| Santo Spirito Blues | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 5 September 2011 [1] | |||
| Studio | Metropolis Studios | |||
| Genre | Blues, rock | |||
| Length | 60:14 | |||
| Label | Jazzee Blue/Rhino | |||
| Producer | Chris Rea | |||
| Chris Rea chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| laut.de | [3] |
Santo Spirito Blues is the twenty-third studio album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 2011 by his independent record label Jazzee Blue and Rhino Entertainment.
The album, titled "The Blue Guitars" and "The Return of the Fabulous Hofner Bluenotes," marked a distinctive project. In addition to the standard CD edition, a deluxe version was released, featuring two DVDs containing documentaries titled "Bull Fighting" and "Santo Spirito," along with two CDs containing the soundtracks of these documentaries. [4]
Chris Rea drew inspiration for the album from the Santo Spirito church in Florence during a visit to his daughter. Regarding the first documentary, his interest was piqued by the theme of bullfighting and matadors, including figures like Julián López Escobar. However, during a trip to Seville, when he attended a bullfight, he was horrified by the harsh reality. He left the event, stating that "there are two sides to that story because even after the bull is half dead, the bullfighter still has to be really brave." [5] [6]
The documentary "Bull Fighting" (59 minutes) offers a raw and brutally honest chronicle of bullfighting. It features neo-classical and Spanish-themed gypsy music. The second documentary, "Santo Spirito" (55 minutes), adopts the appearance of a Russian 1930s black and white film. It follows a man on a quest for truth in religion in the city of Florence—a journey he may or may not wish he had undertaken. [7] [5] [6] Both documentaries were written and directed by Rea, with assistance from filmmaker Scott McBurney.[citation needed] Rea recalls that he created these films "just so that I could compose the music." [5] The second documentary was broadcast in September 2011 on Tagesschau German television service. [8]
Jon O'Brien in review for AllMusic rated the album 3/5 stars and concluded that the "overall ambitious concept proves that the just-turned-sixty-year-old certainly no longer holds any commercial aspirations". [2] Artur Schulz for laut.de gave it the same score, and noted it has a mixture of both authentic blues and his pop-rock catchy work (particularly "The Chance of Love") from the "Dancing with Strangers" era, "with mostly good results: Chris manages the balancing act between fun and seriousness mostly effortlessly". [9] Luke Turner in BBC review noted that it is a "straightforward homage to blues traditionalism [...] playing is exemplary, his songwriting accomplished, the boxes ticked", but being too focused on guitar playing, besides "The Chance of Love" his "gravelly voice [...] struggles to be heard". [1]
All tracks are written by Chris Rea
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dancing My Blues Away" | 4:13 |
| 2. | "Rock and Roll Tonight" | 3:42 |
| 3. | "Never Tie Me Down" | 4:35 |
| 4. | "The Chance of Love" | 4:15 |
| 5. | "The Last Open Road" | 4:20 |
| 6. | "Electric Guitar" | 4:21 |
| 7. | "Money" | 6:47 |
| 8. | "The Way She Moves" | 5:55 |
| 9. | "Dance with Me All Night Long" | 6:03 |
| 10. | "Think Like a Woman" | 4:19 |
| 11. | "You Got Lucky" | 3:55 |
| 12. | "Lose My Heart in You" | 4:55 |
| 13. | "I Will Go On" | 3:00 |
| Total length: | 60:14 | |
All tracks are written by Chris Rea
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Girl" | 7:26 |
| 2. | "Girl and Matador" | 8:15 |
| 3. | "Here He Comes" | 8:26 |
| 4. | "Gates" | 3:07 |
| 5. | "The Work" | 6:45 |
| 6. | "The Bull" | 2:58 |
| 7. | "The Fight" | 10:10 |
| 8. | "Main Tune" | 4:29 |
| 9. | "Old Matador" | 3:27 |
| 10. | "Finale" | 3:01 |
All tracks are written by Chris Rea
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Santo Spirito" | 4:02 |
| 2. | "The Truth" | 4:27 |
| 3. | "Florence Streets" | 3:13 |
| 4. | "Dante's Inferno" | 4:51 |
| 5. | "Does Love Count for Nothing" | 3:12 |
| 6. | "Forever" | 1:28 |
| 7. | "Somewhere Between the Stars" | 6:39 |
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [10] | 30 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [11] | 43 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [12] | 38 |
| Croatian Albums (TOTS) [13] | 13 |
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten) [14] | 39 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [15] | 44 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [16] | 35 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [17] | 10 |
| Hungarian Albums (Mahasz) [18] | 33 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [19] | 27 |
| Polish Albums (OLiS) [20] | 33 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [21] | 31 |
| UK Albums (OCC) [22] | 13 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Poland (ZPAV) [23] | Gold | 10,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
Christopher Anton Rea is an English rock and blues singer and guitarist from Middlesbrough. Known for his distinctive voice and his slide guitar playing, Rea has recorded twenty five solo albums, two of which topped the UK Chart, The Road to Hell in 1989 and its successor, Auberge, in 1991. He had already become "a major European star by the time he finally cracked the UK Top 10" with the single "The Road to Hell ".
