Customer Reviews

King of Beach

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's a pitty that people like Chris Rea don't get the credit they dezerve for their work these days.Although the music audience has stopped listening long time ago,he still releases high-quality stuff.With King of the Beach he proves that his talent has nothing but abandoned him,more like grown up and became even more fascinating.It's hard to choose highlights in this great tracklist but i guess you could say that the smooth "The Memory Of A Good Friend" and the relaxing "All Summer Long" kind of stand out.Guitar man with male-throaty voice is back!And he is better than ever.

Sit back. Relax. Put on the latest Chris Rea album and feel the gentle sea breezes wash over you. The musical journey that Chris Rea has travelled since he debuted on the scene over 20 years ago with the Light FM standard "Fool (If You Think It's Over)" has been a long and varied one. Light pop, heavy blues, driving rock, reggae, and anything else you can think of has been thrown into the cauldron of Rea's career. Left to simmer for a few years, his muse has emerged with an album of delicate beauty that merges all of these elements. The tone is quiet, but not boring. The music flows gently from start to finish, but there is an underlying urgency that gives it power. A seasoned veteran in top form.

I bought this CD on Amazon after hearing it in a bar nearby the sea. I was amazed of the perfection and good taste of this music. The low and deep voice from this singer takes you to quiet and silent places full of relax and peace.

The first song, 'King of the Beach', is a perfect opener breaking the silence with a mellow, new agey melody that turns to swinging blues. Speaks about the central theme of the album: the beach as a place for resting and self-discovering.

The next one, 'All Summer Long' is probably the most commercial tune in the album and has a haunting rythm with female chantings, and the deep voice of Rea drawing a lot of summery images. The next song, Sail Away, is an exquisite ballad full of tenderness, told to a woman that has to leave. But for me the probable spotlight in the album is the sixth song, 'Guitar Street', a very bluesy song about a guy that decides to be a guitarist and leaves it all behind. The style and consistency of the song are unique, with a lot of elegance and emotion, this is a song that really uplifts you and I would count it amongst the best I've heard with a Dire Straits / Bruce Springsteen rocky style.

Another gem is the penultimate, 'Tamatave', with a part of the song sung in French. It's not exactly a ballad but a very slow song with loads of atmospheric sounds, a very strange and mysterious song. 'Who do you Love' is elegant and deep, with a very gentle piano driving melody, and the last one, 'Waiting for a Blue Sky' is bluesy again and really optimistic, a nice ending to the album (I don't have the bonus track).

This album is a masterpiece in its genre. Although I don't have anymore from Chris Rea I'll stick to this for a while as I heard it's the best in ten years. The best the smooth rock/blues can get, cleverly composed and with exquisite genuine guitar playing.

Sit back. Relax. Put on the latest Chris Rea album and feel the gentle sea breezes wash over you. The musical journey that Chris Rea has travelled since he debuted on the scene over 20 years ago with the Light FM standard "Fool (If You Think It's Over)" has been a long and varied one. Light pop, heavy blues, driving rock, reggae, and anything else you can think of has been thrown into the cauldron of Rea's career. Left to simmer for a few years, his muse has emerged with an album of delicate beauty that merges all of these elements. The tone is quiet, but not boring. The music flows gently from start to finish, but there is an underlying urgency that gives it power. A seasoned veteran in top form.

After the somewhat quirky 'Road to Hell Pt2' the first listen of 'King of the Beach' was like slipping into your favourite slippers. This is a beautifully crafted album with at least one track to please everyone who hears it. The lyrics are as meaningful as ever and there are few artists who can write a melody like Chris Rea. He still continues to be one of the most under rated musicians of our time. No there is nothing startling about this album, but give it a listen or two and I guarentee you will be humming the tunes all day.

On The Beach (part2). If you liked the origional you'll love this. A quite slow and very relaxed album. The title track King Of The Beach is one of the few faster paced tracks. Bones of Angels and a remake of Guitar Street are highlights, while my favorite is Who Do You Love. God Gave Me An Angel sees a new style for the artist, very like Elton John. His best album since the quirky Espresso Logic.

What a pleasant surprise! After driving down a commercial alley for the past 7 or so CDs, this is a return to the Rea glory days. He is a great tunesmith with a legendary voice, and this recording has a reassuring quality that Shamrock, On The Beach and Wired also have.

His CDs do not really need a stand out single, as their enduring value lies in their ability to put one's mind at peace for the entire recording.

