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Colin Hay: Are You Lookin' at Me?

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Compass Records
Released: 2007.04.24
Time:
 49:04
Category: Pop/Rock
Producer(s): Chad Fischer, Colin Hay
Rating:
Media type: CD
Web address: www.colinhay.com
Appears with: Men at Work
Purchase date: 2012
Price in €: 1,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Are You Lookin' at Me? (T.Bruno/C.Hay) - 4:14
[2] Lose to Win (C.Hay) - 4:00
[3] Here in My Hometown (D.Dale/C.Hay) - 5:26
[4] Up in Smoke (C.Hay) - 3:39
[5] No One Knows (C.Hay) - 4:01
[6] This Time I Got You (C.Hay) - 4:10
[7] Lonely Without You (C.Hay) - 3:56
[8] What Would Bob Do? (C.Hay) - 4:49
[9] Pure Love (C.Hay) - 3:27
[10] Me and My Imaginary Friend (Ch.Fischer/C.Hay) - 3:05
[11] Land of the Midnight Sun (C.Hay) - 4:30
[12] I Wish I Was Still Drinking (Ch.Fischer/C.Hay) - 4:14

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Colin Hay - Audio Engineer, Audio Production, Bass, Bass Instrument, Concertina, Drums, Engineer, Guitar, Mandolin, Mixing, Producer, Vocals, Vox Organ

Chad Fischer - Audio Engineer, Audio Production, Drums, Engineer, Mixing, Percussion, Producer
Paul Inder - Audio Engineer, Bass, Drum Programming, Engineer, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Mixing, Programming, Slide Guitar, Background Vocals
Cecilia Noël - Choir/Chorus, Choir Arrangement, Kazoo, Piano, Vocal Harmony, Background Vocals
Jeff Babko - Organ, Piano, Trombone
Lenny Castro - Percussion
Rob Clores - Hammond B3 Organ, Piano
Alan Deremo - Bass Guitar
Kiki Ebsen - Keyboards
Larry Goldings - Organ, Piano
Eric Jorgensen - Trombone
Danny O'Donoghue - Background Vocals
Charlie Paxson - Drums, Percussion
Carlitos Del Puerto - Bass Guitar
Kaveh Rastegar - Bass Guitar
Lee Thornburg - Flugelhorn, Trumpet

Edwardo McKinley - Engineer
Eduardo Mackinlay - Audio Engineer
Randy LeRoy - Mastering
Tony Bruno - Programming
Anne Hamersky - Photography
Griffin Norman - Package Design

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


Are You Lookin' at Me? is the ninth solo album by Scottish-Australian musician, Colin Hay. It was released by Compass Records on 24 April 2007.



Colin Hay wrote and recorded steadily since his departure from Men at Work in the mid-'80s, but he never quite managed to break out of cult status. He good-naturally resurfaced in sitcoms and videos of covers of Men at Work tunes, so he never totally disappeared from pop culture consciousness, but his albums appealed to an ever-more selective audience as he released them independently throughout the '90s. Released in the spring of 2007, Are You Lookin' at Me? is his ninth solo album, but there is a difference in his approach on this record. Here, he sounds relaxed, comfortable with his status as a cult singer/songwriter, so he's not trying to have hits or sound hip, he's simply lying back and writing songs that are wry, easy, and quite charming. There are some echoes of mortality that ring throughout this record - from the title track, which looks back at his childhood, to passing references to death, or even his acknowledgement that he doesn't think there are better days to come on "Land of the Midnight Sun" - but this is hardly a dour, depressive album. It's the opposite: it's warm and witty, tuneful and engaging. Even when he's mining a sad vein, he tempers it with his mildly cynical humor, which gives this a distinct lyrical world view, but what really sets Are You Lookin' at Me? apart from his other solo albums is that it gels as a singer/songwriter album. He's no longer trying too hard to be either commercial or introspective; he's letting his music flow easily, and supported by a very good road band, it makes for his best solo album to date.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine - All Music Guide



