Leo Sayer (album)

Leo Sayer
Studio album by Leo Sayer
Released	11 August 1978 [1]
Recorded	1978
Genre	Country pop
Length	36:39
Label	Chrysalis (UK) Warner Bros. (US)
Producer	Richard Perry
Leo Sayer chronology
Thunder in My Heart (1977) Leo Sayer (1978) The Very Best of Leo Sayer (1979)

Leo Sayer is the sixth album by the English-Australian singer-songwriter Leo Sayer, released in 1978.

The song "I Can't Stop Loving You (Though I Try)" became a hit when Phil Collins recorded it in 2002.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Christgau's Record Guide	C+ [3]

The Globe and Mail wrote that Sayer "has fully abandoned the style which pushed him on to the charts, a pop-disco hybrid... In its place, he has recently offered a plate full of mellow tunes, geared primarily to show off his vocal chords, which have in the past played second fiddle to large orchestras." ^[4]

AllMusic noted that "this album is one of the artist's most respectable in a large body of good work". ^[2]

Track listing

Side one

1. "Stormy Weather" (Leo Sayer, Tom Snow) - 4:06
2. "Dancing the Night Away" (Russell Smith, James H. Brown, Jr.) (Amazing Rhythm Aces cover) - 4:05
3. "I Can't Stop Loving You (Though I Try)" (Billy Nicholls) - 3:29
4. "La Booga Rooga" (Andy Fairweather Low) (Andy Fairweather Low cover) - 3:40
5. "Raining in My Heart" (Felice and Boudleaux Bryant) (Buddy Holly cover) - 3:16

Side two

1. "Something Fine" (Jackson Browne) (Jackson Browne cover) - 3:32
2. "Running to My Freedom" (Tom Snow, Johnny Vastano) - 3:19
3. "Frankie Lee" (Sayer, Ray Parker Jr.) - 3:19
4. "Don't Look Away" (Sayer, Snow) - 3:30
5. "No Looking Back" (Sayer, Snow) ^[2] - 2:58

Personnel

• Leo Sayer – guitar, harmonica, vocals, background vocals
• Ben Benay – guitar
• Ollie E. Brown – percussion
• Jackson Browne – performer
• Lindsey Buckingham – guitar, vocals on "Something Fine"
• Michael Carnahan – horn
• Lenny Castro – percussion, conductor
• Bill Champlin – vocals, background vocals
• Scott Edwards – bass guitar
• Andy Fairweather-Low – performer
• Richard Felts – horn
• Jim Gilstrap – vocals, background vocals
• Jay Graydon – guitar
• Davey Johnstone – guitar
• Bobby Kimball – vocals, background vocals
• Russ Kunkel – drums
• David Lindley – mandolin, violin, steel guitar
• Steve Lukather – guitar, electric guitar
• James Newton Howard – clavinet
• David Paich – piano, keyboards
• Ray Parker Jr. – guitar
• Dean Parks – guitar
• Greg Phillinganes – piano, keyboards
• Jeff Porcaro – drums, percussion
• Steve Porcaro – synthesizer
• Chuck Rainey – bass guitar
• Tom Saviano – saxophone
• Leland Sklar – bass guitar
• Tom Snow – piano, background vocals
• James Stroud – producer, drums, synthesizer programming
• Fred Tackett – guitar
• Waddy Wachtel – guitar, electric guitar

Production

• Record producer: Richard Perry
• Horn arrangements: Tom Saviano
• Engineer: Bill Schnee

Charts

Chart (1978/79)	Peak Position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [5]	8
UK Albums Chart [6]	15
US Pop Albums	101

References

1. "Jingle bells Sayers gigs" (PDF). Record Mirror . 22 July 1978. p. 5. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
2. "Leo Sayer - Leo Sayer | Album". AllMusic . Retrieved 26 October 2024.
3. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies . Ticknor & Fields. ISBN   089919026X . Retrieved 12 March 2019– via Robertchristgau.com.
4. McGrath, Paul (16 August 1978). "Leo Sayer goes country". The Globe and Mail. p. F2.
5. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 265. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
6. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 483. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.

External links

• Leo Sayer at Discogs (list of releases)