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Chris de Burgh - Spanish Train & Other Stories [IMPORT] Audio CD

A fair review of the Chris de Burgh "Spanish Train & Other Stories [IMPORT]" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Chris de Burgh reviews here, or go back to the Chris de Burgh tabs.

Chris de Burgh Band: Chris de Burgh
Title: Spanish Train & Other Stories [IMPORT]
Rating:
Release Date: 1987-09-21
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Spanish Train 2: Lonely Sky 3: This Song for You 4: Patricia the Stripper 5: Spaceman Came Travelling 6: I'm Going Home 7: Painter 8: Old Friend 9: Tower 10: Just Another Poor Boy

A TRUE MASTERPIECE...
. . long before Chris became a wedding singer (via "Lady In Red"), he put out this terrific recording where every track's a winner - a big thumbs up to the producer (Robin Geoffrey-Cable or something sounding similarly blue-blooded, if memory serves me correctly), who I can't remember presiding over any other recording after this one.

Two things: 1) where's the beautiful album cover artwork featuring a train in the night; 2) when will a remastered version be available?.


My First Album
. . actually, to clarify the title of this review, it is the first album I ever had bought for me, or to clarify further, the first album I ever asked for.
Let me take you back to 1979. . I was turning 13 and had first heard this album at scout camp during the summer. I was blown away by the songs. . . God and the Devil playing Cards, women who stripped (at 12, going on 13 it was really erotic) songs about WW1 and love and murder and spacemen.
Therefore, for my birthday in the September I asked my parents for 'Spanish Train by Christy Burke!.
Thankfully someone in the record shop knew what they were asking for and they arrived home with the album.
I played the album so much that both my parents ended up knowing all the words of every song (and they still do!).
As most other reviewers have mentioned, Chris is remembered by most people for the Lady In Red, but this is the album that will always define Chris De Burgh for me.
Over the years I have probably started to dislike some of the songs, especially Spaceman (na,na,na,na,na,na chorus kinda grates at this stage), however I still have the original album. I also have it on tape and on CD, which is probably the best way of explainign how good this is.


An incredible work
He's a poet. The problem with marketing someone like Chris DeBurgh in America is that he's not a pop singer. (A poet with Celine Dion-like levels of beltishness, but a poet nonetheless. ) As a result, he was hideously misrepresented by his one big hit more than arguably any other singer in history, and his career never recovered.

Which is just too damn bad, because his poetry, in full force in Spanish Train And Other Stories, is a work of art. He can be funny (Patricia The Stripper), poignant (This Song For You), Optimisic (I'm Going Home), and even incredibly melodic and breathtakingly original at the same time (A Spaceman Came Travelling, and it's a CRIME that this doesn't get any airtime in the holiday season).

This album definitely isn't for everybody. DeBurgh makes no concessions to mainstream thought or religious squeamishness (yes, the devil cheats God, get over it). And he gets pretty dang loud, too. But if you approach with an open mind. . . and an appetite for riveting stories. . . you're going to love this, guaranteed.


DeBugh's at his Best
The song writing on this album is amazing . . powerful lyrics make this a classic album. Chris DeBurgh's ability to tell a story in a 3 minute song occurs on several tracks . . . "Spanish Train" is a classic, and "Spaceman Came Travelling" is still played at Christmas time on the radio, a different twist about
what happened on that special Christmas eve. My favorite is "Lonely Sky", a sad ballad, but written well. "Old Friend" and
"I'm Going Home" are also beautiful songs about friendship and the important things in life, and everybody knows "Patricia the Stripper", a fun song about a stripper who says "God made her a sinner, just to keep fat men thinner". In all, a classic work that should be in your C. D. collection!.


A True Classic
The lyrics are as brilliant as they are varied and in each the music matches the mood of the story perfectly. Every track on this album has a story and a moral. Some of his best and most enduring songs had their debut on this album which I have loved on vinyl and CD since the 70's. Buy it. . . you won't regret it.


You can see a complete list of all Chris de Burgh discography, or go back to the Chris de Burgh tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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