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Waking Hours

 
Album Review: Waking Hours

  • Artist: Del Amitri
  • Rating: StarStarStarStar
  • Release Date: 1989
  • Total Time: 45:43
  • Type: Lyrics are included with the album
  • Genre: Rock

Review

After four years in hibernation, Del Amitri emerged as a gang of mature pop stars. Dropping their edgy quirkiness, Justin Currie and the boys explored their Scottish folk roots, refashioned their sound, and quickly established themselves as a rock band with heart. Still retaining a bit of the Elvis Costello musical heritage, Del Amitri added a dose of Elvis Presley (check out Currie's sideburns!) and a healthy chunk of Van Morrison. This time, the critics flocked in droves, and the public started to take notice. Highlights include "Nothing Ever Happens," "Stone Cold Sober," and "Kiss This Thing Goodbye." ~ Steven "Spaz" Schnee, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Kiss This Thing Goodbye (Lyrics) Justin Currie, Iain Harvie, Michael Slaven Del Amitri (4:34)
Opposite View (Lyrics) Justin Currie Del Amitri (4:53)
Move Away Jimmy Blue (Lyrics) Justin Currie, Iain Harvie Del Amitri (3:48)
Stone Cold Sober (Lyrics) Justin Currie Del Amitri (4:57)
You're Gone (Lyrics) Justin Currie, Iain Harvie Del Amitri (5:07)
When I Want You (Lyrics) Justin Currie Del Amitri (4:32)
This Side of the Morning (Lyrics) Justin Currie Del Amitri (4:21)
Empty (Lyrics) Justin Currie Del Amitri (4:38)
Hatful of Rain (Lyrics) Justin Currie, Iain Harvie, Michael Slaven Del Amitri (5:01)
Nothing Ever Happens (Lyrics) Justin Currie Del Amitri (3:52)

Credits

Julian Dawson (Harmonica), Del Amitri (Main Performer), Blair Cowan (Synthesizer), Blair Cowan (Accordion), Justin Currie (Bass), Justin Currie (Vocals), Mark Freegard (Producer), Iain Harvie (Guitar), Stephen Irvine (Drums), Hugh Jones (Producer), Caroline LaVelle (Cello), Julian Mendelsohn (Mixing), Will Mowat (Keyboards), Will Mowat (Sequencing), Gil Norton (Producer), Paul Tyagi (Percussion), Paul Tyagi (Drums), Andy Alston (Organ), Andy Alston (Piano), Michael Slaven (Guitar), Kevin Westenberg (Photography), Jeremy Pearce (Design), Sarah Southin (Design), James O'Malley (Bass)
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Wikipedia: Waking Hours
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Waking Hours
Studio album by Del Amitri
Released July 1989
Recorded Park Lane, Glasgow; Great Linford Manor, Milton Keynes; Chipping Norton
Genre AC Rock
Length 45:49
Label A&M Records
Producer Mark Freegard (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 & 9); Gil Norton (3, w/ additional recording by Mark Freegard); Hugh Jones (8; 5 & 10 w/ additional recording by Mark Freegard)
Professional reviews
Del Amitri chronology
Del Amitri
(1985)
Waking Hours
(1989)
Change Everything
(1992)

Waking Hours is the second studio album by Del Amitri, released in July 1989. It reached number 6 in the UK Albums Chart and featured one of the band's most famous songs, "Nothing Ever Happens", which reached number 11 in the UK Singles Chart. The album's opening track, "Kiss This Thing Goodbye", entered the top 40 of the US Billboard Hot 100 when released as a single for the second time.

Contents

History

Many Del Amitri fans consider Waking Hours to be the band's first "real" album, perhaps because the post-punk influence of the first, Del Amitri (1985), leads it to be so radically different in sound to the rest of their output; perhaps because Del Amitri was extremely difficult to come by for many years before its CD reissue in 2003, leaving many who became fans in the 1990s unaware of its existence. In either case, Waking Hours arguably represents Del Amitri's first "mature" record, and was certainly the first to bring them any mainstream success.

Typically for Del Amitri (the group never made two albums with the same band members), Waking Hours featured some recently-introduced personnel: new guitarist Mick Slaven and keyboard player Andy Alston. Despite some important creative input (he contributed to the writing of "Kiss This Thing Goodbye" and "Hatful Of Rain") Slaven left the band before the album had even been released. He was replaced by David Cummings, who appears on the album's front cover despite not having played on it. It would also be the last record for drummer Paul Tyagi, who was replaced by Brian McDermott.

Track listing

  1. "Kiss This Thing Goodbye" (Justin Currie, Iain Harvie, Mick Slaven) – 4:35
  2. "Opposite View" (Currie) – 4:52
  3. "Move Away Jimmy Blue" (Currie, Harvie) – 3:47
  4. "Stone Cold Sober" (Currie) – 4:57
  5. "You're Gone" (Currie, Harvie) – 5:10
  6. "When I Want You" (Currie) – 4:32
  7. "This Side Of The Morning" (Currie) – 4:21
  8. "Empty" (Currie) – 4:38
  9. "Hatful Of Rain" (Currie, Harvie, Slaven) – 5:01
  10. "Nothing Ever Happens" (Currie) – 3:53

Credits

Singles

Cover
Del Amitri - Kiss This Thing Goodbye single cover.jpg
Kiss This Thing Goodbye

Released: July 1989, re-released March 1990

B-sides:

  • "No Holding On"
  • "Slowly, It's Coming Back"
  • 10" vinyl version included "Fred Partington's Daughter"

Chart positions: original release – did not chart; re-release – # 35 (US)

Del Amitri - Stone Cold Sober single cover.jpg
Stone Cold Sober

Released: September 1989

B-sides:

Chart positions: did not chart

Del Amitri - Nothing Ever Happens single cover.jpg
Nothing Ever Happens

Released: January 1990

B-sides:

  • "So Many Souls To Change"
  • "Don't I Look Like The Kind Of Guy You Used To Hate"
  • "Evidence"

Chart positions: # 11 (UK)

Del Amitri - Move Away Jimmy Blue single cover.jpg
Move Away Jimmy Blue

Released: May 1990

B-sides:

  • "Another Letter Home"
  • "April The First"
  • "More Than You'd Ever Know"

Chart positions: # 36 (UK)

  • All singles released on A&M Records.
  • All B-sides written by Justin Currie unless specified.

External links


 
 

 

Copyrights:

Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Waking Hours" Read more