Shake It Out
Encyclopedia
"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 Kingdom on 2 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" is a pop song with gospel elements which contains organs
, bells
and tambourine
s as its main instrumentation. The song received mostly positive reviews from music critics who praised Welchs vocals and its anthemic nature. An accompanying music video
for the song premiered on 3 October 2011 and it was directed by Dawn Shadforth
. It showed Welch attending an old party in England, invoking references to Eyes Wide Shut
. It received mostly positive review from critics who praised its imagery and compared it with other works by Annie Lennox
and Madonna
. The single has became Florence'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
".
where the whole second album was finished. On 14 September 2011, Florence Welch went to XFM
to premiere Florence and the Machines second single from their second upcoming album Ceremonials
. Welch elaborated the songwriting process of the song adding that it can be compared to a really good hangover cure. She stated, "I wanted to just shake something out, shake out these regrets, shake out these things that haunt you. It was one of those songs that came in about half an hour and when you've got a hangover, it is almost like a hangover cure. You're like, thank you! I don't want everyone to think that I always write songs with a hangover! Cause I don't, I really don't. But with this one I have to say there was a bit of one lurking in my mind as I wrote it. It was like I was trying to write a hangover cure." During an interview with MTV News
she described the recording process:
Welch also said that "Shake It Out" was a "... magic one. I feel weird because I'm always talking about how I'm writing songs when I'm hung over most of the songs weren't but 'Shake It Out' was. Like 'Cosmic Love
' (it was) written when you're not feeling too great. It became the ultimate hangover cure, and then it became about something bigger. Like trying to get rid of 'hangover ghouls'."
-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!" Digital Spy
s Robert Copsey stated: "earthy drums are dressed with bells
and tambourine
s before Flo chants 'Shake it out, shake it out, ooh-waaoah!' on the song's anthemic and dangerously addictive chorus." Consequence of Sound
s Alex Young concluded that the song "takes approximately 37 seconds to build up before a pulsating drum enters". 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." In the song, Welch sings about dancing with a devil in the lyrics "It's hard to dance with a devil on your back". 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", while Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork Media found lyrics talking about "getting past one's troubles."
Rolling Stones 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." 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."
in Australia on 14 September 2011 and in the United Kingdom on 2 October. Monte Lipman
a CEO of Florence and the Machine's label, Universal Republic Records, described the song as "an anthem in every gym in America a year from now." Due for domestic release on 11 October, "Shake It Out" has been serviced to Top 40, triple A
, alternative and R&B formats. The cover art
for the vinyl release of the single was photographed by Karl Lagerfeld
. Welch is seen "lying seductively against a grey backdrop dressed in a white sequinned dress teamed with lashings of red lipstick and smoky eyes" as stated by a writer of The Belfast Telegraph
.
A remix of the song was made be The Weeknd
, a Canadian R&B singer. Two weeks after Florence and the Machine announced The Weeknd's remix through their official website, Zane Lowe's Radio 1 show
debuted the song on 26 September. Spin
s Marc Hogan wrote that the remix had a "predictably sultry-yet-creepy results" and added that it "converts the sacred into the profane, warping Welch's distinctly pure voice and surrounding it with his signature goth-R&B slither. 'It's hard to dance with the devil on your back,' indeed."
