''First Under the Wire'' is the fifth studio album by Australian group
Little River Band
Little River Band (LRB) are a rock band formed in Melbourne, Australia, in March 1975. The band achieved commercial success in both Australia and the United States. They have sold more than 30 million records; six studio albums reached the top ...
, released in July 1979 by
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...
. The album peaked at No. 2 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 ...
Albums Chart
[ NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until ]ARIA
In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...
created their own charts
A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent t ...
in mid-1988. and at No. 10 on the
Billboard 200
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a rec ...
, becoming the group's highest-charting album in that territory. The album included two top 10
''Billboard'' Hot 100 hits in "
Lonesome Loser" and "
Cool Change".
Reception
''Cash Box'' magazine said "Ringing harmonies are the Little River Band's forte, and its resonant vocal arrangements are in full bloom on ''First Under the Wire''. John Boylan's sterling production adds lustre to the songs, and David Briggs brilliant guitar work continues to be the group's musical focal point." calling the album "A must for AOR, MOR and pop programmers."
Mark Allan from
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
gave the album four stars.
Track listing
; Side A
#"
Lonesome Loser" (
David Briggs) - 3:58
#"The Rumour" (
Glenn Shorrock
Glenn Barrie Shorrock (born 30 June 1944) is an Australian singer and songwriter. He was a founding member of rock bands the Twilights, Axiom, Little River Band and post LRB spin-off trio Birtles Shorrock Goble, as well as being a solo perfo ...
) - 4:18
#"By My Side" (
Beeb Birtles
Gerard Bertelkamp AM (born 28 November 1948), known professionally as Beeb Birtles, is an Australian musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist. He has been a member of various Australian groups including Zoot (1967–71), Mississippi (1972� ...
,
Graham Goble) - 4:25
#"
Cool Change" (Glenn Shorrock) - 5:14
#"It's Not a Wonder" (Graham Goble) - 3:56
; Side B
#
"Hard Life" (Prelude) (David Briggs) - 2:42
#"Hard Life" (Graham Goble) - 4:46
#"Middle Man" (Beeb Birtles, Graham Goble) - 4:24
#"Man on the Run" (Beeb Birtles, Graham Goble) - 4:16
#"Mistress of Mine" (Graham Goble) - 5:32
Personnel
* Glenn Shorrock
Glenn Barrie Shorrock (born 30 June 1944) is an Australian singer and songwriter. He was a founding member of rock bands the Twilights, Axiom, Little River Band and post LRB spin-off trio Birtles Shorrock Goble, as well as being a solo perfo ...
- lead vocals
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...
(except as noted)
* David Briggs - lead guitar
Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...
s, Roland synthesizer guitars, Electric Sitar on track 10
* Beeb Birtles
Gerard Bertelkamp AM (born 28 November 1948), known professionally as Beeb Birtles, is an Australian musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist. He has been a member of various Australian groups including Zoot (1967–71), Mississippi (1972� ...
- electric
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
and acoustic guitars, vocals
Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...
, lead vocals on tracks 3 and 9, co-lead vocals on track 8
* Graham Goble - electric
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
and acoustic guitars, backing vocals
A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...
, vocal arrangements
In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing Composition (music), composition. Differences from the original composition may include Harmony (music), reharmonization, Musical phrasing, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or M ...
* Derek Pellicci
Derek Allan Pellicci (born 18 February 1953) is an English-born Australian drummer. He is best known as a founding member of Little River Band. Pellicci lives in Melbourne with his wife, Anne and a son.
Early life
In 1960, Pellicci's family, his ...
- Sonor and Syndrums drums
The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...
, percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...
* Clive Harrison - bass guitar
The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...
(tracks 1, 2, 5, 9 and 10)
* Mike Clarke - bass (tracks 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 10)
* Peter Sullivan - piano (tracks 1, 2, 5, 9)
* Peter Jones - piano and keyboards (tracks 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 10) and orchestrations
* Bill Harrower - saxophones on tracks 4 and 8
* John Boylan - acoustic guitar on track 2
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:First Under The Wire
1979 albums
Little River Band albums
Albums produced by John Boylan (record producer)
Capitol Records albums