|
| |
|
|
ALBUM
REVIEWS
PAUL
CARRACK
Click
on the album covers below to order the CDs |
 |
|
ALBUM
RATING SYSTEM |
|
***** |
An
excellent album. Strong effort from beginning to end! A must own! |
|
**** |
A
very good album. A few low points but, overall, a decent effort.
Recommended. |
|
*** |
A
good album. Several weak points detract from the album, but it's still
worth owning. |
|
** |
A
mediocre album. Unless you're a real fan, you might not like this album
very much. |
|
* |
A
poor album. Stay away from this one unless you are a hardcore fan! |
|
Paul
Carrack - Suburban Voodoo (1982) |
|
 |
WOG
RATING: ****
In what many people would call the quintessential "pub rock" album,
Suburban Voodoo launched Carrack into the spotlight as a successful solo
artist in the early 1980s. That genre, which was made popular during this
period by the likes of Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, and others, was taken to
another level with this release. The massive pop appeal of hits like "Lesson
In Love", "I Need You" and other radio-friendly cuts soared up the charts in
America with several music publications, including Rolling Stone,
sighting it as among the best albums of that year. The raw, soulful quality
of Paul Carrack's voice combined with the pub rock sound of the day was so
unique that he became the poster boy for the term "Blue Eyed Soul."
Voodoo is an exceptionally strong album with a great deal of gutsy,
powerful tracks. To this day, it remains one of my favorites from his solo
catalog. After hearing this album, it was clear that Carrack would not be
backing Nick Lowe for much longer. His own star was very much on the rise!
|
|
Paul
Carrack - One Good Reason (1987) |
|
 |
WOG
RATING: ***
In what appears to be strongly influenced by the massive pop commercial
success of the debut, self-titled, Mike and the Mechanics album, Paul
Carrack's third solo offering was a radical departure from the "pub rock"
sound of his Suburban Voodoo record. Fueled by hit singles by the
title song, "Don't Shed a Tear" and his cover of "When You Walk In the
Room," Reason demonstrated that Carrack could achieve commercial
success equal to or greater than that of his side project with Mike
Rutherford and Paul Young. Other memorable tracks included "Fire with Fire"
and the incredible "(Do I Figure) In Your Life."
|
|
Ultimately, while One Good Reason is
not a bad album, the overly commercial pop sound on the majority of the set
does make it feel slightly less genuine (for lack of a better word) in
comparison to some of his other solo projects which tended to have a
stronger, more organic, soulful quality. I still enjoy this album today, but
at times it seems that the songs are essentially Paul's own interpretation
of doing a solo Mechanics album rather than the soul-pop foundation that
most of his albums are based upon. |
|
Paul
Carrack - Groove Approved (1989) |
|
 |
WOG
RATING: ***
Released on the heels of The Mechanics' Living Years, Carrack's
fourth solo album once again followed the path of a more trendy pop sound
much like it's predecessor. While dance-flavored pop singles like "I Live By
The Groove" and the Nick Lowe co-written "Battlefield" gained most of the
attention on this release, the strengths of Groove Approved were
"Dedicated" (my personal favorite), "Bad News At The Best of Times" and
the Chris Difford (of Squeeze) co-written "After The Love Is Gone", which showcased a little more of Paul's "blue-eyed soul" prowess
and made it a far more diverse record than One Good Reason. Also of
note, fellow Mechanic Paul Young made an appearance on backing vocals on the
catchy "On The Tip of My Tongue."
|
Groove Approved is an underrated album
that was sadly foreshadowed by a select few songs, which despite being
decent dancey-pop songs, lacked the strength of the rest of this project.
