The Best Years of Our Lives (album)
Encyclopedia
The Best Years of Our Lives is an album
by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel
released in March 1975. It was their first album that used Harley's name ahead of the band (the band was previously known simply as Cockney Rebel). The album contains the band's biggest hit, the million selling "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)
".
The album was recorded
and mixed at the EMI Studios, Abbey Road
, London
and Air Studios, London during November and December 1974. Allmusic journalist
, Donald A. Guarisco notes, "By his third album, Steve Harley had developed a strong grasp of how to combine his artistic ambitions with strongly crafted pop tunes.... The Best Years of Our Lives [was] the most successful album of his mid 1970s heyday.
.
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel are an English rock band from the early 1970s. Their music covers a range of styles from pop to progressive rock. Over the years they have had five albums in the UK Albums Chart and twelve singles in the UK Singles Chart.-Career:...
released in March 1975. It was their first album that used Harley's name ahead of the band (the band was previously known simply as Cockney Rebel). The album contains the band's biggest hit, the million selling "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)
Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)
"Make Me Smile " is a song written and recorded by Steve Harley. It was originally recorded by his band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel on the album The Best Years of Our Lives and released as a single in 1975...
".
The album was recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
and mixed at the EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Air Studios, London during November and December 1974. Allmusic journalist
Music journalism
Music journalism is criticism and reportage about music. It began in the eighteenth century as comment on what is now thought of as 'classical music'. This aspect of music journalism, today often referred to as music criticism , comprises the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of...
, Donald A. Guarisco notes, "By his third album, Steve Harley had developed a strong grasp of how to combine his artistic ambitions with strongly crafted pop tunes.... The Best Years of Our Lives [was] the most successful album of his mid 1970s heyday.
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Steve HarleySteve Harley
Steve Harley is an English singer and songwriter, best known for his work with the 1970s rock group Cockney Rebel, with whom he still occasionally tours .-Biography:As a child, Harley suffered from polio, spending four years in hospital up to the...
.
- "Introducing the Best Years" - 1:07
- "The Mad, Mad Moonlight" - 4:30
- "Mr. Raffles" - 4:33
- "It Wasn't Me" - 6:02
- "Panorama" - 5:38
- "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)"Make Me Smile " is a song written and recorded by Steve Harley. It was originally recorded by his band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel on the album The Best Years of Our Lives and released as a single in 1975...
" - 4:01 - "Back to the Farm" - 5:53
- "49th Parallel" - 3:13
- "The Best Years of Our Lives" - 5:46
Personnel
- Steve HarleySteve HarleySteve Harley is an English singer and songwriter, best known for his work with the 1970s rock group Cockney Rebel, with whom he still occasionally tours .-Biography:As a child, Harley suffered from polio, spending four years in hospital up to the...
- vocalsHuman voiceThe human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
, producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Jim CreganJim CreganJim Cregan, born James Cregan, 9 March 1946, Yeovil, Somerset, England is an English rock guitarist and bassist who best known for his associations with Family, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel and Rod Stewart. Cregan is a former husband of the singer Linda Lewis and worked with her as a record producer...
- guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists... - George Ford - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals - Duncan Mackay - synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, Hammond organHammond organThe Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
, electric pianoElectric pianoAn electric piano is an electric musical instrument.Electric pianos produce sounds mechanically and the sounds are turned into electrical signals by pickups. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument, but electro-mechanical. The earliest electric pianos were invented...
, clavinetClavinetA Clavinet is an electrically amplified keyboard instrument manufactured by the Hohner company. It is essentially an electronically amplified clavichord, analogous to an electric guitar. Its distinctive bright staccato sound has appeared particularly in funk, disco, rock, and reggae songs.Various...
, elkaElkaELKA or Elka may refer to one of the following:*An Italian Synthesizer manufacturer, now defunct. Notable units include; ELKA Synthex, ELKA Rhapsody, ELKA X-55, and the ELKA MKxx series of MIDI controllers . Notable customers include Jean Michel Jarre, Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze and, Supertramp...
, grand piano, violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello.... - Stuart ElliottStuart Elliott (drummer)Stuart Elliott is an English rock drummer, who has played along with David Byron, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, Al Stewart, The Alan Parsons Project, Kate Bush, Paul McCartney and Keats....
- drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, marimbaMarimbaThe marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It consists of a set of wooden keys or bars with resonators. The bars are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. The keys are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys ... - Tina Charles - backing vocals
- Martin Jay - backing vocals
- Yvonne KeeleyYvonne KeeleyYvonne Keeley is a Dutch pop music singer. She is the sister of Patricia Paay. Her surname is often misspelt as Keely....
- backing vocals - Linda LewisLinda LewisLinda Lewis is an English vocalist, songwriter and Guitarist. Lewis is the oldest of six children two of whom also had singing careers...
- backing vocals - Liza Strike - backing vocals
- Alan ParsonsAlan ParsonsAlan Parsons is a British audio engineer, musician, and record producer. He was involved with the production of several significant albums, including The Beatles' Abbey Road and Let It Be, as well as Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon for which Pink Floyd credit him as an important contributor...
- producer, sound engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
, mixingRemixA remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song .... - Chris Blair - mastering
- Gary Edwards - tape operator
- Peter James - tape operator
- Mick RockMick RockMick Rock is a British photographer best known for his iconic shots of rock and roll legends such as Queen, David Bowie, Syd Barrett, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop and The Stooges, The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, Joan Jett, Talking Heads, Roxy Music, Crossfade, Thin Lizzy, Motley Crue, and Blondie...
- photographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
, sleeve art, sleeve design - George HardieGeorge Hardie (artist)George Hardie is a graphic designer, illustrator and educator, best known for his work producing cover art for the albums of rock musicians and bands with the British art design group Hipgnosis....
- lettering - Alan ClaysonAlan ClaysonAlan Clayson is a singer-songwriter, who was popular in the late 1970s as leader of Clayson and the Argonauts...
- liner notes