On the Beach (Chris Rea album)

On the Beach is the eighth studio album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 1986, and built on the sucess of the preceding Shamrock Diaries. It reached No. 11 in the UK Albums Chart (and also in Sweden), topped the Dutch charts (where it charted for more than nine months), reached number two in West Germany and No. 4 in New Zealand (where is also spent more than nine months in the charts).[2] It reached the Top 10 in Norway and Czechoslovakia. In 2019, a deluxe remastered version of the album was released.

On the Beach
Studio album by
Chris Rea
Released1 April 1986
GenreRock, soft rock, adult contemporary
Length48:40 (LP) 59:58 (CD)
LabelGeffen (US)
Magnet (Rest of the World)
ProducerChris Rea, David Richards
Chris Rea chronology
Shamrock Diaries
(1985)		 On the Beach
(1986)		 Dancing with Strangers
(1987)
Singles from On the Beach
  1. "On the Beach"
    Released: May 1986
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

Songs

In an interview for the deluxe edition of the album, Rea said of the song Giverny, written after a visit to Monet's celebrated home, "I didn't want to be there. I was only there because she (his wife, Joan) was there... so there's kinda, a funny twist to it".[3]

Critical reception

Allmusic notes that, "while The Road to Hell shows the darker side of Rea's worldview, On the Beach is an excellent introduction to his brighter, more optimistic songwriting".[4] A retrospective review finds that the album "taps into the same kind of jazzy, introspective pop/soul sound that the likes of John Martyn, Joni Mitchell and Van Morrison were flirting with in the same period, helped by an excellent band including Fairport Convention/XTC drummer Dave Mattacks", adding that Little Blonde Plaits is "a vehicle for [Max] Middleton’s expressive Mini Moog, very redolent of his atmospheric playing on John Martyn’s Glorious Fool".[5]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Chris Rea.

No.TitleLength
1."On the Beach"5:04
2."Little Blonde Plaits"4:17
3."Giverny"5:39
4."Lucky Day"3:57
5."Just Passing Through"5:20
6."It's All Gone"7:28
7."Hello Friend"4:19
8."Two Roads"3:44
9."Light of Hope"4:34
10."Auf Immer und Ewig"4:11
11."Freeway"4:12
12."Bless Them All"2:30
13."Crack That Mould"4:34

Personnel


Production
  • Chris Rea – producer
  • David Richards – producer, mixing
  • Stewart Eales – recording engineer
  • Stylorouge – sleeve design
  • Ekkeheart Gurlitt – photography
  • Francoise La Port – photography
  • Jim Beach – management
  • Paul Lilly – management
Studios

Singles
  1. "It's All Gone" b/w "Crack That Mould", "Look Out For Me", "Bless Them All", "Let's Dance" (original version)
  2. "On the Beach" b/w "On the Beach (special remix)", "If Anybody Asks You", "One golden rule" (live), "Midnight blue"
  3. "Hello Friend" (re-recording) b/w "Driving Home for Christmas" (original version), "It's All Gone" (live), "Steel River"

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
France (SNEP)[16] Gold 100,000*
Germany (BVMI)[17] Gold 250,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[18] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[19] Platinum 300,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Caldwell, Rob. "On the Beach review". Allmusic.
  2. https://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Chris+Rea&titel=On+The+Beach&cat=a
  3. "Chris Rea on "On The Beach"". 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  4. https://www.allmusic.com/album/on-the-beach-mw0000740994
  5. https://movingtheriver.com/2016/04/01/chris-reas-on-the-beach-30-years-old-today/
  6. "Austriancharts.at – Chris Rea – On the Beach" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  7. "Dutchcharts.nl – Chris Rea – On the Beach" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  8. "Offiziellecharts.de – Chris Rea – On the Beach" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  9. "Charts.nz – Chris Rea – On the Beach". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  10. "Norwegiancharts.com – Chris Rea – On the Beach". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  11. "Swedishcharts.com – Chris Rea – On the Beach". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  12. "Swisscharts.com – Chris Rea – On the Beach". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  13. "Chris Rea | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  14. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1986". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  15. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  16. "French album certifications – Chris Rea – On the Beach" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  17. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Chris Rea; 'On the Beach')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  18. "Dutch album certifications – Chris Rea – On the Beach" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 6 December 2018. Enter On the Beach in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  19. "British album certifications – Chris Rea – On the Beach". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type On the Beach in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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