Hard to believe, but this marks Hay’s ninth solo record (and first in over five years) since his Men at Work heyday. It’s also his best (and probably one of the year’s best singer/songwriter discs). As opposed to earlier efforts, which sometimes sounded like Hay was trying a bit too hard, Are You Lookin’ at Me? sounds completely relaxed. Accompanied by a sympathetic band, and his wife Cecilia Noel on backing vocals, Hay offers up a collection of gentle, wry songs that show a remarkable lack of regret or bitterness. Starting off with the title track, which charts Hay’s life from childhood through stardom and its quiet aftermath, Lookin’ often touches on age and mortality, and casts an appreciative eye to the past with likable modesty (“I had myself a moment / A day out in the sun”). Stylistically, Hay makes some very nice choices, such as ramping up the horns in “Lose to Win” and “Pure Love”, and arming “This Time I Got You” with Dire Straits-like guitar tone. There are a couple of missteps, most notably the overly jaunty “What Would Bob Do?”, but at its best, Are You Lookin’ at Me? takes on a fluid, organic feel reminiscent of Crowded House.  If only more musicians with memories of superstardom were so well-adjusted.

Andrew Gilstrap - 20 June 2007
Popmatters.com
 

 L y r i c s


ARE YOU LOOKIN' AT ME?

Well I loved the Lone Ranger and I loved that Dennis Law
Him and George Best, sure knew how a kick a ball
I wanted to be a cowboy, and learn a crack a whip
Stand up in that lonely street, two six guns on my hip
Along the mighty Beatles came, and everyone went ahhh
They could play and sing and everything, and of course that John could draw
Well that was it for me, I never once looked back
Tricks to learn, waves to catch, had a plan of attack

Are you lookin' at me?
Are you lookin' at me?
Are you lookin' at me?
Are you lookin' at me, pal?

Then we headed south, where the surf came crashing in
From black and white to colour, from innocence to sin
It was summer in December, blowing heatwaves in my mind
People talking funny, some cruel and some were kind
From the crackle of the cane, to the frown of a big black snake
From the breakers at Bondi, down to Wallaga Lake
From the sound of a million fly screen doors, closing on the past
Like that chimney the fires couldn't burn, I was built to last

Are you lookin' at me?
Are you lookin' at me?
Are you lookin' at me?

Are you lookin' at me, pal?

When I flew across the ocean, I was number one
People gave me everything, and I didn't need a gun
Walking down that avenue, I never felt so alive
People calling out my name, and I'd only just arrived

It was a tight rope walking bagpiper, in the middle of Central Park
Steam was rising from the ground, and I wore my cape out after dark
I had myself a moment, my day out in the sun
It's an unfinished story, but it's more than just begun

And I know more than one thing, but not more than two or three
An I'll tell you if you'll listen, and I'll tell you for free
It's no life being a cowboy, and eating all them beans
The coffee's cold, the herd is gone, and all you've got's your dreams
You can always put your spurs back on, but save them for Halloween
You're better off heading north, or somewhere you've never been

Are you lookin' at me?
Are you lookin' at me?
Are you lookin' at me?
I said, are you lookin' at me, pal?


LOSE TO WIN

I’ve got no one to call my own
Nobody calls me on the phone, I’ve been disconnected
I’ve been evicted from my home
Name and address care of unknown, it’s been redirected

Now the open sky’s my limit, and the sun’s my point of view
This time I had to lose to win

I walk down Peachtree Avenue
Nothing’s the same since I lost you, it’s to be expected
I never thought that I’d stoop quite so low
You had no choice but to up and go you felt so rejected

I crashed with the wheels still spinning, I had no overview
I just crawled out and walked away
Now I can’t stop my mouth from grinning, and time is running thin
This time I had to lose to win

Do do do do do do...

