Leo Sayer - Living In A Fantasy (1980) (vinyl Lp) - €10,00

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Living in a Fantasy is the eighth album by the English singer-songwriter Leo Sayer. It was released on 22 August 1980.

Although the album was not a huge commercial success, the single that it spawned, a cover version of Bobby Vee's "More Than I Can Say", spent five weeks at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in December 1980 and January 1981. 

Sayer's version of the song was certified a gold record by the RIAA.

Living in a Fantasy is the last album to yield hits for Leo Sayer in America, closing out the terrific '70s run as the '80s began. 

A-ha/Bow Wow Wow/Squeeze producer Alan Tarney chooses to keep the production slick and sparse, the large mix of musicians who helped craft albums like Thunder In My Heart, Endless Flight, Here, World Radio, and others vanishes as the singer goes back to the pared-down format of his Just a Boy period. 

The big difference is that Sayer had gone beyond the singer/songwriter personality of those early recordings to having marquee value, as well as his own TV show. 

Songs here like "You Win, I Lose" are bouncy pop, this one like five others composed by the singer and his producer. 

Tarney does three other songs on his own, with the Curtis/Allison number "More Than I Can Say" the only material from another source. That song would climb to number one on the U.S. adult contemporary charts, almost doing the same on the Top 40, stopping one shy of becoming his third number one record. 

The production of the hit is elegant and polished, sounding a bit like "Raining in My Heart" from the Leo Sayer disc, which should have been as big as this. The Hipgnosis sleeve design and multiple collages are all very hip, and give this techno-looking record a clarity missing from much of the previous packaging. 

"Millionaire" could be Gino Vanelli gone total pop, slick and stripped-down dance rock that could have hit the clubs easier than the forced feel of the Thunder in My Heart album. 

Tarney is careful to keep the stylish density of Richard Perry's work involved here. "Once in a While" benefits from the mixture of middle-of-the-road melody meeting trendy sounds. 

The title track, "Living in a Fantasy," also has those qualities and was the last hit, just breaking the Top 25 in 1981. 

"She's Not Coming Back," and "Only Foolin'" are slick entries that work while Alan Tarney's "Let Me Know" is very strong, not only as a song but as a production and performance.

Side A

A1. Time Ran Out On You - 3:50  

A2. Where Did We Go Wrong - 3:55  

A3. You Win-I Lose - 3:43  

A4. More Than I Can Say  (Jerry Allison, Sonny Curtis) - 3:41  

A5. Millionaire - 4:22  

Side B

B1. Once In A While  (Tarney) - 3:30

B2. Living In A Fantasy - 4:25  

B3. She’s Not Coming Back - 3:50  

B4. Let Me Know  (Tarney) - 3:55

B5. Only Foolin’ - 3:40  

All tracks written by Leo Sayer and Alan Tarney, except where noted. 

Companies, etc.

• Recorded At – Riverside Recordings
• Recorded At – R.G. Jones Studios
• Mixed At – Roundhouse Studios
• Mastered At – The Sound Clinic
• Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Warner Bros. Records Inc.
• Copyright © – Warner Bros. Records Inc.
• Pressed By – Capitol Records Pressing Plant, Los Angeles

Credits

• Art Direction – Peter Wagg
• Artwork [Color Prints] – Maintide
• Design, Photography By, Artwork [Collage] – Hipgnosis, Maxon
• Drums, Percussion – Trevor Spencer
• Guitar, Synthesizer, Backing Vocals, Keyboards, Bass – Alan Tarney
• Management – Adam Faith, Colin Berlin
• Management [U.S. Representation] – Michael Lippman
• Mastered By – John Dent
• Mixed By – Ashley Howe, Ashley Howe
• Mixed By [Assisted By] – David Kemp
• Producer, Arranged By – Alan Tarney
• Recorded By [Assisted By] – Rachel Carse
• Recorded By, Mixed By [Assisted By] – Nick Glennie-Smith
• Vocals, Harmonica – Leo Sayer

Recorded at Riverside Recordings, Chiswick, London
and at R.G. Jones Recording Studios, Wimbledon, Surrey.
Mixed at Roundhouse Studios, Chalk Farm, London
Mastered at The Sound Clinic, Hammersmith, London

Notes

Release:  1980

Format:  LP, Vinyl

Genre:  Pop

Label:  Chrysalis

Catalog#  202830

Vinyl:  Goed (VG)

Cover:  Goed (VG)

Prijs: €10,00