Audio CD review:
Chris de Burgh - The Getaway

Chris de Burgh - The Getaway

Band: Chris de Burgh Title: The Getaway Rating: Release Date: 25 October, 1990 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Don't Pay The Ferryman 2: Living On The Island 3: Crying And Laughing 4: I'm Counting On You 5: The Getaway 6: Ship To Shore 7: All The Love I Have Inside 8: Borderline 9: Where Peaceful Waters Flow 10: The Revolution 11: Light A Fire 12: Liberty

Customer Reviews Not his most famous, but his best Fans of de Burgh's early-career acoustic ballads and period stories might cite "Spanish Train" as their favorite. Fans of Chris de Burgh's adult-oriented pop will often cite "Into the Light" (with its massive international hit "The Lady in Red") as their favorite de Burgh album. But for me, "The Getaway" is the best. More assured and less precious than his early work but more evocative and alive than his later releases (which tend to be overproduced), "The Getaway" is a perfect balance of de Burgh's many sounds and interests. Three tracks are straight-ahead, bright-sounding, energetic rock and roll: "Don't Pay the Ferryman" (his first US hit, which admittedly may seem a bit dated now), the title track, and "Ship to Shore"--the strongest and tightest of the trio, with a very well-placed horn section). (These represent a sound he would fully explore in "Man on the Line," but as the albums that followed grew more and more reliant on synthesizers, the energy of his rock numbers dissipated. ) His art-rock and period interests are represented by the three part epic "Revolution/Light a Fire/Liberty," whose content is obvious from the titles, building energy in part one, exploding in part two, and settling down to a quiet acoustic sound in the last segment. While it's not quite as strong as earlier epics, it still succeeds. The rest of the album consists of the light-hearted, light-rock but very catchy "Living on the Island" and some of the best ballads of his career. These include "Counting on You" (written for his new-born child), "Where Peaceful Waters Flow," and the melancholy anti-war "Borderline. " All have become staples of his concerts and greatest-hit collections. "The Getaway" was my introduction to Chris de Burgh, and twenty-two years later, it's still the best place to start. . An Extremely Pleasant Surprise Skeptical as I was, (I knew the song "Don't Pay The Ferryman", but had no idea who Chris DeBurgh was), I popped it into my tape deck and proceeded to be pleasantly surprised. Back in 1985, my friend Wendy lent me this cassette by Chris DeBurgh, an album she knew nothing about when she bought it except that she liked the cover, but it was such a good album, she was lending it out to all her friends. . . Serendipity had brought this beautiful, romantic, provocative album into my tape collection. I really enjoy the fact that these songs, for the most part, very well hold their own listened to individually, while at the same time fit together as a whole album very nicely. The songs are very well written, especially the romantic ones, which I suppose is a specialty of Chris DeBurgh (i. e. , "Lady In Red"). In that vein, "All The Love I Have Inside" and "I'm Counting On You" are really pretty songs. The song "Where Peaceful Waters Flow" and the mini-song suite consisting of "Revolution", "Light A Fire" and "Liberty" beautifully evoke the poignancy of peaceful people being forced through oppression to military solution for freedom's sake. These songs are the heart of the album and part of what makes it so good. . . Oh, and there's the hit "Don't Pay The Ferryman" which is probably all most people remember from this album. . . It is a very good song, but not, by far, the best on the album. "Ship To Shore" is a really good song too. I suppose the one drawback for this album is the fact that a couple of songs just do not do it for me personally - they are just rather ordinary. . . not necessarily bad songs, just unexciting. . . These are "Living On The Island" and "Crying and Laughing". But otherwise, this is a really good album, one which at the same time takes you places and provokes thought. Almost every song is beautifully written and sung. . . HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!. The Hook I played DPTF over and over again before finally deciding to flip the single over and hear what was on the other side. A fan of medieval history, historical and high fantasy fiction, Don't Pay the Ferryman, with its video and mythological/Shakespearean references, caused me to spend what little money I had as a sophomore in high school (1982) and buy the 45. And from the very first "water drops" of All The Love I Have Inside, I found myself an immediate Chris De Burgh fan. That night I scrabbled together my pennies and nickels (okay, I'm dramatizing here, but not by much!) and begged my Mom to take me back to the mall so that I could buy the album. I brought it home, and began a love affair with his music. DeBurgh tells stories with his music, and being an avid reader, it was easy to find an appreciation for his music. A romantic sap, it was also easy to relate to his ballads, which he writes with authority. I'll go back to this CD from time to time, and I find the songs that I still listen to the most are: Ship to Shore and All the Love I Have Inside -- passing strange that the song that served as the hook (Don't Pay the Ferryman) doesn't elicit the same feelings now that it did then. Not that I don't still enjoy the song -- far from it! -- but those other two have passed the test of time. . You can see a complete list of all Chris de Burgh discography, or go back to the Chris de Burgh tabs