Four Chords & Several Years Ago

Four Chords & Several Years Ago
Studio album by Huey Lewis & the News
Publication (s)	May 10, 1994
admission	1994
Label (s)	Elektra Records
Format (s)	LP , MC , CD
Title (number)	17th
running time	48:52
occupation	Singing : Huey Lewis Bass : Mario Cipollina Guitar : Chris Hayes Guitar , saxophone : Johnny Colla Keyboard : Sean Hopper Drums : Bill Gibson
production	Stewart Levine, Huey Lewis & the News
chronology Hard at Play 1991 Four Chords & Several Years Ago Plan B 2001

Four Chords & Several Years Ago is the seventh studio album by the US rock band Huey Lewis & the News , released in May 1994 . It is a pure cover album , with which the band traced their musical roots, the rhythm and blues . This was also expressed in the recording technique used.

background

Huey Lewis & The News were with the four albums since 1983 released Sports (1983), Fore! (1986), Small World (1988) and Hard at Play (1991) had been very successful in the USA, Great Britain and Germany and had received numerous sales awards , especially in their home country . The band's original music label , Chrysalis Records , was sold to EMI in 1991 , the album Hard at Play was released under the EMI label, had reached # 27 on the US album charts and was awarded a gold record. In Germany, the album reached number 14. The position in the US charts was the worst that an album of the band had achieved since the release of the band's second album, Picture This, (1982). On Picture This was already cover version of a rhythm-and-blues songs, namely Buzz Buzz Buzz from 1957, have been included.

The group switched to the Elektra Records label . The first album produced for Elektra was to be Four Chords & Several Years Ago , which the group recorded in the studio “The Site” in San Rafael . All songs were recorded using original recording technology ( amplifiers , microphones , tape recorders ) from the 1950s. The individual songs were also recorded live. This meant that not soundtrack for soundtrack and instrument for instrument, but each song was recorded jointly by all musicians involved.

In addition to Dr. John , who played the piano as a guest musician for the song Mother in Law and sang the recurring title line of the song, also took part in the recordings with Marvin McFadden ( trumpet ), who is now a permanent member of the band. The backing vocals were provided by Linda Tillery and Jeanie Tracy.

The songs Some Kind of Wonderful and But It's Alright were released as singles in 1994 , followed by Little Bitty Pretty One in 1995 . After the tour for the album, founding member and bassist Mario Cipollina left the group.

reception

Chart positions Explanation of the data

Albums

Four Chords & Several Years Ago   US 55 06/04/1994 (21 weeks)   DE 46 05/23/1994 (9 weeks)   CH 21st 06/05/1994 (4 weeks)

Musikexpress wrote that Four Chords & Several Years Ago is a "collection of evergreen songs from the childhood days of rock 'n' roll, music between rockabilly bliss and rhythm and blues fire." But although the band "adheres to the original templates" think, the individual songs developed "enough bite to survive in the 90s."

“Stereoplay” was of the opinion that Huey Lewis promised “great party atmosphere” with his new album. The master of Goodtime Rock'n'Roll "reached deep into the oldie box" and pepped up "classics from the Rhythm & Blues era". The accompanying band, which has remained unchanged for years, played a major role in this and produced a “lively, lively sound” that made Huey Lewis audibly comfortable.

Track list

Four Chords & Several Years Ago
No.	title	Songwriter	Guest musician	length
1.	Shake, Rattle and Roll ( Big Joe Turner )	Charles E. Calhoun		3:07
2.	Blue Monday (Fats Domino)	Dave Bartholomew , Fats Domino		2:41
3.	Searching for My Love	Bobby Moore		2:50
4th	Some Kind of Wonderful	John Ellison		3:06
5.	But It's Alright ( JJ Jackson )	JJ Jackson, Pierre Tubbs		2:54
6th	If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody	Rudy Clark		2:32
7th	Mother in Law ( Ernie K-Doe )	Allen Toussaint	Dr. John (piano, vocals)	2:43
8th.	Little Bitty Pretty One ( Thurston Harris )	Robert Byrd		2:04
9.	Good Morning Little School Girl	Sonny Boy Williamson I.		4:02
10.	Stagger Lee	Harold Logan, Lloyd Price		2:36
11.	She Shot a Hole in My Soul	Mac Gayden, Chuck Neese		2:38
12.	Surely I Love You	James Bracken, Marion Oliver		2:51
13.	You left the water running	Oscar Franck, Rick Hall, Dan Penn		3:96
14th	Your Cash Ain't Nothin 'But Trash	Charles E. Calhoun		2:57
15th	Function at the junction	Edward Holland, Jr., Shorty Long		3:13
16.	Better to have and not need	Don Covay , Erskin Watts		3:13
17th	Going Down Slow ( St. Louis Jimmy Oden )	St. Louis Jimmy Oden		2:00
Overall length:				48:52

Concert video

Under the title Four Chords & Several Years Ago - The Concert , a 65-minute VHS recording of a concert was released on December 5, 1994 (USA: November 1, 1994) in which the band played ten classics of rhythm and blues and some played his own hits. Sam Moore ( I Thank You ) and Lloyd Price ( Personality, Just Because ) appeared as guests .

Web links

• Official website of the band
• Four Chords & Several Years Ago - The Concert, YouTube, accessed May 9, 2016

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Chart sources (albums): DE / AT / CH / UK / US , accessed November 23, 2012.
2. ↑ Source awards (searchable databases): DE / US , accessed on November 23, 2012.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Liner Notes for Four Chords & Several Years Ago, CD booklet
4. ↑ Charts DE Charts CH Charts UK Charts US
5. ↑ Musikexpress, issue 06.1994, page 50
6. ↑ Stereoplay, issue 06.1994, no page number