With its mainstream success, Huey Lewis And The News delivered what must rank as one of the most successful AOR recordings in history.
Written by: Dangerzone
ARTIST: Huey Lewis And The News
ALBUM: Sports
LABEL: Chrysalis
SERIAL: CHR 1412
YEAR: 1983
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Huey Lewis – vocals * Chris Hayes – guitars * Seam Hopper – keyboards * Mario Cipollina – bass * Johnny Colla – keyboards, guitars * Bill Gibson – drums
TRACK LISTING: 01 Heart Of Rock ‘n’ Roll * 02 Heart And Soul * 03 Bad Is Bad * 04 I Want A New Drug * 05 Walking On A Thin Line * 06 Finally Found A Home * 07 If This Is It * 08 You Crack Me Up * 09 Honky Tonk Blues
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Huey Lewis And The News Background
In retrospect it’s fascinating one of the biggest selling albums of the 80’s was essentially an AOR record. If ‘Sports’ had never gone on to sell millions of copies how would we view it years later?
With the mainstream success it reaped, Huey Lewis And The News seemed to be pigeonholed into a pop market corner. Appealing to the average streamlined American consumer. But inevitably this must rank as one of the most successful AOR recordings in history. Even though decades later many are still not aware of it!
As reviewed elsewhere on this site, 1982’s ‘Picture This’ took a mammoth leap in a melodic rock direction, and ‘Sports’ refined it further. Polishing the sound to greater heights, yielding hits at will. To the extent that only several album cuts are perhaps not known to almost any living human being.
The songs we all know, but looking at this as an AOR purist, its infinitely pleasing. It’s far beyond the range of the corporate rock environment of 1983 it helped shape.
The Songs
It seems inconceivable that anybody reading wouldn’t know the album by heart. It’s repeated in its entirety on radio daily. But the songs still resonate with the same impact with each listening, that being melodic awareness.
The keyboard and guitar interplay is present from start to finish. Minus only the lowlight, a cover of Hank Williams ‘Honky Tonk Blues’, giving it that AOR presence and feel.
Some of the material is provided by outside writers but the band turn it into their own. Particularly the bitter, powerful post Vietnam anthem ‘Walking On A Thin Line’. To my mind ranks up there with anything by Journey or any other major AOR crony.
The good time rock of ‘Heart Of Rock And Roll’ defined that particular era. It’s immediately followed by ‘Heart And Soul’s melodic riffing and stupefying synth touches. Nothing was out of the bands range.
‘Bad Is Bad’ is quirky and showcases the bands trademark harmonies.
‘I Want A New Drug’ packs punch, delivered by an onslaught of keyboard dallies and a memorable guitar solo. A deserved hit and hardly contrived.
‘If This Is It’ was the big ballad hit. But curiously it’s one of the non hits that stands out as one of the bands definitive AOR moments. And that would be ‘You Crack Me Up’ which all melodic rock fans should take note of.
In Summary
One of the best of the 80’s and the last time Huey Lewis And The News could be labeled AOR. 1986’s ‘Fore’ was marginally more pop orientated, although not totally as ‘Jacobs Ladder’ proves.
What is most pleasing is that the band broke through in such a big way as other similar bands never made the grade even remotely close to this level.
With the hooks crafted to perfection the time was right for a band like Huey Lewis And The News to sell millions. As we all know how melodic the early 80’s were do we not?
It at least allowed Huey and the boys to live off the album forever. But some fine albums followed in the ensuing years, as spasmodic as they were.
An album everyone owns I’m sure. But commercial AOR that lives on healthily in the 21st Century and I’m sure will for decades to come.
Huey Lewis And The News on Video
Click to go to YTM album page.