For those Carrack fans who have not explored this album, I would recommend
it. Over all, its a fairly good offering worth of your time. |
|
Paul
Carrack - 21 Good Reasons (1994) |
|
|
WOG
RATING: *****
Before parting ways with Chrysalis Records in the early '90s, Paul
Carrack released 21 Good Reasons, a single disc anthology spanning Paul's
work from 1974's Five-A-Side album with Ace through 1991's Word of
Mouth with Mike and The Mechanics. A myriad of hits from Ace's "How
Long", Squeeze's "Tempted", Mike and the Mechanics "Silent Running (On
Dangerous Ground)" and many of Paul's solo hits are peppered by his work
with Spin 1ne 2wo, and others. All tracks included in this amazing
collection are the original studio versions that dominated the radio and
suitably showcase some of the highlights of Carrack's incredible career in
music.
|
|
Although no single disc set is going to be
totally comprehensive - especially as a true Carrack aficionado - I can find
little fault with this impressive set. In fact, it's essentially a perfect
starting point for someone looking to explore some of Paul Carrack's musical
history for the first time. This collection gets my highest recommendation.
It's an exceptional treasure trove of Carrack gold! |
|
Paul
Carrack - Blue Views (1995) |
|
 |
WOG
RATING: *****
Paul Carrack's fifth solo album was once again a radical departure. With
Blue Views, Carrack abandoned the more trendy, mainstream '80s style
dance orientated pop songs highlighted one One Good Reason and
Groove Approved for a more genuine sounding soulful, slightly more adult
contemporary, pop feel. The end result was a nearly flawless piece of
soul-pop perfection. Although the album gained most acclaim for hits like
"Eyes of Blue", "Love Will Keep Us Alive" (co-written with Jim Capaldi and
Don Felder of The Eagles), and "For Once In Our Lives," there is not a weak
track on this album. Blue Views gets my highest recommendation. It's not
only one of Carrack's best albums, but one of my favorite albums - period. |
|
Paul
Carrack - Beautiful World (1998) |
|
 |
WOG RATING: ***
Paul Carrack's sixth solo album's sound was along the same vein as the
adult contemporary soul-laced Blue Views. Although not nearly as
exceptional as Blue Views, Beautiful World is still a very
good album with songs like the title track, "Perfect World", "The Way I am
Feeling Tonight", and
"Some Kinda Love" among just a few of the release's 10-core tracks (later
issues had added bonus tracks). Sadly, I think
the album is probably slightly eclipsed by the epic pop masterpiece that
proceeded it, so the album was largely overlooked. I definitely recommend
trying this album out if you enjoyed Carrack solo projects like Blue
Views or Satisfy My Soul. |
|
Paul
Carrack - Satisfy My Soul (2000) |
|
|
WOG RATING: ****
Aside from maybe his Blue Views record,
Paul Carrack's seventh solo album, Satisfy My Soul, is one of his
best, crowning achievements as a solo artist. The album continued to follow
Carrack's more recent inclination toward more soulful pop orientated songs,
rather than the more commercial pop sound heard on projects like One Good
Reason and Groove Approved. The album is near-flawless in its
countless selections of lush, well-crafted songwriting and catchy tunes.
Ballads like "My Kind" and the title track (the latter of which has almost a
Sam Cooke vibe to it) are just a couple of examples of how solid this
release is. Much like Blue Views, it is one of the essential albums
from his body of work that simply must be owned. |
|
Paul
Carrack - Groovin (a.k.a. Still Groovin) (2001/2002) |
|
 |
WOG
RATING: ***
There is absolutely no doubt that Paul Carrack is influenced by '60s and
'70s soul and pop music. Anyone who has ever heard a Carrack-related album
released in the past 30 years or so can attest to that. Here for the first
time Carrack offers a collection of songs that have influenced him ranging
from Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" to The Young Rascals'
"Groovin" to James Taylor's "You've Got A Friend" to
name but a few. Perhaps not surprisingly, these covers work very well.
