Paul Carrack: A Retrospective

First posted 10/12/2020.

A Retrospective: 1974-1990 Paul Carrack

A Brief History: Rock singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Paul Melvyn Carrack was born on April 22, 1951 in Sheffield, England. Record Collector said, “If vocal talent equaled financial success, Paul Carrack would be a bigger name than legends such as Phil Collins or Elton John.” WK In the mid-‘70s, Carrack fronted Ace, singing lead on their 1974 hit How Long (#3). Then he served as the keyboardist for Roxy Music in the late ‘70s before launching a solo career which was occasionally interrupted by stints with Squeeze (Tempted, 1981) and Mike + the Mechanics (Silent Running, 1985; The Living Years, 1988). He found solo success with I Need You, Don’t Shed a Tear, and I Live by the Groove. You can see a list of his Top 30 Songs here. Below are the studio albums covered on this page. Albums are by Paul Carrack as a solo artist unless noted otherwise. The Studio Albums: Ace Five-A-Side (1974) Ace Time for Another (1976) Ace No Strings (1977) Nightbird (1980) Carlene Carter Blue Nun (1981) Squeeze East Side Story (1981) Suburban Voodoo (1982) Mike + the Mechanics Mike + the Mechanics (1985) One Good Reason (1987) Mike + the Mechanics The Living Years (1988) Groove Approved (1989) Compilations: CC The Carrack Collection (1974-85) 21 21 Good Reasons (1974-90) The above compilations are spotlighted on this page. The snapshots of the studio albums indicate all songs featured on either compilation, noted with the codes above. Appearing after song titles are, when relevant, the date the song was released as a single and its peaks on various charts. Click for codes to singles charts. Ace Five-A-Side (1974): Ace’s first album gave them a top-5 hit with How Long and started Paul Carrack on the road to fame. How Long (11/9/74, 3 US, 1 CL, 20 UK, 63 AU) CC, 21 The Real Feeling 21 Ace Time for Another (1976): Ace’s second album didn’t find the success of their debut. The failure of single, No Future in Your Eyes, to even chart after the success of “How Long” was a definite disappointment. No Future in Your Eyes (48 CL) 21 Ace No Strings (1977): This was Carrack’s third and final album with Ace. You’re All That I Need was released as a single, but didn’t chart. You’re All That I Need (47 CL) 21 Nightbird (1980): After fronting Ace and working with Roxy Music, this was Paul Carrack’s first solo album. The Rumour 21 Carlene Carter Blue Nun (1981): Paul Carrack dueted with Carlene Carter on these two cuts from her Blue Nun album. Do Me Lover CC, 21 Oh How Happy 21 Squeeze East Side Story (1981): After one solo album, Paul Carrack joined Squeeze as their keyboardist. He also contributed vocals to what is arguably the group’s best-known song. Tempted (6/20/81, 49 US, 8 AR, 3 CL, 41 UK, 45 CN, 85 AU) CC, 21 Suburban Voodoo (1982): After fronting Ace, working with Carlene Carter, and working with Roxy Music, this was Paul Carrack’s first solo album. I Need You (9/4/82, 37 US, 20 AC, 22 AR, 30 AU) CC, 21 Lesson in Love (10/16/82, 33 AR) CC Always Better with You CC, 21 A Little Unkind CC, 21 Mike + the Mechanics Mike + the Mechanics (1985): After another solo album, Carrack returned to a group, this time one led by Genesis’ Mike Rutherford. Carrack and Paul Young shared vocal duties with Carrack singing lead on the top-10 hit Silent Running. Silent Running (11/4/85, 6 US, 1 AR, 7 AC, 21 UK, 8 CN, 23 AU) CC, 21

The Carrack Collection Paul Carrack

Rating: 3.828 out of 5.00 (average of 5 ratings)

Recorded: 1974-1985 Released: 1988 Peak: -- US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US and UK) Genre: pop rock Tracks: (1) How Long (2) Tempted (3) Do Me Lover (4) A Little Unkind (5) Silent Running (6) Lesson in Love (7) I Need You (8) Always Better with You

About The Carrack Collection: Although released in 1988, this compilation doesn’t include Carrack’s solo top-10 “Don’t Shed a Tear” (1987) or his chart-topping song, “The Living Years,” with Mike + the Mechanics (1988). Instead this too-slim retrospective stops at 1985. Still, that does mean one gets How Long, Tempted, I Need You, and Silent Running all in one collection. One Good Reason (1987): After the success of Mike + the Mechanics, Carrack’s next solo album gave him the biggest solo hit of his career with the top-10 Don’t Shed a Tear. When You Walk in the Room (5/16/87, 90 US, 48 UK, 7 AU) 21 Don’t Shed a Tear (10/24/87, 9 US, 36 AC, 5 AR, 60 UK, 33 AU) 21 One Good Reason (3/12/88, 28 US, 20 AR, 38 AU) 21 Button Off My Shirt (9/10/88, 91 US) 21 Mike + the Mechanics The Living Years (1988): Back with Mike + the Mechanics for their second album, Carrack sang lead on this song which went all the way to the top of the charts in the U.S. The Living Years (12/27/88, 1 US, 5 AR, 1 AC, 2 UK, 1 CN, 1 AU) 21 Groove Approved (1989): Back with another solo effort. I Live by the Groove (10/28/89, 31 US, 22 AC) 21 Only My Heart Can Tell 21 Battlefield 21 Loveless 21

21 Good Reasons Paul Carrack

Rating: 4.168 out of 5.00 (average of 4 ratings)

Recorded: 1974-1990 Released: January 25, 1994 Peak: -- US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US and UK) Genre: pop rock Tracks: (1) How Long (2) The Real Feeling (3) No Future in Your Eyes (4) You’re All That I Need (5) Tempted (6) Do Me Lover (7) Oh How Happy (8) The Rumour (9) I Need You (10) Always Better with You (11) A Little Unkind (12) One Good Reasons (13) Don’t Shed a Tear (14) Button Off My Shirt (15) When You Walk in the Room (16) I Live by the Groove (17) Only My Heart Can Tell (18) Battlefield (19) Loveless (20) Silent Running (21) The Living Years

About 21 Good Reasons: This update to The Carrack Collection adds classic songs like Don’t Shed a Tear and The Living Years. Somewhere between this overly-hefty compilation and the too-light Carrack Collection lies the perfect Paul Carrack compilation. Resources and Related Links: Paul Carrack’s DMDB Encyclopedia entry Paul Carrack’s Top 30 Songs PaulCarrack.net (official website) WK Wikipedia