Phil Udell of State magazine
concluded that the remix "certainly does add a new dimension to what's already a great track, it's still very much the latter who dominates. We'd have like to hear more of The Weeknd himself, but there's still no doubt that this will up his stock no end…" A writer of New York magazine
wrote: "anyway, the result is not that creepy! Fans of Florence's uptempo original may be weirded out by the moody, heavily filtered take; meanwhile, Weeknd devotees may be a little disappointed to learn that Tesfaye doesn't sing on the track. But let's meet in the middle here: The Weeknd gets his woozy beats and whistling, but Florence keeps her vocals. The result is a sneakily listenable track that should make everyone at your folk-R&B-fusion meet-up group reasonably happy. And there is, of course, always the original to fall back on." Carrie Battan of Pitchfork Media said:
called the song "a pitch-perfect end-of-summer anthem" and concluded, "seriously, if you can get something like this out of a hangover, more power to you." A writer of The Guardian
wrote that "Shake It Out" had a "quiet-to-loud-louder-really-quite-loud dynamic" and said that it was perfect for a winner of The X Factor
. Writing for the magazine Dose
, Leah Collins compared the song with the bands previous single "What the Water Gave Me
" (2011) and called it "bombastic, humming with church-organ, jangling with tambourine and booming with Florence Welch's cannon-blast voice." Spinner
s Theo Spielberg praised the song saying, "beginning with a sweeping organ the song quickly hits its stride, spreads its wings and settles comfortably into a stadium-sized atmosphere." He further concluded, "you can imagine hearing it on Glee
as much as NME Radio
is enough to already deem this a future classic." Laura Foster of Clash
magazine wrote that the song was one of the six "massive" anthems on Ceremonials and praised the "power balladry".
The Suns Gordon Smart found the song to be "gothic and haunting." Alex Young of the website Consequence of Sound praised the anthemic nature of the song and concluded that the "sing-a-long-approved chorus takes over and it keeps you under its spell for the remaining three minutes." Barry Nicolson of NME
concluded that the chorus of the song "announces itself with a sudden, overpowering immensity akin to sheets of ice being atomised by a ruddy great hammer. It's as though indie's self-styled Lady of Shalott has discovered how to emote through a bullhorn." Richard Smirke of Billboard
called the song "a rousing pop-rock number in the spirit of 'Dog Days Are Over'". Jillian Mapes of the same publication commented: "Welch's goth-pop allure is summed up in the chorus of the album's dramatic first single: 'It's hard to dance with the devil on your back, so shake him off.'" Matthew Cole of Slant Magazine
noted that the first four songs on the album were the best ones including the "instantly gratifying anthem 'Shake It Out'."
Pitchfork Media
s Carrie Battan chose the song as a "Best New Track" and added that it's "even more massively anthemic than the already-anthemic singles off Lungs. Huge drum hits drive the track from the onset, and Welch's voice is in peak form throughout, nearly spilling over the edge as of the song. She clearly has a lot of weapons at her disposal, but 'Shake It Out' reveals pure adrenaline as her most powerful." Robert Copsey of Digital Spy
praised the song calling it a "a perfect introduction to the LP." In another review of the song he wrote: "'Shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaah!' she belts over crashing symbols and glittery synths on the chorus; the result, a good ol'-fashioned knees-up of a song that wouldn't sound out of place in an East London pub or the McKinley High stage." Will Hermes of Rolling Stone
called the song "mighty" and compared Welch's vocals with Glinda the Good Witch. Entertainment Weeklys Kyle Anderson commented that "Welch's soul is constantly in peril here, forcing her to dance away from devils" in the "swinging, jubilant" song. Andy Gill of The Independent
, and Lewis Corner of Digital Spy, put the song in their lists of songs to download from Ceremonials. Kitty Empire of The Observer
wrote that Welch's vocals sound "multitracked, and are augmented by a chorus of friends."
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, invoking references to works such as Eyes Wide Shut
, 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." 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." It was directed by Dawn Shadforth
who previously directed the video for "Drumming Song
" and it was shot at the Eltham Palace
, London.
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." Entertainment Weekly
s Kyle Anderson praised the video calling it a "five minute technicolor blast" and praised the fashion used in it as well as the references to Eyes Wide Shut. 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." 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."
Larry Fitzmaurice of Pitchfork Media
said, "the video is cinematic and features a really weird party where people are wearing masks." 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." Leah Collins of Dose
also compared the video with Annie Lennoxs "Walking on Broken Glass
". Spins 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."
of the British show The X Factor
. They also sang the song on The X Factor Australia on 15 November and on France's La Musicale on Canal+
on 18 November. Later, on 20 November 2011, they performed the song on Saturday Night Live
. "Shake It Out" was also performed on Good Morning America
on 21 November 2011.