I would say that the only weak track is Tamatave, as his Geordie French really doesn't work! On the positives, Sail Away has a similar soporific feel to Just Passing Through, and while Bones of Angels and All Summer Long are beautifully crafted Rea tunes, I would say that my favourite is the foot tapping gem - Who Do You Love.

This album grew on me quickly. An excellent album to listen to in the heart of the summer (or the winter to forget those blues!) I love the production, the playing, the vocals : ), and the vibe throughout. Highly recommend you give this album a chance.

As the years progress, one always looks back and get a true feel of an albums strength and weaknesses.

This album has stood the test of time, and I consider this release to be one of his best from the latter half of Mr. Rea's output.

Through the years I have purchased 95% of Chris Rea's recorded output,

and apart from a few misfires, his releases have consistently earned high scores with me.

To put things in perspective, "King of Beach" gets pulled from my collection at least once a month.

I can't say that about other Chris Rea's releases.

For a fair-weather Chris Rea fan, I would include "King of the Beach" as mandatory listening.

It has a very updated and modern feel to it, yet still possesses the magic that is Chris Rea.

To start things off, we have a rapid succession of strong atmospheric, and reflective music Chris Rea has been very capable of throughout the years. "King of the Beach", "All Summer Long", "Sail Away", and "Still Beautiful" are truly refreshing and wonderful additions to the cannon of Chris Rea music.

This album truly takes me away to the beach. I find the material refreshing and inspirational.

I am overcome with peaceful, tranquil, relaxing, emotional, and reflective thoughts throughout.

"Who do you love", "Memory of a good friend", and "Sandwriting" are also standout tracks.

An album that was criminally overlooked here in the USA, but then again with ADHD and ADD on the rise, the majority of Americans want hot rod singles on those I-pods.

To sum this up, I have "Still Beautiful" as my wife's ring tone : )

If you have some of Chris Rea's album-pick this up.

If you've just discovered Chris, this would not be a bad point to start for his post 1993 output.

An introspective release, that rates high among the Chris Rea releases.

Highly recommended and a release that stands the test of time.

Track listing.

1. King of the Beach:

2. All Summer Long:

3. Sail Away:

4. Still Beautiful:

5. The Bones of Angels

6. Guitar Street

7. Who Do You Love

8. The Memory of a Good Friend

9. Sandwriting

10. Tamatave

11. God Gave Me an Angel

12. Waiting for a Blue Sky

After the techno-tinged "Road to hell, part II", "King of the beach" is a return to compositions dominated by smooth melodies and mellow instrumentation, which proves only partially successful. The thirteen tracks of rather uneventful and lukewarm music almost send me to sleep after extended listening and confirm that Rea obviously has lost all his ambitions. Also, the new material is too reminiscent of what has gone before, and even worse, nearly every track contains an element from a previous Rea song. There are even two pieces which are directly named after old Rea songs: "All summer long" and "Guitar street", but it should be said that they are different in both lyrics and music. "Still beautiful" and "All summer long" have the same drum pattern and vocal delivery as Rea's 1988 hit single "Driving home for Christmas". The other songs seem to rely on mangling a soft-rock formula that rarely changes; slow guitar lines, ponderous rhythms which are generated by drum machines, washes of Hammond organs in the background, and whispery, listless vocals. In general, the lyrics lack much-needed inspiration and simply don't stand up to the concerns of "Road to hell, part I" or the thoughtful "Auberge". The only three songs which stand out among the fair amount of undistinguished tracks are the half-way memorable single "All summer long", the densely rhythmic "The bones of angels", and the piano-driven "Tamatave". The rest is uninspired and low-key to the point of being background music. Only one need to compare it to the variety of styles tried on Rea's '80s and early-'90s albums. Unless you have to fill your Rea library, save yourself a big disappointment and give "King of the beach" a pass.

From the first note, it's clear that this album, while a sequel of sorts to On the Beach, has absolutely nothing else in common with Rea's previous album, Road to Hell Pt.2. That disastrous album appears to have been only a bizarre anomaly between 1998's Blue Cafe and this, rather than a sudden loss of talent.

That's not to say that this is Rea's best album, or even on par with Blue Cafe, but it is very pleasant, and will probably grow on you with time. The album consists mostly of laid-back tunes with most instruments played by Rea. One exception is the louder "Guitar Street", which has some nice guitar work, but is otherwise formulaic.

Two good tracks are "Sail Away" and "The Bones of Angels".