Dancing with Strangers is the ninth studio album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 1987. It became Rea's first major success in the UK, peaking at No. 2 behind Michael Jackson's Bad, and spent 46 weeks in the charts before going platinum. The album entered the Top 10 in six other European countries, and topped the chart in New Zealand.
The Road to Hell is the tenth studio album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 1989. Coming on the back of several strongly performing releases, it is Rea's most successful studio album, and topped the UK Albums Chart for three weeks. Hailed as a "modern masterpiece", it was certified 6× Platinum by BPI in 2004. The album demonstrates a thematic cohesion previously absent from Rea's work, with the majority of the tracks containing strong elements of social commentary, addressing alienation, violence and redemption. The second part of the two-part title track, "The Road to Hell ", is one of Rea's most famous songs, and his only single to reach the UK Top 10. Geffen Records released the album in the US, adding the 1988 re-recording of "Let's Dance" and different cover artwork.
New Light Through Old Windows is the first compilation album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 1988. The album consists primarily of re-recordings of songs from Rea's earlier albums, as well as the new track "Working on It", which peaked at No. 73 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and was Rea's only No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. "On the Beach" peaked at No. 9 on the US Adult Contemporary singles chart, and No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart. The album reached number five on the UK Albums Chart, charted for over a year, and was certified 3× Platinum by BPI until 1992. It charted in the Top 10 in New Zealand, Australia and West Germany.
The Blue Cafe is the fourteenth studio album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 1998. The singles released for the album were "The Blue Cafe", "Thinking of You", "Sweet Summer Day" and "Square Peg, Round Hole". There was also a Japanese version with three bonus tracks, "Kyoto Blue", "Ameno Nakano Kiirono Herumetto" and "On the Beach". It was Rea's sixth successive album to reach the UK top ten, peaking at No. 10.
The Road to Hell: Part 2 is the fifteenth studio album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 1999, ten years after The Road to Hell. The single released for the album was "New Times Square". There was also a Japanese edition with the songs "Be My Friend" and "Driving Home for Christmas" included as tracks. It reached number 54 on the UK Albums Chart, and was certified Silver by BPI.
King of the Beach is the sixteenth studio album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 2000. The singles released for the album were "All Summer Long" and "Who Do You Love". The album reached number 26 in the UK. There was also a Japanese version with "Mississippi" and "There’s Only You" included as tracks.
Espresso Logic is the thirteenth studio album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 1993. The US edition of the album has a significantly different track listing, featuring two songs from Rea's previous album, God's Great Banana Skin, which was not released in the US, along with "If You Were Me", a track recorded with Elton John for his 1993 Duets release. The cover art of the US edition is the same as the UK single "Espresso Logic". The song "Julia" was dedicated to his daughter Julia Christina, who was four years old at the time.
