Chris Rea

Five CD box set containing a quintet of original albums from this British singer/songwriter: Espresso Logic, On The Beach, Road To Hell, Shamrock Diaries and Watersign

With a career spanning over 40 years and over 30 million album sales, Chris Rea’s distinctive husky-gravel vocal and incredible body of work has seen him become one of the most loved solo artists the UK have ever produced. Each set of reissues comes with the original album fully remastered alongside a second disc of live performances, b-sides and previously unreleased versions of tracks from the accompanying album.

The perfect album for a day at the beach, Rea's eighth album takes the listener from the water's edge of the title song to the sunny fields of the French countryside in "Giverny." The upbeat reggae feel of "Lucky Day" works particularly well, but it is "On the Beach" that's the standout track. Rea seems to think so, too, as he's recorded it numerous times. The version here, though, is the most evocative, a little slower and more meditative than others. The lyrics, as in many of his songs, deal with remembrance and old love. "Little Blonde Plaits," "Hello Friend," and "It's All Gone" are other examples of this theme that appear on the album. While his later release, 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. The last three songs are bonus tracks that were not on the original LP release, "Bless Them All" being a smooth, fluid instrumental.

Never one to do things by halves, gravelly voiced guitarist Chris Rea continues the prolific and rather maverick streak which has recently seen him record an 11-disc "history of the blues," and an album under the guise of a fictional '50s instrumental band: that being his 23srd studio effort Santo Spirito Blues. Released in a CD/DVD package alongside a documentary on bullfighting and a black-and-white, Florence-based drama about redemption, (both of which feature separate, original soundtracks) – the first release since his Still So Far to Go compilation unexpectedly returned him to the U.K. Top Ten – attempts to build on its momentum with 13 quintessentially Rea blues-rock numbers.

Chris Rea's voice is like the smoke off a prairie fire or the sparks and flame from a flint and steel. Coupled with his robust, tasteful songwriting, the effect is to pull the listener into a song or album, grabbing at the brain – not just the ears. Auberge is the follow-up to Road to Hell, an ambitious, dark-toned album that found European and critical success. Auberge may not be as dark as its predecessor, but Rea seemingly can't sing a word without sharpening its flinty edges, making it a bit threatening. That said, his latest effort tempers that wariness with a mixture of cavalier spontaneity and sighing recall.

The limited edition album One Fine Day was originally recorded in 1980 at Chipping Norton Studios and was produced by Rea himself…

New Light Through Old Windows is the first compilation album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 1988. The album consists primarily of re-recordings of songs from earlier albums, as well as the new track "Working on It", which peaked at No. 73 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and was Rea's only No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. "On the Beach" peaked No. 9 on the US Adult Contemporary singles chart, and No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart. The album reached number five on the UK Albums Chart, charted for over a year, and was certified 3x Platinum by BPI until 1992. It charted in the Top 10 in New Zealand, Australia and West Germany.

British singer and guitarist Chris Rea has enjoyed a run of popularity in Europe during the late '80s and early '90s after almost a decade of previous recording. Rea started out performing with a local group called Magdalene, taking David Coverdale's place; the band won a national talent contest in 1975 as the Beautiful Losers, but still failed to get a record contract…