One Good Reason (album)

One Good Reason is the third solo record by British singer-songwriter and Mike + The Mechanics singer Paul Carrack. Mike + The Mechanics drummer Peter Van Hooke and songwriter/producer Christopher Neil also appear on the album, serving in the same roles they did for the Mechanics. The album's 10 songs include Carrack's two highest charting solo hits in America, "Don't Shed a Tear" (which became a Top 10 hit, peaking at number 9) and "One Good Reason" (which reached number 28).^[1]

Reception

Allmusic's Mike DeGagne calls "Don't Shed a Tear" "the album's highlight, bolstered by its subtle, laid-back groove with a stop and start tempo which comes across as unique to a certain extent." But he castigated the rest of the record, saying that "while the songs are well-written lyrically, they're dispensed rather half-heartedly from a musical standpoint" and "It's apparent in tracks like 'Fire With Fire' and 'Give Me A Chance' that Paul Carrack has reached the point of pop pedestrianism."^[2]

Nevertheless, three additional singles were released from the album, including a cover of the Jackie DeShannon classic, "When You Walk in the Room". The album's title track, another one of these singles also cracked the Top 30 on the U.S. chart.

Track listing

1. "One Good Reason" (Carrack, Chris Difford) 3:19
2. "When You Walk In The Room" (Jackie DeShannon) 3:31
3. "Button Off My Shirt" (Billy Livsey, Graham Lyle) 3:46
4. "Give Me A Chance" (Carrack) 4:51
5. "Double It Up" 3:44
6. "Don't Shed a Tear" (Rob Friedman^[3], Eddie Schwartz) 4:55
7. "Fire With Fire" (Carrack, Christopher Neil) 4:00
8. "Here I Am" 4:00
9. "Collrane" (Carrack, Neil) 4:41
10. "(Do I Figure) In Your Life" 2:20

Production

• Produced By Christopher Neil
• Engineers: Simon Hurrell & Pete Woodroffe

Personnel

• Paul Carrack: Lead vocal
• Tim Renwick: Guitars
• Paul "Wix" Wickens: Keyboards
• Peter Van Hooke: Drums
• Frank Ricotti: Percussion
• Jackie Rawe, Linda Taylor: Backing vocals

References