UK iTunes EP
Limited 12" vinyl
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band Florence and the Machine
Florence and the Machine
Florence and the Machine is the recording name of English musician Florence Welch and a collaboration of other artists who provide music for her voice. Florence and the Machine's sound has been described as a combination of various genres, including rock and soul...
released as the first official single from their second studio album Ceremonials
Ceremonials
Ceremonials is the second studio album by English indie pop band Florence and the Machine, released in the United Kingdom on 31 October 2011 by Island Records. The album is noted for having a larger, more baroque pop sound than its predecessor, Lungs, with critics drawing comparisons to art rock...
(2011). It was written by Florence Welch and Paul Epworth, while production was handled by Epworth. The song was digitally released
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
in Australia on 14 September 2011, and it was available in the United Kingdom on 2 October. It had its radio debut on XFM
Xfm
Xfm is a brand of two commercial radio stations focused on alternative music, primarily indie pop, and owned by Global Radio.-History:Xfm was created in London in 1992 by Sammy Jacob, who later co-founded NME Radio in 2008. Xfm subsequently expanded to a network of four stations; there are...
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" is a pop song with gospel elements which contains organs
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, bells
Bell (instrument)
A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck...
and tambourine
Tambourine
The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
s as its main instrumentation. The song received mostly positive reviews from music critics who praised Welchs vocals and its anthemic nature. An accompanying music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the song premiered on 3 October 2011 and it was directed by Dawn Shadforth
Dawn Shadforth
Dawn Shadforth is a British music video and documentary director, as well as an editor and artist. Shadforth began her career as an award winning sculptor before turning her interest to music and directing...
. It showed Welch attending an old party in England, invoking references to Eyes Wide Shut
Eyes Wide Shut
Eyes Wide Shut is a 1999 drama film based upon Arthur Schnitzler's 1926 novella Traumnovelle . The film was directed, produced and co-written by Stanley Kubrick, and was his last film. The story, set in and around New York City, follows the sexually-charged adventures of Dr...
. It received mostly positive review from critics who praised its imagery and compared it with other works by Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox, OBE , born Ann Lennox, is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving minor success in the late 1970s with The Tourists, with fellow musician David A...
and Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
. The single has became Florence's fourth top twenty single in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
after "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)
Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)
"Rabbit Heart " is a 2009 single by British indie rock band, Florence and the Machine. It was released on the Universal Island Record Label and Moshi Moshi Records on 21 June 2009. It is their second most successful single to-date, peaking at 12 on the UK Singles Chart, only bettered by the cover...
, "You've Got the Love
You Got the Love
"You Got the Love" is a 1986 single by the band The Source and Candi Staton. One of its many remixers also adopted the name The Source. In 2008, the song was recorded by English soul singer Joss Stone for her fourth studio album, "Colour Me Free!" released in October 2009...
and "You've Got the Dirtee Love
You Got the Love
"You Got the Love" is a 1986 single by the band The Source and Candi Staton. One of its many remixers also adopted the name The Source. In 2008, the song was recorded by English soul singer Joss Stone for her fourth studio album, "Colour Me Free!" released in October 2009...
".
Background
"Shake It Out" was written by Florence Welch and Paul Epworth, while production was handled by Epworth. The song was recorded in London at Abbey Road StudiosAbbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
where the whole second album was finished. On 14 September 2011, Florence Welch went to XFM
Xfm
Xfm is a brand of two commercial radio stations focused on alternative music, primarily indie pop, and owned by Global Radio.-History:Xfm was created in London in 1992 by Sammy Jacob, who later co-founded NME Radio in 2008. Xfm subsequently expanded to a network of four stations; there are...
to premiere Florence and the Machines second single from their second upcoming album Ceremonials
Ceremonials
Ceremonials is the second studio album by English indie pop band Florence and the Machine, released in the United Kingdom on 31 October 2011 by Island Records. The album is noted for having a larger, more baroque pop sound than its predecessor, Lungs, with critics drawing comparisons to art rock...