I know I should be feeling, a lot worse than I do
As past due payment for my sins
But I’m done with pain from kneeling, the sky’s still colored blue
This time I had to lose to win

Do do do do do do...


HERE IN MY HOMETOWN

There’s a needle in the sole of the city, it’s flying all around
Spray’s a fine mist over, and switches off the sound
I watch you as you slip away, I watch the sun go down
It’s such a perfect light here, here in my hometown

A calm is on the water, the air is very still
The sun it does not want to rise, it doesn’t have the will
the day is all hungover, it’s dirty and lowdown
And I am like a stranger, here in my hometown

And don’t you feel sometimes like
Walking away from the world
Walking away from the world

You always took your chances, you always threw the dice
You knew they were loaded, you came close once or twice
Voices kept on calling, come on, come on down
You never stood a chance here, here in my hometown

You loved the beginning, never ready for the end
You’ve been gone for years now, but I can still pretend
Nothing anyone could do, you lay your money down
Now I see you everywhere, here in my hometown

And don’t you feel sometimes like
Walking away from the world
Walking away from the world

You were in the pink chair, I saw into your eyes
Where would you like to be my love, you said paradise
I hope that is where you are, and you get to wear you crown
You left everything behind, here in my hometown

And don’t you feel sometimes like
Walking away from the world
Walking away from the world

There’s a needle in the sole of the city, watch out where you step
It’s everywhere you care to look, and not where you expect
I watch the day roll over, I watch the sun go down
It’s such a perfect light here, here in my hometown


UP IN SMOKE

I'm coming home tomorrow, my work here's almost done
Now all I have is sorrow for in time, we all go up in smoke

I'm coming home tomorrow, I've given back my gun
For all I own is borrowed and in time, we all go up in smoke
We all go up in smoke

Silently as my tears flow, this fear keeps on burning
As I sleep and the winds blow, to you I'm returning

I'm coming home tomorrow, I'll never meet my son
I am a local hero, but in time, we all go up in smoke

Silently as my tears flow, my soul keeps on yearning
As I sleep and the winds blow, this world keeps on turning

I'm coming home tomorrow, my work here is all done
Now all I have is sorrow for in time, we all go up in smoke
We all go up in smoke


NO ONE KNOWS

Everybody wants a piece of my time,
They always ask dumb questions, and drink my cheap red wine
I get so tired I want to run and hide, and scream into my pillow
Oh dear Lord, if you could see me now

How will I know when I find
Love in my heart, peace in my mind?

The sun, it always shine in angel town
It burns into the back of my neck, and I am going down
I want to be strong but I feel so weak, I’m weeping like a willow
Oh my my, if you could see my now

How will I know when I find
Love in my heart, peace in my mind?
I planted the vine now it hope it grows
I’m asking for signs but no one knows

Why are we here in this space and time
With only love and fear, I’m not sure which is mine
This is just a song, and this is how it goes
And as far as I can tell, no one knows

How will I know when I find
Love in my heart, peace in my mind?


THIS TIME I GOT YOU

Dogs and such, they don’t know how old they really are
They don’t have to go to work, or learn to drive a car
They just live ’til they can’t see, ’til their bark ain’t got no bite
I still hear him howlin’, howling in the night

The air is still as time flies by at a most unruly pace
Unless you’re in a prison cell, it has no name or face
I do recall what I told myself, as I turned 52
This time it’s different, this time I got you

This time I got you

Walking in the patient’s room, when everything turned red
I recognized the reaper man who raised his ugly head
He said “Relax, don’t worry man, I got no claim on you”
I remembered I was not alone, one and one make two

Spinning round and searching, looking for the door
I realized there’s no way out, I can run no more
I lay right down just where I stood, I only had one shoe
I knew that you would come for me, this time I got you

This time I got you

No one gets out alive it’s true, this I surely know
The path ahead is paved in gold, everywhere I go
I always find you, and with every day anew
No longer a janglin’ man, ‘cos this time I got you

