Huey Lewis and the News (album)

Huey Lewis and the News is the debut album by American rock band Huey Lewis and the News, released in 1980.

Huey Lewis and the News
Studio album by
Huey Lewis and the News
Released1980
RecordedDecember 1979
StudioAmerican Recording (Studio City), Redwing Sound (Los Angeles, California)
GenreRock
Length31:20
LabelChrysalis
ProducerBill Schnee
Huey Lewis and the News chronology
Huey Lewis and the News
(1980)		 Picture This
(1982)
Singles from Huey Lewis and the News
  1. "Some of My Lies Are True (Sooner or Later)"
    Released: 1980
  2. "Now Here's You"
    Released: 1980

Background

In 1979, the band's name was Huey Lewis and the American Express. Under this name they released a single and secured their recording contract with Chrysalis Records at the end of the year. The album was recorded within three weeks and the producer was Bill Schnee, who had produced for Boz Scaggs and Pablo Cruise.

Chrysalis did not like the addition 'American Express' to the band's name, fearing that the credit card company of the same name could sue them.[1] In January 1980, the band changed their name to 'Huey Lewis and the News'.

The album reached No. 203 on the Billboard album chart.[2]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Billboardfavorable[4]

Billboard states that producer Bill Schnee mastered the "clean, sparse rock" that every rock band was trying to achieve at the time by "skinning the uptempo, light rockers down to basic guitars and vocals."[4] Stephen Thomas Erlewine, in a retrospective review for AllMusic, says the News turn out "hard-driving covers and originals in a workmanlike fashion" but their "debut suffers from an uneven selection of material."[3]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Mario Cipollina, Johnny Colla, Bill Gibson, Chris Hayes, Sean Hopper and Huey Lewis except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Some of My Lies Are True (Sooner or Later)" 3:23
2."Don't Make Me Do It" 2:50
3."Stop Trying" 3:31
4."Now Here's You"Cipollina, Colla, Gibson, Hayes, Hopper, Lewis, John McFee4:12
5."I Want You"Brian Marnell2:48
6."Don't Ever Tell Me That You Love Me" 2:53
7."Hearts" 2:51
8."Trouble In Paradise" 3:11
9."Who Cares?" 3:49
10."If You Really Love Me You'll Let Me" 1:52

Singles

"Some of My Lies Are True (Sooner or Later)" was written in San Francisco by the band and recorded in Los Angeles within three weeks, and the track was released as the album's first single. The song is about people betraying other people, including friends, old friends, and enemies.

The B-side for the single was "Don't Ever Tell Me That You Love Me". The songs, along with the album, failed to chart.

Videos were shot for both songs and were later included on the band's 1985 VHS compilation, Video Hits. In 1986, remixes of the songs were included as B-sides to the singles "Hip to Be Square" and "Stuck with You", respectively.

Personnel

Production
  • Bill Schnee – producer, engineer, mixing
  • Kirk Butler – assistant engineer
  • Bill Cooper – assistant engineer
  • Tim Dennen – assistant engineer
  • Studio 55 (Los Angeles, California) – mixing location
  • Doug Sax – mastering at The Mastering Lab (Hollywood, California)
  • Billy Bass – art direction, cover concept
  • Rod Dyer – design
  • Bill Murphy – design
  • Ron Slenzak – photography
  • Chris Welch – liner notes
  • Bob Brown – management

References
  1. Sheff, David (August 16, 1982). "To Get His News on the Air, Rocker Huey Lewis Had to Wait for a Commercial Break". People. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  2. Whitburn, Joel (1998). Bubbling Under Singles & Albums. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 15. ISBN 0-89820-128-4.
  3. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Huey Lewis and the News – Review at AllMusic. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  4. "Top Album Picks: First Time Around – Huey Lewis and the News". Billboard. 92 (27): 66. July 9, 1980. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
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