In the '80s and '90s, England's dance music team Stock, Aitken & Waterman was often accused of being too slick for its own good, and favoring style over substance.
But the producers/songwriters (also known for their work with Dead or Alive and Samantha Fox) should definitely be proud of their work on fellow Briton Rick Astley's often captivating debut album, Whenever You Need Somebody.
While the high-tech production is very '80s, Astley's soul/pop/dance music approach is very much a production of the '70s -- sort of the Average White Band meets Philly soul/disco meets Tom Jones.
The best dance music works both on and off the dancefloor, and this certainly holds true on such slick yet gritty fare as "Together Forever," "Never Gonna Give You Up," and "Don't Say Goodbye." There are a few weak moments -- the lackluster "No More Looking for Love" being a glaring example -- but overall, this CD proved Astley to be a welcome addition to the British R&B scene.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Whenever You Need SomebodyMatt Aitken, Mike Stock, Pete Waterman | Rick Astley | Play | 03:53 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | It Would Take a Strong, Strong ManMatt Aitken, Mike Stock, Pete Waterman | Rick Astley | Play | 03:40 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | The Love Has GoneRick Astley | Rick Astley | Play | 04:19 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | Don't Say GoodbyeMatt Aitken, Harry Pratt, Mike Stock, Theodore Wang, Pete Waterman, Theodore Wiggs | Rick Astley | Play | 04:09 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | Slipping AwayRick Astley | Rick Astley | Play | 03:52 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | No More Looking for LoveRick Astley | Rick Astley | Play | 03:13 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | You Move MeRick Astley, Scott "Top Ten" Kempner | Rick Astley | Play | 03:42 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | When I Fall in LoveEdward Heyman, Victor Young | Rick Astley | Play | 03:03 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | Together Forever (Lover's Leap Remix) | Rick Astley | Play | 03:20 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 33 mins | 76 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matt Aitken | Composer, Guitar, Keyboards |
| 2 | Rick Astley | Composer, Guitar, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 3 | Gary Barnacle | Saxophone |
| 4 | Ian Curnow | Fairlight, Keyboards, Producer, Programming |
| 5 | Peter Day | Assistant |
| 6 | Gordon Dennis | Assistant |
| 7 | Mike Duffy | Engineer |
| 8 | Peter Hammond | Mixing |
| 9 | Phil Harding | Engineer, Mixing, Producer |
| 10 | Karen Hewitt | Engineer |
| 11 | Edward Heyman | Composer |
| 12 | Gordon Jenkins | Arranger |
| 13 | Scott "Top Ten" Kempner | Composer |
| 14 | Jonathan King | Assistant |
| 15 | Dee Lewis | Vocals (Background) |
| 16 | Shirley Lewis | Vocals (Background) |
| 17 | A. Linn | Drums |
| 18 | Mark McGuire | Engineer, Mixing |
| 19 | Mae McKenna | Vocals (Background) |
| 20 | Harry Pratt | Composer |
| 21 | Suzanne Rhatigan | Vocals (Background) |
| 22 | Mike Stock | Composer, Keyboards |
| 23 | Theodore Wang | Composer |
| 24 | Daize Washbourn | Drums, Keyboards, Producer |
| 25 | Pete Waterman | Composer |
| 26 | Theodore Wiggs | Composer |
| 27 | Victor Young | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |