Howard Jones – “New Song” (1983) Review | Throw Off Your Mental Chains

Kronomyth 0.1: The power of positive singing.

Howard Jones checked off all the superficial boxes—cool look, cool synthesizer pop sound—but it was the positive philosophy underneath it all that caught my attention. New Song isn’t just a great song, it’s a statement of purpose. Jones wants us to liberate ourselves from our preconceived notions of who we should be and the opinions of others. That message is echoed in the songs Change the Man (which reminds us that true change starts within) and Conditioning, which reveals how the world has shaped our own self-image. That last song features lyrics by William Bryant, who was something of a mentor to Jones in the early going. The 12-inch single includes an extended version of “New Song” that strips down the melody and pastes in a few phrases from the original song. Jones’ positive energy paid off, and the single was a hit in the UK and around the world. For the music video and various televised appearances, Jones was joined by Jed Hoile, a mime/dancer who performed as part of Jones’ stage act after being spotted doing his thing at one of his concerts. Hoile served as an interesting visual foil to Jones, who was usually stuck behind his keyboards. The older I get, the more I appreciate what Jones was trying to do with his music. It may not have changed the world, but it did make the world a better place to be while it was playing, which is all any of us can reasonably ask of music.

The Product

A1. New Song (Howard Jones)
B1. Change the Man (Howard Jones)

Original 7-inch single version (US/CAN)
A1. New Song (Howard Jones) (4:15)
B1. Conditioning (Howard Jones/William Bryant) (4:06)

Original 12-inch single version
A1. New Song (Howard Jones) (4:15)
A2. Change the Man (Howard Jones) (4:27)
B1. New Song (extended version) (Howard Jones) (5:27)
B2. Conditioning (Howard Jones/William Bryant) (4:06)

The Players

“New Song” produced by Colin Thurston; “Conditioning” and “Change the Man” produced by Howard Jones and engineered by Mark Lusardi.

The Plastic

Released on 7-inch and 12-inch single on August 19, 1983 in the UK and Ireland (WEA, HOW 1/1T), Australia, Germany, Italy and Spain (WEA, 24 9672-7/0-249671) and Portugal (Warner Bros., 229 24 9672-7), in December 1983 in the US (Elektra, 7/0-69766) and Canada (WEA, 96 69770), in 1983 in South Africa (WEA, WIS 595) and in March 1984 in Japan (Warner/Pioneer, P1829) with picture sleeve. Reached #3 on the UK charts and #27 on the US charts (charted on January 21, 1984 for 15 weeks).