ABECK Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 Somehow Chris Rea's work is just reaching my ears now. I am blown away by his voice and the overall production quality of his albums. It's like Leonard Cohen, and Mark Knopfler blended together with Clapton spices sprinkled on top. Great piano and organ throughout the catalog for us keys guys to enjoy. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthaholic Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 30 years ago a local psychiatrist hired me to sequence Chris Rea's 'The Road to Hell' because he wanted to book studio time and sing it, just as a personal vanity project. It was my first exposure to his music other than 'Fool If You Think It's Over', and is so different. The sequence and the recording actually came out pretty good. 2 Quote The fact there's a Highway To Hell and only a Stairway To Heaven says a lot about anticipated traffic numbers People only say "It's a free country" when they're doing something shitty-Demetri Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoken6 Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 Kind of the bleak end of Yacht Rock. (And I don't mean that in a pejorative sense). Cheers, Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABECK Posted May 20 Author Share Posted May 20 1 hour ago, stoken6 said: Kind of the bleak end of Yacht Rock. (And I don't mean that in a pejorative sense). Cheers, Mike. Sunken Fishing Vessel Rock never really caught on with audiences. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan May Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 Chris Rea is actually a pretty good slide guitar player, he's been doing it since the seventies. His only top 40 hit was "Fool (If You Think It's Over)", which reached #12 in 1978, and was produced by Gus Dudgeon, famed for his work with Elton John. John also collaborated with Rea on his 1993 album, Duets, which features Rea's excellent Strat work. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxcvbnm098 Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 21 hours ago, ABECK said: Somehow Chris Rea's work is just reaching my ears now. I am blown away by his voice and the overall production quality of his albums. It's like Leonard Cohen, and Mark Knopfler blended together with Clapton spices sprinkled on top. Great piano and organ throughout the catalog for us keys guys to enjoy. You could be forgiven for him not being on your radar living Stateside....he's never toured here, even with the one-off hit back in '78 (which I loved at the time). He's reportedly sold 40M albums worldwide, so why bother? Great talent for sure.... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyberGene Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 I guess he’s more popular in Europe. Or at least many people around me know his music. Not my cup of tea though, but I can see why some people love him. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AROIOS Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 Great voice, his "Driving Home For Christmas" is a staple of my winter playlist. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tusker Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 On 5/19/2024 at 4:39 PM, ABECK said: Somehow Chris Rea's work is just reaching my ears now. I am blown away by his voice and the overall production quality of his albums. It's like Leonard Cohen, and Mark Knopfler blended together with Clapton spices sprinkled on top. Great piano and organ throughout the catalog for us keys guys to enjoy. For sure I'm hearing the influences you cite. Also maybe a bit of the Jerry Rafferty (Baker Street) adventurousness in the chord changes? The tune makes me wistful just as Mark Knopfler's Telegraph Road does, also a great song. Still, he's an artist in his right, a product of his influences but also a finely polished and unique presenter of them. Like you, I'd never heard of him before and now I am enriched. Time to listen to more. Thank you. 🙏 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.F.N. Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 Always enjoyed The Road to Hell and it still is one of my dad style jokes when something effs up based on people being greedy/stupid/evil etc. "Well, there's a reason we only have a Stairway to Heaven, but a Road to Hell.." 1 Quote "You live every day. You only die once." Where is Major Tom? - - - - - PC3, HX3 w. B4D, 61SLMkII, SL73, Prologue 16, KingKORG, Opsix, MPC Key 37, DM12D, Argon8m, EX5R, Toraiz AS-1, IK Uno, Toraiz SP-16, Erica LXR-02, QY-700, SQ64, Beatstep Pro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cassdad Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 Chris Rea's "On The Beach" is my favorite, & has been a staple in my personal play set for years! 2 Quote Ludwig van Beethoven: “To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable.” My Rig: Yamaha MOXF8 (used mostly for acoustic piano voices); Motion Sound KP-612SX & SL-512; Apple iPad Pro (5th Gen, M1 chip); Apple MacBook Pro 2021 (M1 Max chip). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrrtyuuiioop Posted May 23 Share Posted May 23 Because you are American and one of the vast majority who knows diddley squat about music and artists who do not originate in the damn Us of A. Quote Feck u Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spider76 Posted May 23 Share Posted May 23 Yes he's surely more popular in EU, while this forum is more US-centric. Anyway I love Chris Rea, he was clearly influenced by Clapton and Knopfler but is his own thing, and had a string of pretty huge hits. He had a knack for catchy guitar riffs that bridge blues and pop. Auberge, On the Beach, I Can Hear Your Heartbeat, Stainsby Girls, Josephine, Let's Dance (not the Bowie song), Julia... lots of really nice songs. I love the long version of On the Beach which ends with a 2-minute long rhodes solo, quite unusual for the genre! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABECK Posted May 23 Author Share Posted May 23 3 hours ago, Biggles said: Because you are American and one of the vast majority who knows diddley squat about music and artists who do not originate in the damn Us of A. Guilty as charged. I'm only in to US bands, like The Beatles and Led Zeppelin. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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