Carrack's soulful voice lends itself very traditionally to most of these
classics while still allowing enough space in the musical spectrum to
allow for his own flavor.
|
|
|
The
album was initially released under the name Groovin with 13-tracks,
but it was later re-packaged as Still Groovin with five bonus
tracks ("Into The Mystic", "People Get Ready",
"Warm and Tender Love", "It's Growing", and "I
Wish It would Rain"), a variation of the album cover, and a DVD EP
featuring four live selections and two promo videos from his Paul
Carrack: In Concert DVD recorded on his Satisfy My Soul
Tour. Unfortunately, the DVD single is in PAL video format, which won't
help you all that much if you live outside select parts of Europe
(although it should work on DVD-ROMs on PCs everywhere). While the album
never saw its way to being released in North America, Groovin, in
whichever format you choose, is an interesting take on some old favorites
a la Carrack!
|
|
Paul
Carrack - It Ain't Over (2003) |
|
 |
WOG
RATING: ****
Paul Carrack has consistently created great soul influenced pop records as
a solo artist for some twenty years, and his 2003 album, It Ain't Over,
is certainly no exception. The eleven tracks that make up the album are
well-crafted, classic Carrack in its finest form. From the opening track,
the catchy straight ahead pop tune "She Lived Down The Street,"
and heavily R&B saturated numbers like "Where Did I Go
Wrong?" and "Just A Little Lie," to the hybrid pop-soul on
"Nothin' To Lose," Carrack delivers time and time again. Perhaps even more impressive is that, with the exception of some horn and
string arrangements, Carrack recorded the album virtually by himself
(including drums, bass, organ, guitars, vocals - and even
producing)! Carrack also penned most of the material on the album with the
exception of three cuts co-written by ex-Squeeze bandmate Chris Difford.
Clearly a labor of love, It Ain't Over demonstrates Carrack's
prowess as a studio musician and his continuing evolution as a songwriter.
|
|
|
Collectors
may also want to note that a later "Limited Edition" pressing of
the It Ain't Over 11-track album was released exclusively in Europe
(pictured to the left) and featured a slight variation to the album
artwork, plus three bonus live tracks recorded at Royal Albert Hall in
2002 ("Georgia [on My Mind]","Love Will Keep Us Alive"
and "Anyday Now"), and a fourth bonus cut, "The Living
Years," recorded live from Abbey Road Studios in 2002 with the London
Community Gospel Choir. Personally, I felt that Carrack's cover of
"Georgia" made it worth the price of admission alone, but that's
just my opinion!
|
|
Paul
Carrack - Live At The Opera House (2004) |
|
 |
WOG
RATING: ****
This two-disc set recorded in January 2004 at the Opera House in Buxton,
England, serves as Carrack's first live album as a solo artist. Among its
24-tracks are a mix of solo tunes originally recorded by Carrack between
1987 to present with cover tunes and other gems thrown in for good
measure. Of course, there is a heavy emphasis on songs from Carrack's more
current projects like It Ain't Over, Groovin' and Satisfy My
Soul which make up half of the collection. Sadly, missing are token
songs from Carrack solo albums such as Suburban Voodoo, Nightbird,
and Groove Approved which would have rounded off this live
anthology quite nicely. Although very different from his newer solo
material, a few of those early up-beat pop-orientated tunes would have
given the album a little more diversity and would have been a welcomed
addition. Despite this, Carrack's live set offers a fairly good
representation of most of his career including songs from a few of his
older solo projects and an assortment of hit songs originally recorded
bands like Mike & The Mechanics, Squeeze and Ace.
|
The
live album itself is well recorded and the musicianship displayed on the
project is excellent. Among the album's highlights are slightly more jazzy
and soulful versions of songs like "My Kind" and "Eyes of
Blue", the ultra-jazzy reworked version of the Mike & The
Mechanics' hit single "Silent Running" and "Dance To The
Music," a previously unreleased cover tune that has been a closing
song on the past couple of Carrack solo tours. This set would make a great
introduction to Carrack's solo material and probably the closest thing
you'll get to a complete career greatest hits since his old "best
of" 21 Good Reasons is out-of-print and Carrack's back catalog
spans several different record labels. Live At The Opera House is
strongly recommended and despite a few very minor shortcomings is a solid
live album with plenty of great music!
