Human Racing [Import]

Nik Kershaw | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 25, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: MCA Records
• ASIN: B0000071BO
• 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: #305,074 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Dancing Girls

2. Wouldn't It Be Good

3. Drum Talk

4. Bogart

5. Gone to Pieces

6. Shame on You

7. Cloak and Dagger

8. Faces

9. I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me

10. Human Racing

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pop at its BEST, April 21, 2001

By 

Steven Clem Haley "Steve is in Stillwater" (Stillwater, Oklahoma United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Human Racing (Audio CD)

Dare I say this is the only "pretty boy" pop album I will ever buy. Although it came out in 1983 I still find the writing and production absolutely stunning.

The bad news about Nik is that he never caught on in the US. The good news is that he never was over commercialized and crammed down our materialistic necks by record moguls who wanted to put him in McD's Happy Meals, like 98degrees and Brittny what's her name ("Don't you just love my belly button? Here, take ANOTHER look").

If I could find this cd again I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ex-Purple applicant comes good with 80s synthetic pop mix, February 6, 2001

By 

Gavin Wilson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Human Racing (Audio CD)

This album was Kershaw's first and biggest-selling, driven by the success of the two singles, 'I Won't Let the Sun ...' and the outstanding 'Wouldn't it be Good'.

Listening again to this album, which is very much a sound of its time, I'm struck by its similarity to Level 42. But there are also shades of Duran Duran and Thomas Dolby. There's a lot of Yamaha DX7 synth sounds throughout the LP, which together with the processed thud of the drums, date the album almost to the year, 1983.

I always felt Kershaw looked uncomfortable with his pop/teenybop positioning. He certainly looked uneasy the only time I saw him on 'Top of the Pops'. His was the poster that decorated many British girls' bedrooms at the time, but nine years earlier (1974), Kershaw had tried unsuccessfully to join Deep Purple. Disappointed, he then moved into fusion, which probably explains the Level 42 influences on this CD. Kershaw never had the most distinctive or powerful voice, but he was a fine guitarist.

The one reason for getting this album is the tremendous 'Wouldn't it be Good', which has an outstanding chorus and perhaps the last great guitar solo on any pop or teenybop record.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LAST OF THE GREAT SONGWRITERS, February 25, 2006

By 

T. Baker (Kent, England.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Human Racing (Audio CD)

First of all, let's get one thing clear - Nik Kershaw is a great talent. In an era when songriters have virtually dispensed with melody, his clever, original tunes stand out like a beacon. His lyrics are pure poetry (if Smokey Robinson can be described as America's greatest living poet, then I nominate Nik as England's). His musicianship is peerless. He can also sing stylishly & he's not bad-looking, to boot. Hey, this guy is THE consummate rock artiste - THE FINISHED ARTICLE.

So, to the album. How anyone could claim he's a 'one-song wonder' is beyond me. Admittedly, 'Wouldn't it be good' is a near-perfect slice of pop, but what about 'Human Racing' - as concise and perceptive an observation of human existence as I've ever heard?

The theme of the album is survival in an increasingly cut-throat & competitive world ('the stakes so high & my resistance so low', 'it's getting harder just keeping life & soul together', 'I won't let the sun go down on me', etc.) & it certainly has a relevance that most people should be able to identify with.

No, Nik should be applauded for trying to maintain and improve the qualities that kept pop music popular for so long. He's a PURE SOPHISTICAT, which is possibly why he's not more widely appreciated.