zondag 13 april 2025

Published zondag, april 13, 2025 by ad-vinylrecords with 0 comment

Chris Rea - On The Beach (1986) LP - €10,00

posted  by ad-vinylrecords

On the Beach is the eighth studio album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 1986, and built on the success of the preceding Shamrock Diaries. 
It topped the Dutch charts (where it charted for more than nine months).

Chris Rea continued his upward progress through the ranks of U.K. A.O.R. royalty with this strong album, the follow-up to its worthy predecessor “Shamrock Diaries“, where he would finally catch up a couple of years later with the likes of Sting, Phil Collins and Dire Straits with this strong album although it eventually took him a hellish road to get there. 
“Shamrock Diaries” was a rockier affair and its lyrics often tinged with childhood nostalgia while “On The Beach” is a much more relaxed set, the arrangements light, jazzy almost pointillistic at times, giving it a sort of “What I did on my holidays...” chill-out vibe.
As ever, speaking at least for myself, it’s not hard to ascertain Rea’s own audio soundtrack to his summer by which I mean, he wears his influences lightly and prolifically. I’m hearing the original sounds of the likes of Stevie Nicks, Gerry Rafferty, Weather Report and even Cat Stevens, while his debt to Mark Knopfler remains ongoing. 
That laid-back feel is apparent on many tracks, like the extended title track all plinky-plonky electric piano and distant backing vocals, the hypnotic "Little Blonde Plaits", "Giverny", inspired equally by Claude Monet and Stevie Nick's ("Gipsy" anyone?), "Lucky Day" with its Caribbean groove and "Passing Through" with its airy, Weather Reporty feel, almost like watching the sun setting over the water.
Mood convincingly set, Rea ups the ante a bit with the more direct "It's All Gone" which both lyrically, a lament over the cold modernisation of his old home town and musically, suggests it might have been held over from the album before. 
A touch Gerry Rafferty's "Night Owl" crossed with Stevie Nicks' "Stand Back" on this one methinks but it's all good.
"Hello Friend" with its passing resemblance to a recent Clapton song of almost the same name, just saying, reuses the familiar fretless bass-line from the recent Paul Young hit "Wherever I Lay My Hat" and us followed by my favourite track here, the carefree abandon of "Two Roads" even if the way it is sounds like "The Way It Is" by Bruce Hornsby.
The final two tracks on the original release comprise the beautifully uplifting "Light Of Hope" and "Auf Immer und Ewig", apparently the theme to a German film of the time which confirms the New Age mood of much of the content here.


Side A
A1. On The Beach - 5:04
A2. Little Blonde Plaits - 4:17
A3. Giverny - 5:39
A4. Lucky Day - 3:57
A5. Just Passing Through - 5:20

Side B
B1. It’s All Gone - 7:28
B2. Hello Friend - 4:19
B3. Two Roads - 3:44
B4. Light Of Hope - 4:34
B5. Auf Immer Und Ewig - 4:11


Musicians

Production
  • Chris Rea – producer
  • David Richards – producer, mixing
  • Stewart Eales – recording engineer
  • Stylorouge – sleeve design
  • Ekkeheart Gurlitt – photography
  • Francoise La Port – photography (Chris Rea)

Companies, etc.

Singles
  1. "It's All Gone" b/w "Crack That Mould", "Look Out For Me", "Bless Them All", "Let's Dance" (original version)
  2. "On the Beach" b/w "On the Beach (special remix)", "If Anybody Asks You", "One Golden Rule" (live), "Midnight Blue"
  3. "Hello Friend" (re-recording) b/w "Driving Home for Christmas" (original version), "It's All Gone" (live), "Steel River"

Notes
Released:  1986
Format:  Vinyl, LP, Album
Genre:  Soft Rock
Label:  Magnet 
Catalog#  207 681

Vinyl:  Goed (VG)
Cover:  Goed (VG)

Prijs: €10,00

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