This time I got you


LONELY WITHOUT YOU

Ever since I was 16
I never really had much sense
‘Til you came along and told me
You’d like to stay awhile and hold me
Why did you have to go and leave and
Cross that stupid street
You didn’t even have your shoes on
You had all dirty feet
Now I’m alone and I can’t stop thinking all about you
How can what’s right become so wrong

I tell myself that I’m okay
I kid myself, I’m on my way
But the only thing that I’ve got left’s a little bit of time
I bought myself new glasses
I’m taking salsa classes
But you know, there’s not too many steps that I can do

It’s lonely without you
It’s lonely without you
It’s lonely without you
It’s lonely without you here

I tell my friends that I’m real busy
I drink ’til I feel dizzy
Then I wake up and I remember you are gone
Honey if you’re up in heaven, set the table for seven,
Hey use the good stuff, and I’ll sing your favourite song
Now I’m alone and I can’t stop thinking all about you
How can what’s right become so wrong

It’s lonely without you
It’s lonely without you
It’s lonely without you
It’s lonely without you here


WHAT WOULD BOB DO?

Looks like this may well be it, yeah we're goin' down
Ocean's fast approaching, and there's this screeching sound
They found that little ol' black box, that they all listened to
The last words that were spoken were, "What would Bob do?"

What would Bob do? What would Bob do?
What would Bob do? What would Bob do?

I was knocking on the pearly gates, made of precious stone
Looked kind of other worldly, inside there was a throne
I was let in by a stranger, who I'd seen somewhere before
I thought, well it'll come to me, here in the evermore
Suddenly from out of nowhere, a vision did appear
It was my old granddaddy, he said "Son, what are you doin' here?"
"Well it wasn't in my plans you know, I done come unstuck
I played out all my hand and I just ran all out of luck"
He said, "Well if you can't pot the black, and you know it's not the cue
It may be time to ask yourself, what would Bob do?"

What would Bob do? What would Bob do?
What would Bob do? What would Bob do?

Now you may well just find yourself, on the ballroom floor
You know you cannot get away, you cannot reach the door
Just try to relax yourself, and sit down on your hips
You don't have to move too much, and try no to lick your lips
If things seem to be working, and she hasn't moved away
You can breathe a little easier, and think of what to say
If you spin around and she is gone, and you know it's not with you
Then you have to ask yourself "What would Bob do?"

What would Bob do? What would Bob do?
What would Bob do? What would Bob do?

I was standing by a house at night, going up in flames and smoke

I was losing everything, it really was no joke
To cap it off I'm naked, and there's people all around
I could see an old dog barking, but I couldn't hear the sound
The only thing that I could hear, which came out of the blue
Was the voice inside my own head, saying, "What would Bob do?"

What would Bob do? What would Bob do?
What would Bob do? What would Bob do?

As luck would sometimes have it, the good Lord was in my dream
He was smiling sweetly, and was wearing Lincoln green
I asked if he would come again, if the rumours were all true,
He thought awhile and spoke and said, now "What would Bob do?"

What would Bob do? What would Bob do?
What would Bob do? What would Bob do?

And as the lights they all came down, I was standing by the stage
He was cloaked in darkness, and his face it showed no age
I took one step closer, just to get a better view
I swear I saw him smile and say now "What would Bob do?"

What would Bob do? What would Bob do?
What would Bob do? What would Bob do?

Then I suddenly awakened, and I simply can't pretend,
To understand the way of things, and how it all may end
But if the question's simple say, do I wear red, or blue
Now they're are times you ask yourself, "What would Bob do?"

What would Bob do? What would Bob do?
What would Bob do? What would Bob do?


