Customer Reviews

Huey Lewis & The News

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Huey and the boys should be in the Hall of Fame (Cleveland, are you listening?), and this raw, harmony-filled alblum showcases their unique sound better than anything else I've heard (yes, even "Sports"). I have all their alblums -- both on vinyl and CDs -- and, as a Bay Area son who watched them move like the Temptations while ringing out the tunes from this debut, trust me on this one: it doesn't get better than this. "Some of My Lies Are True" is the first song I ever heard on the radio by this group and I immediately fell in love with its hip sound. The song "Hearts" is one of their best ever. If you're a Huey fan who started tuning in with "Do You Believe in Love," you have no idea what you're missing by not having this alblum in your collection. What's great about this self-titled work is it still sounds of fresh today... How many artists or alblums can you say that about?

Forget all the silly, over-produced MTV videos and the played-to-death hits from the super-slick "Sports" album. This straight-ahead collection of infectious 3-minute pub-rock and power-pop gems represents everything that was good about the early "New Wave" scene. Huey Lewis & The News debut has a loose, "live" feel that captures the spirit of the days when they were one of the most popular (and hardest working) bar bands in the Bay Area. Huey's previous British connections (through his work with the band Clover) paid off handsomely, as Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds give some production help on this album (by the way-that's Huey's harmonica solo on Dave Edumunds' original version of "Bad Is Bad", which the News covered some years later!). It would be interesting to find out some day why this has been inexplicably unavailable as a domestic U.S. CD release...especially given the commercial success of this band. For a prime example of "true" New Wave (before the marketing boys and record execs got hold of it) give this one a listen.

Had to add my two cents here, Huey & the News produced a lot of memorable pop records but it is this one, the first one, that is the genuine classic. A great mix of new wave and r&b and it rocks.

Huey Lewis & The News' self titled debut album is a solid, workman like effort that laid down the blueprint that the band would follow to the top of the charts in the mid 80's. The album is full of no nonsense songs that have a rock, r&b and pop mixture with perfect harmonies. The album isn't as polished as their later efforts, but Mr. Lewis' appealing vocals and the band's loose and enthusiastic playing makes this a fun effort. "Trouble in Paradise" is the most famous song from the album (thanks to a live version that appeared on the We Are The World album) and is great songs as are "Some Of My Lies Are True", "Hearts", "Stop Trying" and "Who Cares".

Some may say that this album doesn't fully reveal the true depth of Huey Lewis and the News. I believe exactly the opposite. On this debut recording, you can hear every component of what made Huey and the boys one of the hottest bands in the 80's. The awesome vocal harmonies are all there. The fast-paced, pure rock 'n' roll backbeats are alive and kickin'. If you are a fan of this band, this album is a must have. It's essential for anyone who wants to see how much this band developed their sound. That is not to say that these songs are inferior. Personally, I enjoy this album more than "Sports," the band's first big commercial success. Huey Lewis and the News delivers raw talent in a wild and active bundle of music.

If just starting a Huey Lewis and the News CD collection, this is not the one to start with. However, if you are already a fan it is a must have. This album, originally released in 1980, was recorded in a very short time and has a very raw sound as a result. Not many bells and whistles, just straight ahead "garage style" rock and roll.

But in the midst of this first effort are some diamonds in the rough. The lead off song, Some of My Lies are True, made it on the track list of an oversees Greatest Hits release. And the song Trouble in Paradise was later featured on the USA for Africa benefit album.

For the average fan this is not what I would recommend as a starting point for Huey Lewis and the News music. But it is a noteworthy album for anyone with a deeper interest in this band.

We were lucky enough to see Huey and the News starting out in the Bay Area. This is a little raw, but what they sounded like. Their live shows had so much energy, and even though the record sounds much like the live show, it cannot capture the intensity and drive Huey and the band brought to the stage. My favorite memories of the band.

For those of us in The Midwest "Do You Believe In Love" was probably our first exposure to HLATN. Then they were forgotten, then along came the Sports album and Huey Lewis filled the airwaves, and influenced the fashions of Working Class family wannabe Yuppies by-the-by (in many rural Indiana communities anyway). Then we went back and bought their debut album.

Huey Lewis And The News is not as good an album as Sports, despite what Bay Area fans seem to insist, but, if you did like Sports and/or have enjoyed Huey Lewis and The News over the years, the debut album becomes a "must have", mostly because the music is so similar to their later efforts. However, it is alo quality music exhibiting the potential of a band that would culminate in Sports and continue up to "Soulsville". Listen to this and you understand how this band would ultimately produce an (arguably) record of the decade in Sports (sure, Thriller sold more but it's appeal was completely different). It demonstrates how truly talented musicians and songwriters can absorb a wide variety of influences and create a totally original sound and style, and shows that, here is something to build on. This album is sort of a rarity, too, in-as-much as it's an album you want to have in your collection, not just own becuase you want to own everything associated with a band.

I have been looking for this CD for quite a while. I had it on cassette as a teenager and loved every song on it. I was so glad to hear it again and flashback. Nothing chnaged, I still love all the songs and Huey!

The debut album from Huey Lewis and The News is a typical first effort; an attempt to capture a band live in the studio. This is The News before the polish of Sports, and playing what would have been labeled "pub rock" had they come from Manchester UK instead of Marin County CA. The songs are short and punchy and the harmonies tight, clues of the greatness that would soon come from the band.

The album, however, lacks the finesse that made their greatest hits so memorable. "Some of My Lies Are True" shows all the hallmarks of the band's strengths, a tight combination of pop/rock and r'n'b, enough to have made it a minor hit. The energetic "Trouble In Paradise" also shows what progress did to Huey Lewis and The News. Compare the spare sounding version here to the fleshed out one that the band donated to We Are The World: U.S.A For Africa album (and appears on their "Greatest Hits"). Good stuff, but they evolved into much better the years went on.