwing Flo to the clichés instead of the lions: 'It's always darkest before the dawn,' 'Damned if I do and damned if I don't,' 'At the end of my rope,' 'It's a shot in the dark,' and all-time Catholic-hymn classic 'It's hard to dance with a devil on your back.' Yet she rips the throat out of every line with that bazooka alto, turns even the banalities into profundities."[16]
Chart performance[edit]
The song debuted at number 36 on the Billboard Adult Pop Songs chart on 22 November 2011.[45] On the Billboard Hot 100 chart, "Shake It Out" peaked at number 72 for the week ending 18 March 2012.[46] The single became Florence and the Machine's fourth top twenty single in the UK Singles Chart after "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up), "You've Got the Love and "You've Got the Dirtee Love". It has sold over a million digital copies in the US as of October 2012.[47] The single reached number 12 in the United Kingdom in 2011 and as of July 2018 it has shifted 598,000 copies, combining streaming and sales. 25 million have streamed this since records began in 2014.[48] In Ireland, the song proved to be a success, peaking at number two on the Irish Singles Chart and remaining on the chart for 49 weeks.[49]
the staircase,
and Virginia Courtauld's bedroom were used for filming.
On 3 October 2011, the video for "Shake It Out" premiered on the band's official YouTube channel. It features Welch wearing a red gown and singing while attending a 1920s-era masked ball,[50] evoking references to works such as Eyes Wide Shut,[51][52] The Great Gatsby and "The Lady of Shalott". Welch described the video saying, "Think of a psychedelic 1920s dress party with a demonic twist. Possession meets The Great Gatsby."[53] She further described the direction of the video "We were kind of going for a sort of 'Gatsby at West Egg'-style house party but with maybe slightly ritualistic and sort of satanic undertones and séances. That was such a fun video to shoot, for me especially, because I had all my friends down there, and they all came and we all got to dress up and do a casual séance in this beautiful art-deco mansion. It's basically a party house; there's one room which was purely just for cutting flowers. My best friend is sitting with me in the tree at the end of the video, and we just got to hang out in a tree for a while. It was really fun."[4] It was directed by Dawn Shadforth who previously directed the video for "Drumming Song" and it was shot at the Eltham Palace, London.[4][54]
Michael Roffman of the website Consequence of Sound, compared the video with the work by Madonna because of "the hazy cinematography and the choir-like theatrics."[51] Entertainment Weekly's Kyle Anderson praised the video calling it a "five-minute technicolor blast"[52] and praised the fashion used in it as well as the references to Eyes Wide Shut.[52] Andrew Martin of Prefix Magazine wasn't satisfied with the video saying "the track's music video is still an over-the-top affair filled with Old World imagery and glitter-covered dresses and suits. But it's not quite as outrageous as it could have been, even if things do get really dramatic at times. I guess I was picturing something more arena-sized, though maybe that's because the track is so goddamn huge."[55] RJ Cubarrubia of Billboard wrote that "although the video feels somewhat dark and mystical, like a secret society meeting with unsettling masks and a slightly possessed Welch, the vibe is ultimately joyful and inspiring, with the party guests and Welch visibly bursting with happiness by the video's end."[56]
Larry Fitzmaurice of Pitchfork Media said, "the video is cinematic and features a really weird party where people are wearing masks."[57] Katie Hasty of HitFix compared the video with the works by Annie Lennox and added that "the imagery will leave a mark on fans and aspiring fans to boot."[58] Leah Collins of Dose also compared the video with Annie Lennox's "Walking on Broken Glass".[54] Spin's Marc Hogan wrote, "the video doesn't have the clearest plot, [but] it does depict Florence Welch dancing with masked, formally attired men, a visual that sparks comparisons to the posh orgy of Stanley Kubrick's film Eyes Wide Shut, but a bacchanal does not break out. Instead, a white-dressed Welch escapes to the woods, while a red-dressed one parties inside with some seriously creepy people. 'I'm damned if I do, and I'm damned if I don't,' she sings."[59]
Live performances[edit]
The band performed "Shake It Out" on 6 November 2011 during the eighth season of the British show The X Factor.[60] They also sang the song on The X Factor Australia on 15 November[61] and on France's La Musicale on Canal+ on 18 November.[62] Later, on 19 November 2011, they performed the song on Saturday Night Live.[63][64][65] "Shake It Out" was also performed on Good Morning America on 21 November 2011.[66]