. Welch elaborated the songwriting process of the song adding that it can be compared to a really good hangover cure. She stated, "I wanted to just shake something out, shake out these regrets, shake out these things that haunt you. It was one of those songs that came in about half an hour and when you've got a hangover, it is almost like a hangover cure. You're like, thank you! I don't want everyone to think that I always write songs with a hangover! Cause I don't, I really don't. But with this one I have to say there was a bit of one lurking in my mind as I wrote it. It was like I was trying to write a hangover cure." During an interview with MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
she described the recording process:
"I think I came to the studio with a bit of a hangover, and it was one of those strange days where you're not really sure where a song comes from. [Producer] Paul [Epworth] just had these chords on the organ, and they sounded optimistic and sad at the same time. And I was thinking of regrets, like, you know when you feel like you're stuck in yourself, you keep repeating certain patterns of behavior, and you kind of want to cut out that part of you and restart yourself. [...] So this song was kind of like, 'Shake yourself out of it, things will be OK,'. [Because] sometimes I have to write songs for myself, reminding me to let it go. But then, the end refrain of 'What the hell' is really important as well, because you'll dance with the devil again at some point, and maybe it will be fun. I've heard he does a really good foxtrot."
Welch also said that "Shake It Out" was a "... magic one. I feel weird because I'm always talking about how I'm writing songs when I'm hung over most of the songs weren't but 'Shake It Out' was. Like 'Cosmic Love
Cosmic Love
"Cosmic Love" is a song by Florence and the Machine, and the sixth single from the album Lungs. The single was released through Moshi Moshi Records on July 5, 2010 in the UK....
' (it was) written when you're not feeling too great. It became the ultimate hangover cure, and then it became about something bigger. Like trying to get rid of 'hangover ghouls'."
Composition
"Shake It Out" is a four-and-a-half-minute song that contains "swelling, gospelGospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
-flavored pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define 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!" Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
s Robert Copsey stated: "earthy drums are dressed with bells
Bell (instrument)
A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck...
and tambourine
Tambourine
The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
s before Flo chants 'Shake it out, shake it out, ooh-waaoah!' on the song's anthemic and dangerously addictive chorus." Consequence of Sound
Consequence of Sound
Consequence of Sound, also known often as CoS, is a Chicago-based music website featuring news, album and concert reviews, and editorials. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook micro-site, which serves as an on-line database for music festival news and rumors...
s Alex Young concluded that the song "takes approximately 37 seconds to build up before a pulsating drum enters". 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." In the song, Welch sings about dancing with a devil in the lyrics "It's hard to dance with a devil on your back". 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", while Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork Media found lyrics talking about "getting past one's troubles."
Rolling Stones Jody Rosen
Jody Rosen
Jody Rosen is an American journalist and author. He is the music critic for the online magazine Slate, and the author of White Christmas: The Story of an American Song....
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." In his review of Ceremonials, Rob Harvilla of Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
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."
Release and remixes
After the interview with XFM, "Shake It Out" had its first spin on the same radio. The song was digitally releasedMusic download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
in Australia on 14 September 2011 and in the United Kingdom on 2 October. Monte Lipman
Monte Lipman
Monte Lipman is an American music industry executive. He is presently the President and CEO of Universal Republic Records.In the current era of record company transition, Lipman transformed his own start-up label, Republic Records, into an autonomous imprint in 2005 – Universal Republic Records,...
a CEO of Florence and the Machine's label, Universal Republic Records, described the song as "an anthem in every gym in America a year from now." Due for domestic release on 11 October, "Shake It Out" has been serviced to Top 40, triple A
Adult album alternative
Adult album alternative is a radio format. A spinoff from the album-oriented rock format, its roots trace to the 1960s and 1970s from the earlier freeform and progressive formats....
, alternative and R&B formats. The cover art
Cover art
Cover art is the illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book , magazine, comic book, video game , DVD, CD, videotape, or music album. The art has a primarily commercial function, i.e...
for the vinyl release of the single was photographed by Karl Lagerfeld
Karl Lagerfeld
Karl Lagerfeld is a German fashion designer, artist and photographer based in Paris. He has collaborated on a variety of fashion and art related projects, most notably as head designer and creative director for the fashion house Chanel...
