Matt Bianco (album)

Matt Bianco
Studio album by Matt Bianco
Released 1986
Recorded 1985-1986
P.W.L. Studios, Workhouse, Marquee, Mayfair, Sarm West: recording;
The Borough, P.W.L. Studios:
digital mixing;
CBS Studios: mastering.
Genre Jazz, pop, soul, dance, Latin pop
Length 42:49 (LP)
44:55 (CD)
Label WEA
Producer Mark Reilly
(production and lyrics)
Mark Fisher
(production/brass arranger)
Phil Harding for P.W.L.
(production/sound engineering)
Tim Young (mastering)
Matt Bianco chronology

Whose Side Are You On?
(1984)		 Matt Bianco
(1986)		 Indigo
(1988)
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Matt Bianco was the second album by the British jazz/pop/soul band Matt Bianco, released in 1986 for WEA. For this album, the band's line-up was made up of vocalists Mark Reilly and Jenny Evans, and musician Mark Fisher.

Album background and chart history

Jenny Evans and Mark Fisher were brought in after the departure of Polish singer Basia Trzetrzelewska and keyboard player Danny White, who left the original trio to establish a solo career for the female singer under the name of Basia.

Evans would leave Matt Bianco shortly after this album, but Fisher would come to be a long-term member of the group. Fisher, a keyboardist, composer, and studio wizard, contributed a more contemporary sound to the band compared to that of the early Matt Bianco. The use of synthesizers increased notably: Yamaha's DX-7 can be heard providing the slap bass in most songs, but the choice of noted studio musicians remained consistent for this album, with Ronnie Ross being the most prominent example.

In terms of its chart position in the United Kingdom, this album was more successful than the debut album for the group, reaching #26. It also spun off three chart singles, although the only one to make the top 50 was "Yeh Yeh". "Yeh Yeh" was actually issued as a single about six months prior to the release of this album in September, 1985. A cover version of a song which had been a UK Number One for Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames in 1965, Matt Bianco's own version of "Yeh Yeh" got to a respectable #13, staying in the British charts for 10 weeks.

The other two singles from this album, "Just Can't Stand It" and "Dancing in the Street", were both released in 1986, and only charted for 2 and 3 weeks, at #66 and #64 respectively.

After completing this album, Matt Bianco took a 13-piece band on a European tour that saw them perform in front of an audience of more than 250,000 attendees in total.

Track listing

The CD and LP versions of this album feature a minor difference: "Yeh Yeh" appears in its 12" Dance Mix on the CD and on some LP editions, while the 7" version only appears on some vinyl records. Meanwhile, both the 7" and 12" versions are featured on some (but not all) cassette editions of the album.

  1. "Yeh Yeh" (Single Version) - 3:17 (on some LP editions only)
    "Yeh Yeh" (12" Dance Mix) - 5:23 (on CD edition and on some LP editions)
  2. "Dancing in the Street" - 3:56
  3. "Undercover" - 4:32
  4. "Fly by Night" - 3:50
  5. "Smooth" - 4:37
  6. "I Wonder" - 3:55
  7. "Just Can't Stand It" - 3:54
  8. "Summer Song" - 5:34
  9. "Sweetest Love Affair" - 3:43
  10. "Up Front" - 5:31

Singles from the album

Credits

Band and production

Additional musicians

Other staff

References

External links