PURE LOVE

The people allow this last great congregation
I tip my hat to the ones who went before
My secret voice has the inside information
To let the freedom bell ring once and for all

They were singing:
I got to fill my heart with pure love
(Pure love)
I got to fill my heart with pure love

Around here it's the same old situation
Fire and wind and the river's running red
Can't wash away the pain of a thousand generations
Or the angel child awakened from the dead

And we're singing:
You got to fill your heart with pure love
You got to fill your heart
You got to fill your heart with pure love
Pure love

Listen to the band sanctify

We got to fill our hearts with pure love
We got to fill our hearts with pure love
We got to fill our hearts with pure love
We got to fill our hearts with pure love
We got to fill our hearts with pure love


ME AND MY IMAGINARY FRIEND

You never sleep, and you never go home
My secrets you keep, I'm never alone
We're joined at the hip and this I comprehend
We'll be together 'til the end, me and my imaginary friend

You never tell me, what I have to do
We can sit in silence, or visit the zoo
We know what is real, and what is pretend
Together 'till the bitter end, me and my imaginary friend

You don't have to pay an arm and a leg
Conjure them up inside your own head
Short and tall, fat or thin
Open the door, invite them in
Hello how are you, how you been?

So now you have someone, someone to love
A gift from yourself, a gift from above
If you're dining alone, get a table for two
We can talk our faces blue, 'bout all the things that we've been through

Together forever
'Till the credits end

Me and my imaginary friend


LAND OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN

Got a bad case of mumbles, I'm tripping and I stumble
My face is stuck in yesterday's news
I stand up and wonder as the night's raining thunder
No one's saying just who lit the fuse

Meanwhile we're swirlin' through space and time a-twirlin'
With so many stars in the sky
Everyone is guessing, hoping for a blessing
But who knows just what, where and why

Everybody's crazy 'cept for you and me
And I don't believe there's better days to come
Lately I've been thinking, maybe we could run
To the land of the midnight sun

Everyone feels danger from the shadow of a stranger
But the killer may be closer than you think
He was such a quiet neighbour, drove a new LeSabre
Why just the other day we had a drink

Let's have a reformation and call it liberation
We'll save you from all of your sins
As they burned all the witches, the crowd were all in stitches
Those God-fearing self-righteous things

Everybody's crazy 'cept for you and me
And I don't believe there's better days to come
Lately I've been thinking, maybe we could run
To the land of the midnight sun

My dream's to meet you, at the top of Machu Picchu
And walk together into the sky
And I humbly do beseech you, as soon as I can reach you
To watch yourself, and keep your powder dry

Everybody's crazy 'cept for you and me
And I don't believe there's better days to come
Lately I've been thinking, maybe we could run
To the land of the midnight sun


I WISH I WAS STILL DRINKING

I wish I was still drinking whiskey, wine and beer
The sound of glasses clinking, so sweet to my ear
I wouldn't have to listen to the time that's running out
I'd use it much more wisely, I'd drink and fall about

I wish I was still drinking, then I'd have no fear
Tell you how to fix the world, then have another beer
I wouldn't have to feel the pain that's in a mother's eyes
I'd drink till I believe the sound of my own drunken lies

I wish I was still drinking when nothing is too clear
Like the TV evangelist fueling people's fear
Taking all their hard earned cash in the name of the holy one
Their days are surely numbered, their day will surely come

I wish I was still drinking, I was a lot more fun
Life of the endless party, friends with anyone
I wouldn't have to answer for the promises I broke
Like the president today, or when he drank and snorted coke

I wish I was still drinking, than I wouldn't have to hear
The sound of rapid gunfire exploding in my ear
I'd drink through the nightmare of friends cryin' out for help
I would drink through everything I've seen or heard or felt

I wish I was still drinking, no I really, really do
I'd gather all my fair weather friends like him and her and you
I'd count all the missing teeth, I can no longer chew
I'd even drive my ol' white car, cause she likes drinking too

Yeah, I wish i was still drinking whiskey, wine and beer
The sound of glasses clinking, so sweet to my ear
I wouldn't have to listen to the time thats running out
I'd use it much more wisely, I'd drink and fall about

 M P 3   S a m p l e s


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