Another Gray Area

Graham Parker | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 1, 1994)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Razor & Tie
• ASIN: B000002Z6R
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #189,757 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Temporary Beauty

2. Another Grey Area

3. Big Fat Zero

4. No More Excurses

5. Dark Side of the Bright Lights

6. Can't Waste a Minute

7. You Hit the Spot

8. It's All Worth Nothing Alone

9. Crying for Attention

10. Thankless Task

11. Fear Not

12. Mercury Poisoning [*]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite GP disc, October 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Another Gray Area (Audio CD)

Although I know many GP fans play down this collection as being too "slick," it still stands a classic GP for the quality of songwriting. It is a slick production, not the rougher sounds of Squeezing Out Sparks.

If the 11 original tracks that appeared on the disc, I rate 9 of them as excellent, while Crying For Attention and Thankless Task are good GP songs.

If it's a slick disc, it shows what slick can be witht he right artist.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Grey Area Musically, Perhaps, But a Lot of Grey Matter, August 2, 2002

By 

"guitarsolo" (Charleston, SC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Another Gray Area (Audio CD)

The first post-Rumour effort, and significantly the only album in the 1980s without Brinsley Schwarz on lead guitar. This album was recorded with slick American studio musicians which takes away some of its soul. Brinsley Schwarz' guitar work on many GP efforts is nothing short of phenomenal: great solos, great vamps, but overall a wonderful interplay with the vocals that gives the songs texture. The danger of recording an album with a studio guitarist is that if he should lay down a hot lead that has his signature style, anyone else who plays that song onstage will fall short. Perhaps with this in mind, there are no real guitar solos on this album. "Another Grey Area" itself would benefit from a real ripping lead; "Big Fat Zero" kind of stops abruptly; "Hit The Spot" screams for Brinsley. From a pure songwriting standpoint, there is a wealth of great material here, but developed in the confines of an over-priced studio with overpriced musicians and an overly slick producer, some of the typical GP charm is absent. Its predecessor, The Up Escalator, had more than its share of finesse. For all the wit behind Another Grey Area the delivery sounds just a bit too sterile for our beloved pub rocker. Then again, worlds better than anything else from that era.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Parker's cynical self at his best....., March 16, 2002

By 

Steve Cooksey "nephron44" (pittsburgh, pa USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Another Gray Area (Audio CD)

Yes, we all know about Graham Parker's other albums.....the two first albums, Squeezing Out the Sparks, Mona Lisa's Sister, etc.
This slick overproduced album recorded without the Rumour is consistent, brilliant and Parker at his cynical best. You can almost see him sneering when doing the vocals. The songwriting is superb, and the "nose candy" studio muscians including Nicky Hopkins do a damn fine job. This is one of my favorite records to listen to while driving.....try it out. Remember "bitterness is my favorite flavor."