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Chris Rea: New Light Through Old Windows

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Magnet Records
Released: 1988.10.17
Time:
 60:13
Category: Pop/Rock
Producer(s): Chris Rea, Jon Kelly
Rating:
Media type: CD
Web address: www.chrisrea.com
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2012
Price in €: 1,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Let's Dance (Ch.Rea) - 4:14
[2] Working on It (Ch.Rea) - 4:24
[3] Ace of Hearts (Ch.Rea) - 4:52
[4] Josephine (Ch.Rea) - 4:33
[5] Candles (Ch.Rea) - 4:44
[6] On the Beach (Ch.Rea) - 6:51
[7] Fool [If You Think It's Over] (Ch.Rea) - 4:03
[8] I Can Hear Your Heartbeat (Ch.Rea) - 3:23
[9] Shamrock Diaries (Ch.Rea) - 4:12
[10] Stainsby Girls (Ch.Rea) - 4:06
[11] Windy Town (Ch.Rea) - 4:05
[12] Driving Home for Christmas (Ch.Rea) - 3:58
[13] Steel River (Ch.Rea) - 6:48

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Chris Rea - Vocals, Guitar, Producer

Robert Ahwai - Guitar
Eoghan O'Neill - Bass
Max Middleton - Keyboards
Martin Ditcham - Drums

Carol Kenyon - Vocals
Katie Kissoon - Vocals
Steve Gregory - Saxophone

Jon Kelly - Producer
Justin Shirley-Smith - Engineer
John Golden - Mastering
Ronald Bos - Artwork, Art Direction
Kav Deluxe - Design
Jim Beach - Management
Paul Lilly - Management

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


Recorded at Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland - Miraval Studios, Provence, France.

New Light Through Old Windows is the first compilation album by Chris Rea, released in 1988. The album consists primarily of re-recordings of songs released on earlier Rea albums, as well as two new songs, "Working on It" (which gave him a rare U.S. chart single, peaking at #73 on the Billboard Hot 100, and giving him his only #1 single on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart) and "Driving Home for Christmas.", also the re-recording of "On the Beach" gave him another rare US hit, it peaked #9 on the US AC chart in 1988 and #12 in the UK chart.



New Light Through Old Windows is a significant baker's dozen of Chris Rea's early material, leading up to but not including work from his Road to Hell album. Rea's stature was always larger in the United Kingdom than in the U.S., with his only American Top 40 single coming from the newer version of "Fool (If You Think It's Over)," a re-release of the same song which failed to garner any attention the first time around. Rea's soothing voice is indeed attractive, and the songs that are included on this set are wisely chosen examples of his smooth style. "I Can Hear Your Heartbeat" from Water Sign and "Stainsby Girls" off Shamrock Diaries are two of the better tracks that showcase his slick, demure-like manner. "On the Beach," from his best-selling album of the same name, and his highest charted single in the U.K., the perky "Let's Dance," represent a lean toward a more commercial sound. "Ace of Hearts," "Josephine," and "Candles" all focus on Rea's softer side, and although the writing is average, his emotive singing carries these songs through and rescues them from being clichéd singer/songwriter material. After its release, New Light Through Old Windows peaked at number five in the U.K., proving that this compendium can be a substitute for most of Chris Rea's early work (with the exception of Water Sign, On the Beach, and Shamrock Diaries, which stand up well on their own). True Rea enthusiasts will notice the omission of a few songs that garnered some attention, such as "Diamonds," "Dancing Girls," and "Loving You," but New Light still holds up as an excellent starting point for those who want to investigate the high points of his first ten years. For those who want more, The Best of Chris Rea digs a little deeper.

Mike DeGagne - All Music Guide



British singer and guitarist Chris Rea has enjoyed a run of popularity in Europe during the late '80s and early '90s after almost a decade of previous recording. Rea started out performing with a local group called Magdalene, taking David Coverdale's place; the band won a national talent contest in 1975 as the Beautiful Losers, but still failed to get a record contract. Rea left the band and recorded the album Whatever Happened to Benny Santini?, which alluded to a discarded stage name, which went gold on the strength of the U.S. Top 20 hit "Fool (If You Think It's Over)."

Rea was reportedly dissatisfied with the final mix of the album; he later went some way to supposedly rectify this to his satisfaction, starting with 1988's greatest hits compilation 'New Light Through Old Windows', which featured a re-recorded version of "Fool..." and several other of his back-catalogue tracks. But can someone tell me why an artist re-records their own songs when there was NOTHING wrong with the originals?

Rea was not heard from again in the U.S. for some time, concentrating his efforts on his main fan base of Europe releasing eight albums in the 1980s. It wasn't until 1985's Shamrock Diaries and the songs "Stainsby Girls" and "Josephine" that UK audiences began to take notice of him (on 5 July 1986 Rea played in front of 95,000 people at Slane Castle, Ireland, as a supporting act of band Queen on their "Magic Tour"). Follow-up albums On The Beach and Dancing with Strangers became big UK hits before the New Light Through Old Windows compilation album in 1988 brought Rea success.

Rea followed it up with the critically acclaimed The Road to Hell, which many regarded as his best album. It and its follow-up, Auberge, went to the top of the U.K. album charts, but did not prove as successful in the U.S., where he has failed to chart with his subsequent releases. He released his most ambitious project in 2005, an eleven-album, 130-track box set of all new material inspired by  the blues and his own paintings called Blue Guitars.

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