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Howard Jones’ third album differs from his first two, with a much softer less synth-heavy sound, and it's also a shift lyrically as, for the first time, he sings love songs.
But Jones does them in his own style, with such lyrics as Plenty of fish are left in the sea, I seem to have picked a shark for me from “The Balance of Love (Give and Take)” and Even if we don’t agree, the only difference is cosmetically from “Step Into These Shoes”. Those are the kind of love songs I like.
Musically, the album has quite a wide variety of styles, but Jones is deft at nearly all of them, again proving his is a natural talent.
He’s at his best with the slow tracks, with a beautiful threesome in the shape of “Where Are We Going?”, “Will You Still Be There?”, and the concluding “Little Bit of Snow”, while the pop efforts of the opening “You Know I Love You… Don’t You?”, "All I Want" and “Good Luck, Bad Luck", and the reggae attempt “Give Me Strength” are also impressive. However, the rap burst of "Don't Want to Fight Anymore" is a bit iffy.
Overall, there are plenty of worthwhile songs on One to One, and the record remains Howard Jones' most under-rated album.
But Jones does them in his own style, with such lyrics as Plenty of fish are left in the sea, I seem to have picked a shark for me from “The Balance of Love (Give and Take)” and Even if we don’t agree, the only difference is cosmetically from “Step Into These Shoes”. Those are the kind of love songs I like.
Musically, the album has quite a wide variety of styles, but Jones is deft at nearly all of them, again proving his is a natural talent.
He’s at his best with the slow tracks, with a beautiful threesome in the shape of “Where Are We Going?”, “Will You Still Be There?”, and the concluding “Little Bit of Snow”, while the pop efforts of the opening “You Know I Love You… Don’t You?”, "All I Want" and “Good Luck, Bad Luck", and the reggae attempt “Give Me Strength” are also impressive. However, the rap burst of "Don't Want to Fight Anymore" is a bit iffy.
Overall, there are plenty of worthwhile songs on One to One, and the record remains Howard Jones' most under-rated album.
Side one
1. You Know I Love You… Don’t You? - 4:05
2. The Balance of Love (Give and Take) - 4:29
3. All I Want - 4:37
4. Where Are We Going? - 5:01
5. Don’t Want to Fight Anymore - 4:37
Side two
1. Step Into These Shoes - 4:19
2. Will You Still Be There? - 4:45
3. Good Luck, Bad Luck - 4:14
4. Give Me Strength - 5:01
5. Little Bit of Snow - 4:30
Personnel
- Afrodiziak (Caron Wheeler, Claudia Fontaine, Naomi Osborne), Phil Collins, Cindy Mizelle, Doris Eugenio, Deborah Forman, Daramis Carbaugh, Marcus Miller, Mark Stevens, Fonzi Thornton, Mike Murphy, boys from the choir of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin (conducted and directed by John Dexter) – backing vocals
- Howard Jones – vocals, keyboards, synthesizers, drum programming, percussion programming, sequencing
- Mike Roarty – Fairlight CMI
- Steve Ferrone, Trevor Morais, Phil Collins – drums
- Phil Palmer, Nile Rodgers, Nick Moroch, Reb Beach – guitar
- Martin Jones (Howard's brother), Mo Foster – bass guitar
- Bob Gay, Matthew Cornish, Kendall Crane, Scott Gilman – brass section
- Bob Gay – alto saxophone
- Arif Mardin – string arrangements on "Little Bit of Snow"
- Gene Orloff – string concertmaster
- Gary Burton – vibraphone
- Matt Malloy – flute and penny whistles
- Max Eastley – whirling instruments and the Arc
- Louise Lowry – tap dancing
- Mike Roarty and Kevin Killen – Quality Control technicians
Production
- Produced by Arif Mardin
- Engineered by Kevin Killen
- Assistant Engineers – Eddie Garcia (New York, NY) and John Grimes (Dublin, Ireland).
- Recorded at Windmill Lane Studios (Dublin, Ireland).
- Mixed at Atlantic Studios (New York, NY).
Additional credits
- Cover photo – Chris Garnham
- Inside photos – Simon Fowler
Notes
Release: 1986
Format: LP
Genre: Synth-pop
Label: WEA Records
Catalog# 242009-1
Vinyl: Excellent
Cover: Excellent
Prijs: €10,00
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