Between the Lines was produced by the team Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) and was Donovan's last album for the SAW production team, as the following year saw him take the lead role in the West End musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Like his previous album, the title was taken from a line in one of the songs—in this case, the opening line of "When It's All Over" ("should have read between the lines..."), and also became the name of Donovan's autobiography, released in 2007.[3]
Donovan supported the album with a national tour of the UK and Ireland, titled the "Doin' Fine Tour", which began in June 1990.[4]
Between the Lines was re-issued in 2010 by Edsel records as a double CD set. In a review of its re-release, Music Week said this it was "arguably better" than his first album.[5]
Critical reception
In 2018, Mark Elliot of Classic Pop considered Between the Lines as the 11th best album ever produced by Stock Aitken Waterman; he added that it "contained some of [Donovan's] strongest numbers", including "vintage covers" and "more contemporary tracks", and underlined "Another Night" as being an "ABBA pastiche" and the best track from the album.[6]
Chart performance
Between the Lines reached number two in the UK charts,[7] and was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry.[1] The album features five UK Top 30 singles: "When You Come Back to Me" (UK #2), "Hang On to Your Love" (UK #8), "Another Night" (UK #18), "Rhythm of the Rain" (UK #9) and "I'm Doin' Fine" (UK #22), released between 1989 and 1990.[7] The album was far less successful in Donovan's native Australia, where it peaked at no.77 in December 1990.[8]
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