God's Great Banana Skin is the twelfth studio album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 1992. The album was not released in the United States, though some tracks later appeared on the US release of Rea's following album Espresso Logic. The single "Nothing To Fear" reached number 16 in the UK Singles Chart, and its music video was filmed in Morocco. The album reached number 4 in the UK Albums Chart in 1992.
Dancing Down the Stony Road is the seventeenth studio album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 2002 on his own record label, Jazzee Blue. The album was also released in Europe by Edel under the shorter title Stony Road with different cover art and only one CD, while the original UK is double CD edition with additional tracks. The album is notable for its change of Rea's previous rock music style to Delta blues and gospel blues. It reached the #14 position in UK album charts, and was certified Gold by BPI. A version of Dancing Down The Stony Road was used in the BBC television programme Speed.
The Blue Jukebox is the twentieth studio album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 2004 by his independent record label Jazzee Blue. The cover artwork is inspired by Edward Hopper's Nighthawks painting. Compared to the Dancing Down the Stony Road (2002) has a smoother and jazzier take on the blues.
The Best of Chris Rea is the second compilation album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 1994. The album contains 15 previously released songs plus two new tracks, "You Can Go Your Own Way" and "Three Little Green Candles". The collection notably omits Rea's 1988 Christmas hit "Driving Home for Christmas". The song "If You Were Me" is a duet between Rea and Elton John, originally released on John's Duets album in 1993.
The Very Best of Chris Rea is the third compilation album by the British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 2001. The last track, "Saudade", was originally written and recorded in 1994 as a tribute to the Formula 1 racing driver Ayrton Senna who died in a crash at Imola on 1 May that year. In Portuguese, the word saudade roughly means the feeling, emotions and euphoria of a certain moment in time. This album reached number 69 on the UK Albums Chart, and was certified Gold by the BPI in 2004.
The Very Best of Diana Krall is the first greatest hits album by Canadian singer Diana Krall, released on September 18, 2007, by Verve Records.
The Return of the Fabulous Hofner Bluenotes is the twenty-second studio album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 2008 by his own record label, Jazzee Blue. It comprises three CDs and double 10" vinyl records in an 80-page hardback book. It is the second album of his project, the Hofner Blue Notes (2003).
Still So Far to Go: The Best of Chris Rea is a compilation album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released by Rhino Records in 2009. The album reached number 8 on the UK Albums Chart, making it Rea's first entry in the top 10 in ten years since The Blue Cafe (1998), and was certified Gold by BPI in 2013.
Am seidenen Faden is the second studio album by German recording artist Tim Bendzko, released by Sony Music Columbia on 24 May 2013 in German-speaking Europe. Bendzko re-teamed with frequent collaborator music producer Swen Meyer to work on the album and also consulted Christian "Crada" Kalla to provide additional production on the songs. Am seidenen Faden debuted and peaked at number one on the German Albums Chart, becoming Bendzko's first album to do so, and was certified 2× Platinum by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI) for sales in excess of 400,000 copies.
German DJ Robin Schulz has released five studio albums, two DJ mixes, 39 singles and one promotional single. Schulz achieved his worldwide breakthrough with his remix of Mr. Probz's "Waves" (2014), which reached the top ten of the charts in over ten countries, while further peaking within the top ten in various other. It was also certified—among others—Platinum in both the United Kingdom and the United States. While the disc jockey's follow-up recording, "Prayer in C" (2014), was met with similar commercial acclaim, two fellow singles from his debut studio album Prayer (2015) were released, including a collaboration with Jasmine Thompson.
Road Songs for Lovers is the twenty-fourth studio album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released on 29 September 2017 by Jazzee Blue and BMG labels.
IIII is the fourth studio album by German DJ and record producer Robin Schulz, released on 26 February 2021 through Warner Music. Schulz wrote around 50 songs over the span of four years for the album, which features collaborations conducted online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. IIII was supported by the singles "Speechless", "All This Love", "Rather Be Alone", "In Your Eyes", "Alane", and "All We Got". A seventh single, "One More Time" with Felix Jaehn, was released the same day as the album. The album's release was promoted by a drone light show in the Netherlands.
