Chris Rea Albums (21)
'The Return of the Fabulous Hofner Blue Notes'
Release Date 2/11/2008
Tracks 38
Label TBC
See Album Tracklist and Review
'Blue Street (Five Guitars)'
Release Date 1/1/2003
Tracks 11
Label Jazzee Blue
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'Dancing Down the Stony Road'
Release Date 9/16/2002
Tracks 20
Label Jazzy Blue
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What The Critics Say
A sequel of sorts to his earlier On the Beach, King of the Beach continues the laid-back mood of the earlier album but is (despite the goofy title) a more mature and unified work. It's one of his best albums and is a return to form after the film soundtrack La Passione and the more electronic sounds of The Road to Hell Part 2. Written primarily during a vacation in the Turks and Caicos Islands, it's replete with lots of beach and summer imagery in the titles ("King of the Beach," "All Summer Long," "Sandwriting," "Sail Away") as well as the lyrics, which were originally written as poems. A remix of "All Summer Long" was a big dance hit in Ibiza and other Mediterranean hot spots. A good album for a summer day, with a soulful mellowness flowing through the tracks. ~ Rob Caldwell, All Music Guide
'The Road to Hell: Part 2'
Release Date 1/1/1999
Tracks 12
Label Eastwest
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'Espresso Logic'
Release Date 11/3/1993
Tracks 11
Label WEA/East/West
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What The Critics Say
Espresso Logic is aptly titled, as the majority of the music would fit well in a late-night coffee house. It's a jazzier-bluesier album than most of Rea's, featuring some fine slide guitar, particularly on the title track. The atmospheric "Miles Is a Cigarette" is a smoky evocation of longing and remembrance. This hushed mood carries over into "She Closed Her Eyes," which is a poem spoken over a soothing, wistful backing. It's not all moody atmospherics, though. Like "Josephine" on his earlier Shamrock Diaries, the bright rhythm driven song "Julia" is about one of his daughters. Unfortunately, the weakest track is the duet with Elton John. The pairing could have been more interesting if they'd picked a different song, but "If You Were Me" is quite bland. This album was released in two different versions, the U.S. version, with the gold sand on the cover, also included some songs from God's Great Banana Skin, which wasn't released in the U.S. ~ Rob Caldwell, All Music Guide
'God's Great Banana Skin'
Release Date 1/1/1993
Tracks 11
Label East West
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What The Critics Say
Chris Rea's voice is like the smoke off a prairie fire or the sparks and flame from a flint and steel. Coupled with his robust, tasteful songwriting, the effect is to pull the listener into a song or album, grabbing at the brain -- not just the ears. Auberge is the follow-up to Road to Hell, an ambitious, dark-toned album that found European and critical success. Auberge may not be as dark as its predecessor, but Rea seemingly can't sing a word without sharpening its flinty edges, making it a bit threatening. That said, his latest effort tempers that wariness with a mixture of cavalier spontaneity and sighing recall. It's the thoughts and feelings of a man on a meandering road trip, thinking over the things he's said and done. "Heaven" seems to recall a time when the afterlife was in reach, but it could just as easily be the song of someone who's finally found his way. The reggae-tinged "Every Second Counts" finds Rea adjusting his phrasing perfectly to the song's mellow upbeat, while the rousing title track and its accompanying set piece "Set Me Free" move from searching, tentative guitar noodlings into full-blown epics, sketching the album's story line with bluesy bottom end, blustering horns, backup singers, and Rea's own grainy vocal rumble. Auberge might be a bit tough to break into at first, like a road map that you just can't unfold, but that's because ambitious, rangy songwriting is going to take a few odd turns on its way to the scenic overlook where everything becomes clear. In Rea's case, that moment is summed up over the twisting guitar and swelling strings of "Gone Fishing." "You can waste a whole lifetime trying to be what you think is expected of you," he sings, and offers the simple act of casting a line as cure for life's wrong turns. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
