''Blue Views'' is the fifth solo
studio album by the English singer-songwriter
Paul Carrack
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
* Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chr ...
, then a member of the
supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to:
* Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields
* Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry
* Supergroup ...
Mike + The Mechanics
Mike and the Mechanics (stylised as Mike + The Mechanics) is an English rock supergroup formed in Dover in 1985 by Mike Rutherford, initially as a side project during a hiatus period for his earlier group Genesis. The band is known for hit sin ...
. It was Carrack's first solo album in seven years; in the interim period between solo albums, he had recorded one album as a member of
Squeeze, one album as a member of
Spin 1ne 2wo, and two albums as a member of Mike + The Mechanics. ''Blue Views'' was originally released in 1995 on
I.R.S. Records
I.R.S. Records was an American record label founded by Miles Copeland III, Jay Boberg, and Carl Grasso in 1979. I.R.S. produced some of the most popular bands of the 1980s, and was particularly known for issuing records by college rock, new w ...
in the UK and most other territories. In the US, it appeared on the
Ark 21
Ark 21 Records was a record label established by Miles & Stewart Copeland in 1997, based in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California, United States.
Artists
*Kathem Al-Saher
* Ragheb Alamah
*Aswad
*The Badlees
*The Beautiful South
* John Berry
*Be ...
label.
The album was produced by Carrack's erstwhile Mike + The Mechanics bandmate
Peter Van Hooke
Peter Van Hooke (born 6 April 1950) is an English rock drummer and producer with over 350 credits to his name. He was the drummer for the English band Mike + The Mechanics (from 1984 to 1995) and also drummed for Van Morrison's band, Headstone ...
, who had left the group the previous year. ''Blue Views'' spun off two UK top 40 hits: "Eyes of Blue" and a re-recording of "
How Long", which Carrack had originally written and sung 22 years earlier as a member of the band
Ace
An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ca ...
.
In the US, "Eyes of Blue" was a minor hit on the Adult Contemporary (AC) charts, while the track "For Once in Our Lives" was a major AC hit, peaking at #3.
The song "
Love Will Keep Us Alive
"Love Will Keep Us Alive" is a song written by Jim Capaldi, Paul Carrack, and Peter Vale and produced by the Eagles, Elliot Scheiner, and Rob Jacobs. It was first performed by the Eagles in 1994, during their ''Hell Freezes Over'' reunion tour, w ...
", a Carrack co-wrote, had been previously recorded by
The Eagles
The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles and six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s ...
for their 1994 album ''
Hell Freezes Over
''Hell Freezes Over'' is the second live album by the Eagles, released in 1994. The album is the first to be released after the Eagles had reformed following a fourteen-year-long break up. The band's lineup was that of the ''Long Run'' era: Glen ...
''.
Reception
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...
's Stephen Thomas Erlewine calls ''Blue Views'' "solid adult contemporary pop", and while criticizing some of the "spotty" material, writes that "Carrack's vocals are terrific and the sound is appealingly polished."
Track listing
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.
* Paul Carrack – vocals, keyboards
*
Rod Argent
Rodney Terence Argent (born 14 June 1945) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Argent came to prominence in the mid 1960s as the keyboardist, founder and leader of the ...
– keyboards
*
Tim Renwick
Timothy John Pearson Renwick (born 7 August 1949) is an English guitarist. He is best known for his association with Al Stewart in his early career and for his long-standing role as lead guitarist for the Sutherland Brothers & Quiver. His single ...
– guitars (1-6, 8-11)
*
Robbie McIntosh
Robbie McIntosh (born 25 October 1957) is an English guitarist. McIntosh is well known as a session guitarist and member of The Pretenders from 1982 until 1987. In 1988 he began doing session guitar work for Paul McCartney joining his band fu ...
– guitars (1-6, 8-11)
* Mitch Dalton –
classical guitar (1)
*
Neil Hubbard
Neil Terrence Hubbard (born 24 February 1948) is a British guitarist who has performed with Juicy Lucy, The Grease Band, Bluesology, Joe Cocker, Roxy Music, Kokomo, Alvin Lee, B.B. King, Kevin Rowland and Tony O'Malley, and played on the ...
– guitars (7)
*
Pino Palladino
Giuseppe Henry "Pino" Palladino (born 17 October 1957) is a Welsh musician, songwriter, and record producer. A prolific session bassist, he has played bass for acts such as The Who, the John Mayer Trio, Nine Inch Nails, Gary Numan, Jeff Beck ...
– bass (1-7, 9, 10, 11)
*
Keith Wilkinson – bass (8)
*
– drums
*
Martin Ditcham
Martin Ditcham is an English drummer, percussionist and songwriter.
Ditcham is a prolific session musician, working with artists such as Henry Cow, Status Quo, Elton John, The Rolling Stones, Roger Daltrey, Sade, Mary Black, Nik Kershaw, Chri ...
– percussion
*
Luís Jardim
Luís Alberto Figueira Gonçalves Jardim (born 4 July 1950) is a Portuguese percussionist, born in the Madeira Island, best known for his work with producer Trevor Horn.
Family
Jardim is a cousin of Alberto João Jardim (former president of th ...
– percussion
*
Frank Ricotti
Frank Ricotti (born 31 January 1949) is an English jazz vibraphonist and percussionist.
Early life and education
Ricotti was born in London, England. His father was a drummer. Bill Ashton, founder of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJ ...
– percussion
*
Roger Chase
Roger Chase (born in London in 1953) is a British violist who currently teaches at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University.
Life
Roger Chase was born in London and studied under Bernard Shore (with occasional lessons f ...
– viola (10)
* Bill Hawkins – viola (10)
* Perry Montague-Mason – violin (10)
*
Gavyn Wright
Gavyn Wright is a British violinist and orchestra leader with the London Session Orchestra and Penguin Cafe Orchestra.
He is best known for his orchestral arrangements on pop productions (including Elton John, Simply Red, Bush, Mecano, Oa ...
– violin (10)
*
Katie Kissoon
Mac and Katie Kissoon are a pop soul duo, consisting of brother and sister Mac Kissoon (born Gerald Farthing, November 11, 1943, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago) and Katie Kissoon (born Katherine Farthing, March 11, 1951, Port of Spain).
Ear ...
– backing vocals
*
Tessa Niles
Tessa Margaret Niles ( ''née'' Webb; born 27 January 1961 in Ilford, Essex) is an English singer, best known as a backing singer for a wide variety of contemporary artists. She began her professional singing career in 1979.
Early life and ca ...
– backing vocals
* Lance Ellington – backing vocals (5, 9, 10)
Production
* Producer – Peter Van Hooke
* Engineers – Paul Mortimer and Simon Smart
* Assistant Engineers – Danny Dawson, Paul Hicks, Robbie Kazandjian and Guy Massey.
* Mixing – John Brough and Simon Smart
* Mastered by Chris Blair
* Recorded, Mixed and Mastered at
Abbey Road Studios (London, UK).
* Photography – Paul Cox
Certifications
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1995 albums
I.R.S. Records albums
Paul Carrack albums