Yes You Can (album)

Yes You Can
Studio album by Steve Harley
Released	1992 (Europe) 1993 (UK)
Genre	Pop rock
Label	CTE (Europe) Food For Thought Records (UK)
Producer	Steve Harley (tracks 1-10) Matt Butler (tracks 2-10) Mickie Most (tracks 1, 3)
Steve Harley chronology
Greatest Hits (1987)Greatest Hits1987 Yes You Can (1992) Poetic Justice (1996)Poetic Justice1996

Yes You Can is the third studio album by British singer-songwriter Steve Harley, released in Europe in 1992, and in the UK in 1993.

The album was Harley's first new album of new material since 1979's The Candidate. It featured a mixture of older songs first written and recorded in the 1980s and newer material. The album was produced by Harley and Matt Butler, except "Rain in Venice", which was produced Mickie Most, Harley and Butler, and "Irresistible", which was produced by Most and Harley. The album was mastered by Steve Rooke and Ian Jones at Abbey Road Studios in London.^[1]

Background

Throughout the 1980s, Harley released a handful of singles which either became minor hits or chart failures. In early 1984, he signed a record deal with Mickie Most's RAK Studios and began working at RAK Studios in London to record a new solo album. Some of the tracks recorded for the project included "Sophistication", "Irresistible", "Rain in Venice", "New-Fashioned Way", "The Lighthouse", "Star for a Week", "Promises Promises" and the 1970 Edwin Starr song "Oh How Happy". The song "Irresistible" was released as a single in 1985 and was remixed the following year to be issued as a single again. The 1986 version's sleeve announced the upcoming album El Gran Senor, however before it was released, RAK went bankrupt and the album was shelved.^[2]

In 1989, Harley re-emerged with a UK and European tour with a new line-up of Cockney Rebel. Before the tour, Harley and ex-Cockney Rebel members Duncan Mackay and Jim Cregan entered Point Studios in London to write and record four new songs; "Dancing on the Telephone", "When I'm with You", "The Alibi" and "Limbs of Man". The first three songs were performed live on the 1989 tour, while "Dancing on the Telephone" and "The Alibi" would later appear on Yes You Can. During the same year, Harley announced that an album of new material would be recorded in the summer and released in the autumn that year.^[3] In 1990, with the album yet to be released, he revealed that work on the new album was almost done. However, he was unsure when it would be released as no label had been finalised. He listed the likely inclusions of the album as being: "The Lighthouse", "Star for a Week", "Promises", "Victim of Love", "Dancing on the Telephone" and "Not Alone Anymore" - the latter being a cover of the 1988 song by the supergroup Traveling Wilburys.^[4]

Yes You Can surfaced in 1992 as a European-only release on the CTE label. The album featured a mix of older songs dating from the El Gran Senor period, as well as some newer tracks. Of the album's ten tracks, two were lifted from El Gran Senor; the 1986 extended remix of "Irresistible" and "Rain in Venice". The remaining songs were newer recordings, most of which were recorded at the White House Studios in Bures, Suffolk, while several were remixed at Metropolis Studios. "New-Fashioned Way" had originally been recorded for El Gran Senor as an up-tempo track, while "The Lighthouse" used different instrumentation including a saxophone solo (as opposed to the violin solo on Yes You Can). Although at one point Harley had decided to drop the rest of the El Gran Senor album, in 1991, he reworked "New-Fashioned Way" for his concerts. This led him to re-record the song for Yes You Can. Other 1980s recordings such as "Oh, How Happy" and "Sophistication" were left unreleased. "Star for a Week", one the oldest songs, had first been played live in 1979, while "Victim of Love" and "Fire in the Night" were two of the newer songs, written while on tour.^[5]

In July 1992, Harley revealed to Record Collector: "I've just released a new album called Yes You Can in Europe, but it's not out in this country. I'm very proud of it. It sounds like a hundred and fifty grand album, and I've spent about a quarter of that on it. Because we were so well rehearsed we went in and played. I do use state of the art equipment. I've been 19 years in the business, as a professional, so I know a few tricks."^[6] In effort to promote the 1992 European release of the album, Harley embarked on the "Yes You Can" tour. In March, he played various dates across Europe, followed by a set of UK dates in May.^[7] In Europe, "Irresistible" was released for the third and final time as a single.^[8]

UK release

Speaking to Record Collector in 1992, Harley was asked about the possibility of EMI releasing the album in the UK. Harley said:

