Groove Approved
Groove Approved is the fourth solo studio album by the English singer-songwriter Paul Carrack, then a member of the supergroup Mike + The Mechanics. It was originally released in 1989, on the Chrysalis label.
| Groove Approved | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 1989 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 52:52 | |||
| Label | Chrysalis | |||
| Producer | T-Bone Wolk, Paul Carrack, Eddie Schwartz | |||
| Paul Carrack chronology | ||||
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While his previous album featured members of Mike + The Mechanics, for this album Carrack worked mainly with producer T-Bone Wolk. The album's only hit was "I Live by the Groove", which was co-written by Carrack and Eddie Schwartz, and which peaked at #31 on the Billboard Hot 100.[1] Schwartz co-produced the track with Wolk and Carrack; the rest of the album was produced by Wolk and Carrack working as a duo.
The song "Battlefield" was later covered by co-writer Nick Lowe under the title "I Live On A Battlefield". Carrack himself would use this longer title when he re-recorded the song in 2007 on his album Old, New, Borrowed And Blue, and again on his 2010 album A Different Hat (backed by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra).
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Trouser Press | (mixed)[3] |
AllMusic's William Ruhlmann calls Groove Approved "a solid, workman-like collection", and writes that its limited commercial success "had less to do with the album's real commercial potential than with upheavals in the record company".[2]
Jim Green of Trouser Press praised the album for its "good old-fashioned R&B grooves, often garnished with Carrack's tasty Hammond organ licks." However, Green also notes that "unfortunately, the synthetic drums sometimes slicken or stiffen the rhythm too much," and that "the songs aren't unforgettable, but they're mostly painless".
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Only My Heart Can Tell" | Paul Carrack, T-Bone Wolk | 5:21 |
| 2. | "I Live by the Groove" | Carrack, Eddie Schwartz | 4:09 |
| 3. | "Battlefield" | Carrack, Nick Lowe | 4:20 |
| 4. | "Love Can Break Your Heart" | Carrack, Michael McDonald | 5:20 |
| 5. | "I'm on Your Tail" | Carrack, Lowe | 6:15 |
| 6. | "After the Love Is Gone" | Carrack, Chris Difford | 6:23 |
| 7. | "Loveless" | Carrack, Wolk | 4:22 |
| 8. | "Tip of My Tongue" | Carrack, Wolk | 6:06 |
| 9. | "Dedicated" | Carrack | 5:22 |
| 10. | "Bad News (At the Best of Times)" | Carrack, John Welsey Harding | 5:14 |
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[4]
- Paul Carrack – lead and backing vocals, acoustic piano, Hammond organ, drums, programming, vibraphone, handclaps
- Ed Royensdal – keyboards
- T-Bone Wolk – synthesizers, accordion, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, bass guitar,, handclaps
- Mike Campbell – guitar, 12-string guitar
- Robbie McIntosh – electric guitar
- Vinnie Zummo – rhythm guitar
- Jimmy Bralower – drum and percussion programming
- Mickey Curry – drums, cymbals
- Sammy Figueroa – percussion
- Dick Morrissey – saxophone
- Bob Loveday – violin
- Bernard Fowler – backing vocals
- Daryl Hall – backing vocals
- Curtis King – backing vocals
- Joe Lynn Turner – backing vocals
- Paul Young – backing vocals
Production
- Producers – Paul Carrack and T-Bone Wolk (all tracks); Eddie Schwartz (track 2).
- Engineer – Tim Leitner
- Mixing – Bob Clearmountain(tracks 1, 3, 7, 8 & 9); Tom Lord-Alge (tracks 2, 4, 5, 6 & 10).
References
- Paul Carrack USA chart history, Billboard.com. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
- [Groove Approved at AllMusic allmusic review]
- Green, Jim. "Paul Carrack's albums". Trouser Press. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
- Groove Approved liner notes. Chrysalis Records. 1989.