|
|
Paul
Carrack - Old, New, Borrowed and Blue (2007) |
|
 |
WOG RATING: ***
This is probably the first Paul carrack album I've heard that lacks the
consistent flow of great music offered by his past projects.... It just
isn't as seamless as you've come to expect from the king of Blue Eyed Soul. As I suppose
the title aptly suggests, this album feels a bit more like an odds and sods
collection of random cover tunes, left-over tracks, and alternate versions that have been thrown together and released
as a new album. There are bits that sound like unused material from
Groovin', Paul's 2001 covers/tribute album, with cover versions of songs
ranging from The Beatles and Marvin Gaye to Kris Kristofferson and Nick
Lowe. Other tunes feel like songs from the cutting room floor from various
other recent solo endeavors over the past few years with the balance of the
disc spiced up by a couple of better tracks that hold the album together,
like "The Reason Was You" which comes off beautifully.
|
I wouldn't call it a bad album, because most
of the material on this project is well performed, but it just doesn't fit together
well in many places and doesn't represent Paul's best material by any stretch
- regardless of the fact that most of the tracks are not actually penned by
Carrack himself. As a fan of
Carrack's music, I'm pleased to own it, but I consider it more of a archive
collection of sorts. You'll certainly know many of these songs from the
original, more popular versions, but the album just never gels for me. If you are a passive fan, this
probably isn't the album I would recommend you to try out; but, if you're an
Carrack enthusiast, you'll find enough diamonds in the coal to make this a
worth your while.
|
|
Paul
Carrack - I Know That Name (2008) |
|
 |
WOG
RATING: ****
Paul Carrack has got to be one of the most consistent musicians in pop
music. He delivers time and time again (with the possible exception of his
last project which did not seem like an actual 'new' album - see above).
This time out, I Know That Name offers up a super-slick production
that suits Paul's work beautifully. Aided by Eagles members Timothy B.
Schmidt and Don Henley on a new take of "I Don't Want To Hear Anymore" (a
Carrack penned tune The Eagles originally did on their most recent The
Long Road To Eden that went on to sell more than seven million copies in
the U.S. alone!) and legendary 'Soul Man' Sam Moore on "Love Is Thicker Than
Water", the ex-Mechanic shines beyond belief.
|
Perhaps not surprisingly, despite the help of
these famous guests, the true gold of the album lies within Paul's tracks
like "Ain't No Love In The Heart of the City" and "I Don't Want Your Love (I
Need Your Love)." In addition to Carrack's mega-star guests, members of
Carrack's traditional touring band are back on this album as well, like
Steve Beighton on saxophone and Lindsay Dracass on backing vocals. I would
strongly recommend checking out this album. From the tracks mentioned above
to the new version of his hit single "Eyes of Blue" this album is a true
gem! While its not his best album (I'm still a bit partial to Blue Views
as his best), I would consider it among his best works to date.
|
OTHER PROJECTS FEATURING PAUL CARRACK:
|
Ace
featuring Paul
Carrack - The Best Of (How Long) (2003) |
|
 |
WOG
RATING: ***
For the first time, Paul Carrack fans can get there hands on a properly
remastered anthology from one of his earliest bands, Ace. Newly reissued
by Varese Sarabande Records, The Best of Ace features 16 tracks
spanning the group's three albums originally released between 1974 and
1977. Among this set is the entire Five-A-Side album, which
features the band's two hit singles "How Long" and "Rock
& Roll Runaway," along with three tracks each from the Time
For Another and No Strings albums.
|
In addition to a first rate remaster, this collection features new liner
notes and great period pictures in the packaging. While I would have loved
to get the rest of the band's material in this quality, I suppose beggars
can't be choosers. It is, after all, the first time any Ace albums were
actually available on CD in the U.S. (unless you count European or
Japanese imports). If you own those old European Ace CD collections,
you'll be blown away by how great this disc sounds! If you like Paul
Carrack, this anthology comes highly recommended!
|
To return to the Album/Video Review Index
Click Here.
More Paul Carrack Album Reviews Coming Soon! |