"I don't know what they'll think of it. I just don't bloody know what they think of me in this country. I tell you what, it's not going to do the rounds. I'm too long in the tooth to suffer that. I don't like being rejected. This is a class record, I'm proud of it. I've worked years on it. I won't write those songs again. There are a couple on there that mean a lot to me and I want them to be heard by people. I have my own company, that's who paid for it. But I can't release it. I need a major label in this country to set it up and promote it properly. I want it to be with a major, not a small label. But it will only be offered one by one to people in a position of power. I don't want to be rejected by a guy who's scared of losing his job. They won't take risks. I would be a risk for British record companies. I imagine that a major label in this country might pick the album up if it wasn't, well, telephone numbers. And on the back of what? A hit compilation album? But I'll play 21 shows from next week onwards, and they'll all sell out. I'm not seventeen but this is a class record, and it could still sell in enormous quantities. It's very personal, but universal. It's very philosophical and asks a lot of questions. But what's the point? I don't want to talk about the album because no one's heard it."^[6]

During 1993, Yes You Can was released in the UK by Food for Thought Records. To tie in with the UK release of the album, "Star for a Week (Dino)" was released as a promotional single.^[9] The album did not make an appearance in the UK Albums Chart.

Recording

All tracks were recorded at the White House Studios in Bures, Suffolk, except "Irresistible" (recorded at RAK Studios) and "Rain in Venice" (recorded at RAK Studios and Metropolis Studios). "Rain in Venice", "New-Fashioned Way", "The Lighthouse", "The Alibi" and "Promises" were remixed at Metropolis Studios, while "Victim of Love" and "Star for a Week (Dino)", "Fire in the Night", "Dancing on the Telephone" were remixed at White House Studios. "Irresistible" was remixed at Air Studios.^[10]

Release

The album was first released within Europe in 1992 on CD via CTE. It was marketed and distributed by Cte GmbH, Licensee, and manufactured in Switzerland.^[11] In 1993, it was released via Food For Thought Records on CD and cassette in the UK with a re-arranged track listing.^[12] In 1995, it was re-issued via Koch International and within the UK on 22 April 2002, it would be re-issued by Comeuppance, which was based on the European version.^[13] On 6 October 2003, Voiceprint issued the album limitedly as a part of their "2 for One Series" along with Harley's 1979 studio album The Candidate.^[14]

The album's European cover featured a hand-drawn portrait of Harley. The 1993 UK release featured a futuristic blue cover instead of the original European artwork.^[15]

Track listing

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[16]
24.000 Dischi (Italian Dalai editore book)	[17]

Dave Thompson of AllMusic retrospectively reviewed the album, writing:

"It's a sad state of affairs, but the best of Yes You Can was never going to make it onto a studio recording. Rather, it resides in the live environment where the songs almost unanimously came to life. In the studio, the emotion pales, and Harley's energies flag accordingly. There are some heartwarming moments on this album. "Irresistable [sic]" very nearly is, "The Alibi" is a rousing number, and "Star for a Week" has a fragile soul that even the lifeless accompaniment cannot totally extinguish. Elsewhere, however, "Victim of Love," is simultaneously little improvement on those soulless ditties that consumed Harley's mid-late '70s nadir, while both "Dancing on the Telephone" and "Rain in Venice" are hamstrung by his continued insistence on playing word games – and his continued inability to win them all. Yes You Can is not the revival for which fans had been hoping for. But excuse the inadequacies and overlook the lifelessness, and the core of the songs remains sound and proud."^[16]

Personnel

• Steve Harley – vocals (all tracks), 12-string acoustic guitar (track 9), harmonica (tracks 2, 9), producer (all tracks)
• Harvey Hinsley – guitar (track 1)
• Jim Cregan – acoustic guitar (track 3)
• Robin Le Mesurier – electric guitar (track 3)
• Alan Darby – guitar (tracks 4-5, 7, 10)
• Rick Driscoll – rhythm guitar (track 5), guitar (track 9)
• Robbie Gladwell – guitar (tracks 6, 8)
• Nick Pynn – violin (tracks 4, 7), rhythm guitar (track 8), acoustic guitar (track 10)
• Barry Wickens – acoustic guitar (track 2), violin (tracks 2, 5, 9)
• Adrian Lee – keyboards (track 1)
• Duncan Mackay – keyboards (track 3)
• Ian Nice - keyboards (tracks 2, 4-10)
• Kevin Powell – bass (tracks 2, 5, 9)
• Billy Dyer - bass (tracks 4, 7-8, 10)
• Mark Brzezicki - drums (track 1)
• Stuart Elliott – drums (tracks 2, 5, 9)
• Dave Mattacks – drums (track 3)
• Paul Francis – drums (tracks 4, 6-7, 10), hand-snare (track 8)
• Mickie Most – producer (tracks 1, 3)
• Matt Butler – producer (tracks 2-10), engineer (tracks 2-10)
• Mike Nocito – engineer (tracks 1, 3)
• Simon Smart – engineer (tracks 2, 5, 9)
• Stuart Breed - remixing (track 1)
• Ian Jones – mastering
• Steve Rooke – mastering
• Kevin Williamson – illustrations

References