. Welch is seen "lying seductively against a grey backdrop dressed in a white sequinned dress teamed with lashings of red lipstick and smoky eyes" as stated by a writer of The Belfast Telegraph
The Belfast Telegraph
The Belfast Telegraph is a daily evening newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland by Independent News & Media.It was first published as the Belfast Evening Telegraph on 1 September 1870 by brothers William and George Baird...
.
A remix of the song was made be The Weeknd
The Weeknd
Abel Tesfaye , better known by his stage name The Weeknd is an Ethiopian Canadian singer. Songs recorded under The Weeknd name first leaked in late 2010, though the identity of the individual behind the project was initially unknown.The Weeknd released a nine-song mixtape, House of Balloons, on...
, a Canadian R&B singer. Two weeks after Florence and the Machine announced The Weeknd's remix through their official website, Zane Lowe's Radio 1 show
Zane Lowe
Zane Lowe also known as 'Zipper', is a radio DJ and television presenter. He was born in New Zealand and grew up in Auckland, where he was a presenter on the local music station Max TV, before moving to England...
debuted the song on 26 September. Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
s Marc Hogan wrote that the remix had a "predictably sultry-yet-creepy results" and added that it "converts the sacred into the profane, warping Welch's distinctly pure voice and surrounding it with his signature goth-R&B slither. 'It's hard to dance with the devil on your back,' indeed."
Phil Udell of State magazine
State (magazine)
State.ie is an Irish website and formerly a monthly music magazine, which launched in March 2008 and folded in January 2009 having published a total of nine issues...
concluded that the remix "certainly does add a new dimension to what's already a great track, it's still very much the latter who dominates. We'd have like to hear more of The Weeknd himself, but there's still no doubt that this will up his stock no end…" A writer of New York magazine
New York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
wrote: "anyway, the result is not that creepy! Fans of Florence's uptempo original may be weirded out by the moody, heavily filtered take; meanwhile, Weeknd devotees may be a little disappointed to learn that Tesfaye doesn't sing on the track. But let's meet in the middle here: The Weeknd gets his woozy beats and whistling, but Florence keeps her vocals. The result is a sneakily listenable track that should make everyone at your folk-R&B-fusion meet-up group reasonably happy. And there is, of course, always the original to fall back on." Carrie Battan of Pitchfork Media said:
"The original version of Florence and the Machine's new single is characteristically anthemic-- the huge drum hits and Florence Welch's full-bodied voice sound like a cinematic peptalk. But the trademark moody touches from the Weeknd on the remixed version unearth the song's despairing core. The pace is slackened, chorus muddied, and big, echoing caves are carved into the instrumentation. Abel Tesfaye's falsetto is nowhere to be found, but it doesn't matter-- he could've easily written these words himself. "I like to keep my issues strong/ It's always darkest before the dawn," Welch sings. And after a few listens, it begins to sound like she and the tortured, drugged-out Tesfaye have a few things in common."
Critical reception
A writer of The Huffington PostThe Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
called the song "a pitch-perfect end-of-summer anthem" and concluded, "seriously, if you can get something like this out of a hangover, more power to you." A writer of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
wrote that "Shake It Out" had a "quiet-to-loud-louder-really-quite-loud dynamic" and said that it was perfect for a winner of The X Factor
The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
. Writing for the magazine Dose
Dose (magazine)
Dose is a daily Canadian news website and former daily print magazine.Dose was a mixture of standalone features and coverage of daily news, sometimes from an irreverent perspective...
, Leah Collins compared the song with the bands previous single "What the Water Gave Me
What the Water Gave Me
"What the Water Gave Me" is a song by Florence and the Machine, and the first song released from their second studio album, Ceremonials . It was written by Florence Welch with Francis White and produced by Paul Epworth. After the band performed the song in Berkeley, California on 12 June, 2011, the...
