Chris Rea, Morcheeba & The Corrs: The Works

Rea set the pace with a string of radio friendly pop ditties before emerginghimself in the Blues in recent years. Here, the likeable Geordie began hissolo career with Whatever Happened To Benny Santini? spawning hit singleFool (If You Think it’s Over) in 1978, featured here as the opening track.

His last studio album was Blue Guitars in 2005. This isn’t exactly thefirst compilation. There’s been New Light Through Old Windows (1988),The Best Of Chris Rea (1994), The Very Best Of Chris Rea (2001),Heartbeats: Chris Rea’s Greatest Hits (2005) and The PlatinumCollection: Chris Rea (2006).

If you don’t have any of the afore mentioned then this is pretty representatviveof his albums up to 2000’s King Of The Beach. It doesn’t include anythingfrom the tail end of his career such as The Blue Jukebox or 11-CD setBlue Guitars???

This isn’t just a ‘singles’ album, though of the 32 entries, 22 make the cut,in non-chronological order. The rest are album tracks, including classics suchas the beautiful ballad Love Turns To Lies and reggae inflected, a raresojourn for Rea, Touche D’Amour on CD1.

From album On The Beach (1986) there’s the stunning Little BlondePlaits and melodic classic single On The Beach on CD2. Highlight ofthis disc is the heart-wrenching Tell Me There’s A Heaven from The RoadTo Hell (1989) his first chart topping album. CD 3 has the most singles: 9,including the memorable Auberge, one of his highest-placed singles, amassive R’n’B romp, the Bluesy monster God’s Great Banana Skin, andarguably one of his finest moments, I Ain’t The Fool.

Formed by brothers Paul and Ross Godrey, 1995 Morcheeba’s best known song isWorld Looking In featured in a car ad in 2001. Amazingly, this duo,with oft featured female vocalist/co-writer Skye Edwards have never made thetop 10 with any of their singles, but gained critical acclaim for their albumssuch as Fragments Of Freedom, Charango and Parts Of The Process,all making the top 10 on the album charts.

Their unique mix of mostly laid-back funk, blues and electronica have spawnedseveral imitators over the past decade. Pick of the whopping choice are, theswampy blues of Diggin’ A Watery Grave, an instrumental barely 1½ minuteslong, funky Post Humous and gorgeous string-drenched Over And Overon CD 1.

From CD 2, Fear And Love is one of their best ever ballads showcasingSkye’s dulcet tones dressed by masses of sweeping orchestration. The track ofthis disc is the awseome The Sea, from The Big Calm (1998), apersonal favourite. Another is Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day on CD 3. Thisis their most impressive upbeat song: chunky, plenty of brass, rasping guitarsolo and that enormous chorus.

Sao Paulo, is a dreamy gem, full of Latino sensuality, showing thebreadth of their songwriting capabilities.

The Corr family quartet have taken a sort of sabbatical in recent years. At onetime, they were labelled the sexiest group on the planet. Featuring AndreaCorr, they emerged in 1996 with their fusion of pop-rock with traditionalIrish music. It would take a couple more years before they hit the big timewith a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams (CD1).

From then on they couldn’t put a foot wrong with Talk On Corners (1997)and In Blue (2000) topping the album charts. Their only number one singlewas party favourite Breathless (CD2). At 1999’s Brits, they were votedBest International Group. It would take a beefed-up re-mix of May 1998’s WhatCan I Do to propel them upwards in August of the same year. We get bothversions, the original on CD1 and the Tin Tin Out Remix on CD 3.

Away from their commercialism, they wrote some excellent music, particularlyearly on, like the catchy The Right Time (CD1). From their second numberone In Blue, Radio (CD2) takes me back to happy times driving acrossHolland in September 2000. They were also fond of doing trad covers, which theydid very well, like jig Haste To The Wedding and Erin Shore.

Wrexham based production team K-Klass turned a reworking of So Young on its head in 1998.

For more details on the tracks included on each release, please click on theAmazon link.