| Hold On to Me | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 27 September 1988 | |||
| Recorded | 1987−88 | |||
| Studio | Sing Sing Studios | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 43:36 | |||
| Label | CBS Records | |||
| Producer | Jeff Burstin, Joe Camilleri | |||
| The Black Sorrows chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Hold on to Me | ||||
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Hold On to Me is the fifth studio album by Australian rock band The Black Sorrows. [1] [2] It's the group's first album to feature the vocals of Vika and Linda Bull.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
Rudyard Kennedy from AllMusic gave the album a positive review saying; "[Joe] Camilleri and company may borrow many of the same ingredients that James Morrison uses to make his music -- blues, soul, and R&B, as well as flashes of gospel, country, folk, and even Brill building pop -- but the trick is in mixing those well-worn ingredients together and coming up with something new. That's where Black Sorrows show that they're fit to be mentioned in the same breath with artists like Van Morrison and the Rolling Stones. Every song on Hold On to Me sounds like it could be a classic (and classy) radio staple, without sounding like a copy of anything else. Not only is Hold On to Me's literate songwriting (by Camilleri and lyricist Nick Smith) superb, but the playing is also uniformly excellent (and, at times, positively inspired), and vocalists Camilleri and Vika and Linda Bull are soulful and gritty throughout. Hold On to Me deserves to be remembered as more than just an Australian classic -- this is a record that deserves to be heard and hailed by music fans the world over."
All tracks are written by Joe Camilleri and Nick Smith.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Chosen Ones" | 4:06 |
| 2. | "The Crack Up" | 3:24 |
| 3. | "Chained to the Wheel" | 4:00 |
| 4. | "In the Hands of the Enemy" | 4:33 |
| 5. | "Raise That Lantern" | 6:29 |
| 6. | "Hold on to Me" | 3:51 |
| 7. | "Glorybound" | 3:48 |
| 8. | "Fire Down Below" | 4:08 |
| 9. | "Sleep Through the Hurricane" | 4:46 |
| 10. | "The Story Never Changes" | 4:36 |
| 11. | "One Driver" | 3:19 |
| 12. | "Waiting for the Rain" | 5:03 |
| 13. | "Mercenary Heart" | 3:09 |
| 14. | "Kiss the Motherlode" | 5:02 |
| 15. | "Before the Shooting Starts" | 3:24 |
| 16. | "Safe in the Arms of Love" | 3:02 |
| Chart (1988/89) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA) [4] | 7 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [5] | 36 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [6] | 5 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [7] | 18 |
| Chart (1989) | Rank |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA) [8] | 14 |
| Australian Artist Albums (ARIA) [9] | 4 |
Joseph Vincent Camilleri, aka Jo Jo Zep or Joey Vincent, is a Maltese Australian singer-songwriter and musician. Camilleri has recorded as a solo artist and as a member of Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons and The Black Sorrows. Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons' highest charting single was "Hit & Run" from June 1979, which peaked at #12; Jo Jo Zep's "Taxi Mary" peaked at No. 11 in September 1982; and The Black Sorrows top single, "Chained to the Wheel", peaked at No. 9 in March 1989.
Vika and Linda, also known as Vika and Linda Bull, are an Australian vocal duo consisting of Vika Susan Bull and her younger sister, Linda Rose Bull. They came to prominence after singing backing vocals in Joe Camilleri's band The Black Sorrows from 1988. They left that group early in 1994 to start their duo with a self-titled album appearing in June that year. The duo scored their first number 1 album in 2020, with their retrospective 'Akilotoa: Anthology (1994-2006).
The Black Sorrows are an Australian blues rock band formed in 1983 by mainstay vocalist Joe Camilleri, who also plays saxophone and guitar. Camilleri has used various line-ups to record 17 albums, with five reaching the top 20 on the ARIA Albums Charts: Hold on to Me, Harley and Rose, Better Times, The Chosen Ones - Greatest Hits and Lucky Charm. Their top 40 singles are "Chained to the Wheel", "Harley + Rose" and "Snake Skin Shoes".
Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons are an Australian blues and rock music band that features the singer, songwriter and saxophonist Joe Camilleri. The band was active in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and had several Australian chart hits including "Hit and Run", "Shape I'm In" and "All I Wanna Do". The Falcons dissolved in 1981 and the group's biggest Australian hit, 1982's "Taxi Mary", as well as the New Zealand top ten hit "Walk on By", were both credited simply to "Jo Jo Zep". In 1983, Camilleri and other members of the Falcons formed the Black Sorrows.
The Merri Soul Sessions or Paul Kelly Presents: The Merri Soul Sessions is the twentieth studio album by Australian musician, Paul Kelly, which was issued on 12 December 2014 on his own label, Gawdaggie Records, and distributed by Universal Music Australia. Kelly provided lead vocals on two of its eleven tracks, the rest featured vocals by either Clairy Browne, sisters Vika and Linda Bull, Kira Puru, or Dan Sultan. The album debuted at No. 17 on the ARIA Albums Chart.
Van Diemen's Land is a studio album by Australian singer–songwriter Russell Morris. It was released on 11 April 2014 by Fanfare, Ambition Records. The album peaked at number 4 on the ARIA Charts, becoming Morris' highest chart album in his career.
"Vika and Linda" is the debut studio album by Australia vocal duo Vika & Linda Bull. The album was released in May 1994 and debuted and peaked at number 7 on the Australian ARIA Charts in June 1994.
Princess Tabu is the second studio album by Australian vocal duo Vika & Linda Bull. The album was released in August 1996 and debuted and peaked at number 30 on the Australian ARIA Charts.
Australian vocal duo Vika and Linda have released six studio albums, two compilation albums, four live albums and 15 singles.
"Two Wings" is the third studio album by Australia vocal duo Vika & Linda Bull. The album was released in August 1999 and debuted and peaked at number 34 on the Australian ARIA Charts in September 1999.
Live & Acoustic is the first live album by Australian vocal duo Vika & Linda Bull. The album was recorded at The Continental Hotel in Melbourne and released in November 2000 on Mushroom Records. It was the duos final release on this label.
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Harley and Rose is the sixth studio album by Australian rock band The Black Sorrows. The album was released in September 1990 and peaked at number three on the ARIA Charts, becoming the band's first top five album. The album remained in the top 50 for 51 weeks.
Better Times is the seventh studio album by Australian rock band The Black Sorrows. The album was released in September 1992 and peaked at number 13 on the ARIA Charts, becoming the band's third consecutive top twenty album.
Lucky Charm is the eighth studio album by Australian rock act The Black Sorrows. Previously a band with a set line-up, for this album lead singer Joe Camilleri was the only constant from track to track, as he worked with 42 other musicians on the album.
Certified Blue is the fourteenth studio album by Australian rock band The Black Sorrows. The album was released in April 2014.
The Revelators is an Australian blues rock band formed in 1989 by Joe Camilleri, James Black, Joe Creighton and Peter Luscome. Jeff Burstin joined in 1990. In Camilleri's own words, their desire was to "blow out the serious days' work with people who shared the same interest in music and who simply wanted to play it".
Amazing Stories is the debut studio album by Australian blues-rock band The Revelators. The album was released in 1991 and consisted of cover versions of soul and blues songs. The album was re-released in March 1993 as a 2CD pack with The Black Sorrows' Better Times and peaked at number 14 on the ARIA Chart. The album was re-released in 2002 with two additional tracks from the original sessions that were not included on the first pressing, Those being "Honest I Do" and "Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down"
Endless Sleep Chapter 46 is the fifteenth studio album Australian blues rock band, The Black Sorrows. The album was the first of two simultaneously-released limited edition vinyl in Australia in April 2015. It was later released as a digital download and compact disc in Europe.
Seven Sonnets & a Song is the twenty-first studio album by Australian musician, Paul Kelly, which was issued on 22 April 2016 on his own label, Gawdaggie Records, and distributed by Universal Music Australia. Kelly composed music for seven sonnets by William Shakespeare and a poem, "My True Love Hath My Heart", by Philip Sidney. The album debuted at No. 9 on the ARIA Albums Chart, becoming Kelly's fourth top 10. It was nominated for Best Adult Contemporary Album at the ARIA Music Awards of 2016.