" (2011) and called it "bombastic, humming with church-organ, jangling with tambourine and booming with Florence Welch's cannon-blast voice." Spinner
Spinner (website)
Spinner is an AOL Music property, which bills itself as "the ultimate music blog for free MP3s, free CD listening, [and] discovering new artists."...
s Theo Spielberg praised the song saying, "beginning with a sweeping organ the song quickly hits its stride, spreads its wings and settles comfortably into a stadium-sized atmosphere." He further concluded, "you can imagine hearing it on Glee
Glee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
as much as NME Radio
NME Radio
NME Radio is the radio station from NME magazine, that broadcasts in a new commercially oriented alternative music format. It first began broadcasting on 24 June 2008.- History :...
is enough to already deem this a future classic." Laura Foster of Clash
Clash (magazine)
Clash is a popular music and fashion magazine based in the United Kingdom. Its magazine title is published 12 times a year. It has a circulation of around 40,000....
magazine wrote that the song was one of the six "massive" anthems on Ceremonials and praised the "power balladry".
The Suns Gordon Smart found the song to be "gothic and haunting." Alex Young of the website Consequence of Sound praised the anthemic nature of the song and concluded that the "sing-a-long-approved chorus takes over and it keeps you under its spell for the remaining three minutes." Barry Nicolson of NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
concluded that the chorus of the song "announces itself with a sudden, overpowering immensity akin to sheets of ice being atomised by a ruddy great hammer. It's as though indie's self-styled Lady of Shalott has discovered how to emote through a bullhorn." Richard Smirke of Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
called the song "a rousing pop-rock number in the spirit of 'Dog Days Are Over'". Jillian Mapes of the same publication commented: "Welch's goth-pop allure is summed up in the chorus of the album's dramatic first single: 'It's hard to dance with the devil on your back, so shake him off.'" Matthew Cole of Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
noted that the first four songs on the album were the best ones including the "instantly gratifying anthem 'Shake It Out'."
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
s Carrie Battan chose the song as a "Best New Track" and added that it's "even more massively anthemic than the already-anthemic singles off Lungs. Huge drum hits drive the track from the onset, and Welch's voice is in peak form throughout, nearly spilling over the edge as of the song. She clearly has a lot of weapons at her disposal, but 'Shake It Out' reveals pure adrenaline as her most powerful." Robert Copsey of Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
praised the song calling it a "a perfect introduction to the LP." In another review of the song he wrote: "'Shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaah!' she belts over crashing symbols and glittery synths on the chorus; the result, a good ol'-fashioned knees-up of a song that wouldn't sound out of place in an East London pub or the McKinley High stage." Will Hermes of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
called the song "mighty" and compared Welch's vocals with Glinda the Good Witch. Entertainment Weeklys Kyle Anderson commented that "Welch's soul is constantly in peril here, forcing her to dance away from devils" in the "swinging, jubilant" song. Andy Gill of The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, and Lewis Corner of Digital Spy, put the song in their lists of songs to download from Ceremonials. Kitty Empire of The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
wrote that Welch's vocals sound "multitracked, and are augmented by a chorus of friends."
Music video
Eyes Wide Shut
Eyes Wide Shut is a 1999 drama film based upon Arthur Schnitzler's 1926 novella Traumnovelle . The film was directed, produced and co-written by Stanley Kubrick, and was his last film. The story, set in and around New York City, follows the sexually-charged adventures of Dr...
, The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby is a novel by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. First published in1925, it is set on Long Island's North Shore and in New York City from spring to autumn of 1922....
and The Lady of Shalott
The Lady of Shalott
"The Lady of Shalott" is a Victorian ballad by the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson . Like his other early poems – "Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere" and "Galahad" – the poem recasts Arthurian subject matter loosely based on medieval sources.-Overview:Tennyson wrote two versions of the poem, one...
. Welch described the video saying, "Think of a psychedelic 1920s dress party with a demonic twist. Possession meets The Great Gatsby." 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." It was directed by Dawn Shadforth
Dawn Shadforth
Dawn Shadforth is a British music video and documentary director, as well as an editor and artist. Shadforth began her career as an award winning sculptor before turning her interest to music and directing...
who previously directed the video for "Drumming Song
Drumming Song
"Drumming Song" is the fourth single released from Lungs, the 2009 debut album by Florence and the Machine. The song was released on Island Records on 13 September 2009 in the UK. The song is also the band's second consecutive single to be A-listed on BBC Radio 1...
