''This Wonderful Life'' is the second studio album by Australian singer-songwriter

Stephen Cummings Stephen Donald Cummings (born 13 September 1954) is an Australian rock singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of Melbourne-based rock band the Sports from 1976 to 1981, followed by a solo career which has met with critical acclaim but h ...

. The album was released in August 1986 and peaked at number 69 on the Australian

Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music historian David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July 19 ...

Writing and recording

Cummings said, "I produced the record myself in a small studio in Melbourne and I did it in 12 days - recorded and mixed. It's the first album I've ever done where I followed it through right from the start. Writing the songs at home, organising it all. The people on it are all friends from Melbourne. All of the songs were co-written by Cummings. His fellow writers included

Andrew Pendlebury Andrew Scott Pendlebury (born 1952) is an Australian guitarist-songwriter. From 1977 to 1981 was a member of The Sports and from 1986 to 1988 he joined Slaughtermen. He has undertaken other projects and issued four solo albums. At the ARIA Musi ...

from

the Sports The Sports were an Australian rock group which performed and recorded between 1976 and 1981. Mainstay members were Stephen Cummings on lead vocals and Robert Glover on bass guitar, with long-term members such as Paul Hitchins on drums, Andrew ...

, Dean Richards from

Whirlywirld Whirlywirld were an Australian post-punk band led by Ollie Olsen in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and the first of his musical collaborations with drummer John Murphy. They played in Melbourne and Sydney and were supporters of the Melbourne ...

and Ian Stephens from the Slaughtermen. Cummings also wrote the publicity blurb for the album, which started, "It's a complete album, a solid listen, yet each song tells its own story, a burning, a yearning, like

Carl Gustav Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and psychologist who founded the school of analytical psychology. A prolific author of over 20 books, illustrator, and correspondent, Jung was a ...

letting it all hang out, baby, at

the Copacabana The Copacabana is a New York City nightclub that has existed in several locations. In earlier locations, many entertainers, such as Danny Thomas, Pat Cooper, and the comedy team of Martin and Lewis, made their New York debuts at the Copacabana. ...

, like the Darker Side of

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow ( ; born Barry Alan Pincus on June 17, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer with a career that spans over sixty years. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", "Looks Like We Made It", "Brandy (Scott ...

Reception

Toby Creswell from

Rolling Stone Australia ''Rolling Stone Australia'' is the Australian edition of the United States' ''Rolling Stone'' magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture, published monthly. The Australian version of ''Rolling Stone'' was initially published in 197 ...

said "There is a strength that runs through this album which saves the sentiment from becoming maudlin. While Cummings' characters could easily sound resigned, they instead sound strong in their lonesomeness. Cummings' singing sounds stronger than it has in some years and he has a control over the material, exhibiting a dexterity that hasn't been in evidence since

The Sports The Sports were an Australian rock group which performed and recorded between 1976 and 1981. Mainstay members were Stephen Cummings on lead vocals and Robert Glover on bass guitar, with long-term members such as Paul Hitchins on drums, Andrew ...

recorded ''

Don't Throw Stones Don't Throw Stones is the second studio album by Australian rock and pop band The Sports, released in February 1979; a limited edition with a bonus 7" promotional single of "Reckless". The album peaked at number 9 on the Australian Kent Music Rep ...

'' many years ago. Ultimately ''This Wonderful Life'' is not a record destined for an immediate impact on the charts. It's too modern, sophisticated, intelligent and passionate for that."

Writing and recording

Reception

Track listing

Charts

Release history

References