CHRIS DE BURGH
The Lady In Red - The Very Best Of (ARK 21)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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The notion of "the very best of" Chris De Burgh may be a bit puzzling to some of the US audience. Here, he's best known for the his 1986 #2 pop hit, "The Lady In Red." What's less known is that while it peaked at #2 stateside, it hit #1 on 25 international charts. Prior to that, he'd scored #1 hits in Europe, South America, Canada and South Africa, and he's continued to do so for a quarter of a century. Along the way, he's sold over 40 million albums. There's a powerful lesson there about the limited view the US audience has of the international music scene.

There's a powerful lesson, or, rather, 16 powerful lessons about pop songwriting and pop singing on this album. If you're reading this from anyplace but the United States, you may know a good deal of this material already. If you're stuck stateside, you probably don't, but you should.

A tip of the hat to ARK 21 for resurrecting this collection from the A&M archives and giving me, and hopefully you, this fine introduction to such an internationally well known performer.

Track List:

Here Is Your Paradise * Don't Pay The Ferryman * In Love Forever * Sailing Away * The Lady In Red * Borderline * Say Goodbye To It All * Spanish Train * The Snows Of New York * Missing You * There's A New Star Up In Heaven Tonight * Blond Hair, Blue Jeans * A Spaceman Came Traveling * Fatal Hesitation * Upe Here In Heaven * High On Emotion

© 2000 - Shaun Dale