[Review] Paul Carrack: One Good Reason (1987)
Outside of one reasonably good song, Carrack is running on fumes.
Kronomyth 3.0: Suburban Voodoo-doo.
One good reason to buy this album: Don’t Shed A Tear. That’s all I’ve come up with so far. There are nods to Paul Carrack’s more profitable places of employment: one track cowritten with Chris Difford (One Good Reason), another with Nick Lowe (Double It Up), plus a pair of capable Mechanics (Christopher Neil, Peter Van Hooke) to keep the machine running. But, for a blue-eyed soul singer, the results are surprisingly soulless this time. Imagine Phil Collins but blander. (Yes, it’s possible you smartass.) Or Mike + the Mechanics without the big ideas. Or Nick Lowe without the sense of humor. Okay, so you get the point: it’s not a very exciting record. That’s a shame, because his first two records were, in fact, pretty good. As I’ve said before, his success probably just means one less ivory backscratcher for Steve Winwood, but it’s hard not to root for him as a kind of rock star underdog. With better material, better production, and more personality, well, you’d be listening to a different record. I should probably mention that I really hate the processed sound of late 80s pop: the intrusive synthesizers, big choruses and silly guitar solos. They’re in abundance here. On a good song like “Don’t Shed a Tear,” the effort is warranted. On a warmed-over oldie (When You Walk in the Room) or throwaway tune (Double It Up), it’s much a-voodoo about nothing. I’m not sure at this point who was supposed to be buying these albums. People who found Phil Collins too edgy? The one person who bought East Side Story and just kept playing “Tempted” over and over? Oh, and I notice I’ve only mentioned Nick Lowe twice. Sorry about that. Nick lowe nick lowe nick lowe. There, that’s better.
Original elpee version
A1. One Good Reason (Paul Carrack/Chris Difford) (3:19)
A2. When You Walk in the Room (Jackie DeShannon) (3:29)
A3. Button Off My Shirt (Graham Lyle/Billy Livsey) (3:41)
A4. Give Me a Chance (Paul Carrack) (4:47)
A5. Double It Up (Paul Carrack/Nick Lowe) (3:42)
B1. Don’t Shed a Tear (Eddie Schwartz/Rob Friedman) (4:55)
B2. Fire with Fire (Paul Carrack/Christopher Neil) (3:59)
B3. Here I Am (Michael Duke/Huey Lewis/Andre Pessis) (4:00)
B4. Collrane (Paul Carrack/Christopher Neil) (4:40)
B5. (Do I Figure) In Your Life (Pete Dello) (2:16)
The Players
Paul Carrack (vocals), Jackie Rawe (background vocals), Tim Renwick (guitar), Frank Ricotti (percussion), Linda Taylor (background vocals, duet on A2), Peter Van-Hooke (drums), Wix (keyboards) with Irish (saxophone on B2). Produced by Christopher Neil; engineered by Simon Hurrel.
The Pictures
Photography by Brian Griffin. Design by Marc Cozza. Art direction by Peter Corriston. Art production by Studio B.
The Plastic
Released on elpee, cassette and compact disc in November 1987 in the UK (Chrysalis, CDL 1578), the US (Chrysalis, FV-21578, VK-41578), Australia (Chrysalis, L36768), Canada (Chrysalis, CHS 41578), Germany (Chrysalis, 208 356) and Japan (Chrysalis, RP28/CP32-5568). Reached #67 on the US charts.