" and it was shot at the Eltham Palace
Eltham Palace
Eltham Palace is a large house in Eltham, within the London Borough of Greenwich, South East London, England. It is an unoccupied royal residence and owned by the Crown Estate. In 1995 its management was handed over to English Heritage which restored the building in 1999 and opened it to the public...
, London.
Michael Roffman of the website Consequence of Sound, compared the video with the work by Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
because of "the hazy cinematography and the choir-like theatrics." Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
s Kyle Anderson praised the video calling it a "five minute technicolor blast" and praised the fashion used in it as well as the references to Eyes Wide Shut. 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." RJ Cubarrubia of Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
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."
Larry Fitzmaurice of Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
said, "the video is cinematic and features a really weird party where people are wearing masks." Katie Hasty of HitFix
HitFix
HitFix, or the HitFix.com is an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information and providing reviews and critiques of film, music and television...
compared the video with the works by Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox, OBE , born Ann Lennox, is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving minor success in the late 1970s with The Tourists, with fellow musician David A...
and added that "the imagery will leave a mark on fans and aspiring fans to boot." Leah Collins of Dose
Dose (magazine)
Dose is a daily Canadian news website and former daily print magazine.Dose was a mixture of standalone features and coverage of daily news, sometimes from an irreverent perspective...
also compared the video with Annie Lennoxs "Walking on Broken Glass
Walking on Broken Glass
"Walking on Broken Glass" is a song written and performed by Scottish singer Annie Lennox, taken from her 1992 album, Diva. This song reached #1 in Canada, #8 in the UK and Ireland and #14 in the US singles charts.- CD single :...
". Spins 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
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
'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."
Live performances
The band performed "Shake It Out" on the 6 November 2011 during the eighth seasonThe X Factor (UK series 8)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The eighth series began airing on ITV on 20 August 2011. Louis Walsh is the only judge from the previous series to return, as the other three, Simon Cowell, Dannii Minogue and Cheryl Cole, all left to join other...
of the British show The X Factor
The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
. They also sang the song on The X Factor Australia on 15 November and on France's La Musicale on Canal+
Canal+
Canal+ is a French premium pay television channel launched in 1984. It is 80% owned by the Canal+ Group, which in turn is owned by Vivendi SA. The channel broadcasts several kinds of programming, mostly encrypted...
on 18 November. Later, on 20 November 2011, they performed the song on Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
. "Shake It Out" was also performed on Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
on 21 November 2011.
Track listing
Digital download- "Shake It Out" – 4:37
UK iTunes EP
- "Shake It Out" – 4:37
- "Shake It Out" (The WeekndThe WeekndAbel Tesfaye , better known by his stage name The Weeknd is an Ethiopian Canadian singer. Songs recorded under The Weeknd name first leaked in late 2010, though the identity of the individual behind the project was initially unknown.The Weeknd released a nine-song mixtape, House of Balloons, on...
Remix) – 5:17 - "Shake It Out" (Benny BenassiBenny BenassiMarco Benassi , better known as Benny Benassi, is a Grammy Award winning Italian disc jockey and record producer of electro house music. He is best known for his 2002 summer club hit "Satisfaction"...
Remix Edit) - "Shake It Out" (Benny Benassi Remix)
Limited 12" vinyl
- "Shake It Out" – 4:37
- "Shake It Out" (The Weeknd Remix) – 5:17
Charts
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... ) |
36 |
| Canada Alternative Rock Canadian rock/alternative chart The Canadian rock/alternative chart was first published on June 11, 1995 by RPM magazine under the name Alternative 30. The song which held the number-one spot on this first chart was "More Human than Human" by White Zombie... |
32 |
| US Rock Songs Rock Songs Rock Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks the airplay of songs on alternative, mainstream rock and triple A radio stations. The first chart was published in the issue dated June 20, 2009. "Know Your Enemy" by Green Day was the first number-one song. The Rock Songs... (Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... ) |
15 |
| US Hot Dance Club Songs (Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... ) |
32 |
| US Adult Pop Songs (Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... ) |
33 |
Release history
| Country | Release date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 14 September 2011 | Digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
Island Records Island Records Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group... |
| United Kingdom | 30 September 2011 | ||
| United States | 11 October 2011 |