The Cream of Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel | ||||
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Compilation album by | ||||
Released | 15 March 1999 | |||
Genre | Pop, Rock | |||
Length | 69:23 | |||
Label | EMI Gold | |||
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel chronology | ||||
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Alternative Cover | ||||
The Cream of Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel is a compilation album by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, released by EMI Gold on 15 March 1999. It features material from Cockney Rebel, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel and Harley's solo career. It contains sixteen tracks, covering Harley and the band's career from Cockney Rebel's 1973 album The Human Menagerie to Harley's 1979 album The Candidate , as well as the 1982 non-album single "I Can't Even Touch You". [1] [2] The album was reissued on 7 July 2008 as The Best of Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel.
The Cream of Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel was released on CD by EMI Gold in the UK on 15 March 1999, [3] and followed another Steve Harley EMI compilation, More Than Somewhat – The Very Best of Steve Harley , released in 1998. The compilation later made an appearance in the official UK Budget Albums Chart during January 2006. It reached its peak at number 21 on 14 January 2006 and remained within the top 50 for four weeks. [4]
The album was made available for download on 28 February 2003. [5] On 7 July 2008, the album was reissued by EMI Gold in the UK and Europe as The Best of Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel. [6] The release had the same track-listing and new artwork, with a photograph of Harley in front of a red background. [7] [8]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [9] |
Upon its release in 1999, the West Lancashire Evening Gazette described The Cream of Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel as "an excellent assessment of their work, with the best tracks all coming from their 1974 album Psychomodo ". The reviewer noted that the "more extravagant, theatrical first album is ignored except for the melodramatic, strings-riddled 'Sebastian'" and added, "Best remembered for the infectious, summer-sounding hit 'Make Me Smile', Cockney Rebel brightened the mid Seventies at the tail-end of the glam rock explosion." [10] Dave Thompson of AllMusic wrote, "This compilation brings together an unchallenging but almost uniformly excellent roundup of Harley's 1970s output. It brushes all of the expected high points. The real meat, however, lies among the excerpted album cuts, as the compilers treat all seven original Harley/Cockney Rebel LPs with more or less equal respect – many fans would have drawn a line after the first three. But 'White White Dove,' 'Roll the Dice,' and the like all deserve a fresh hearing, and The Cream of emerges with almost unruffled consistency, and an overall impact that is all the more satisfying for being so unexpected." [9]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" | Steve Harley | 4:00 |
2. | "Judy Teen" | Harley | 3:40 |
3. | "Here Comes the Sun" | George Harrison | 2:56 |
4. | "(I Believe) Love's a Prima Donna" | Harley | 4:09 |
5. | "The Best Years of Our Lives" | Harley | 5:43 |
6. | "Another Journey" | Harley | 2:49 |
7. | "Freedom's Prisoner" | Harley, Jimmy Horowitz | 3:50 |
8. | "Tumbling Down" | Harley | 5:49 |
9. | "Mr. Raffles (Man, It Was Mean)" | Harley | 4:33 |
10. | "Roll the Dice" | Harley, Jo Partridge | 3:26 |
11. | "Psychomodo" | Harley | 4:03 |
12. | "Mr. Soft" | Harley | 3:20 |
13. | "White, White Dove" | Harley | 5:38 |
14. | "Sebastian" | Harley | 6:57 |
15. | "(Love) Compared with You" | Harley | 4:22 |
16. | "I Can't Even Touch You" | Harley | 3:59 |
Chart (2006) | Peak position |
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UK Budget Albums Chart [4] | 21 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United Kingdom (BPI) [11] | Silver | 60,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Stephen Malcolm Ronald Nice, known by his stage name Steve Harley, was an English singer-songwriter and frontman of the rock group Cockney Rebel. The band achieved six UK hit singles in the mid-1970s, including "Judy Teen", "Mr. Soft", and the number one "Make Me Smile ". Harley later scored a further three UK hit singles as a solo artist, including "The Phantom of the Opera", a duet with Sarah Brightman.
"Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" is a song by the English rock band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, released on 31 January 1975 by EMI as the lead single from the band's third studio album The Best Years of Our Lives. The song was written by Harley, and produced by Harley and Alan Parsons. In February 1975, the song reached number one on the UK chart and received a gold certification from the British Phonographic Industry in October 2021. It spent nine weeks in the Top 50, and as of 2015, has sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide. The song is one of the most-played songs in British broadcasting history.
The Human Menagerie is the debut studio album by Cockney Rebel, which was released by EMI in 1973. It was produced by Neil Harrison.
Greatest Hits is a compilation album by the British band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, released by EMI on 12 October 1987.
The Psychomodo is the second studio album by Cockney Rebel, released on 2 June 1974 by EMI. It was produced by Steve Harley and Alan Parsons.
The Best Years of Our Lives is the third studio album by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, released by EMI on 7 March 1975. It was the first album to feature Harley's name ahead of the band's. The album was produced by Harley and Alan Parsons, and contains the band's only UK number one, the million-selling "Make Me Smile ".
"(I Believe) Love's a Prima Donna" is a song by the British rock band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, released on 1 October 1976 as the second single from their fifth studio album Love's a Prima Donna. The song was written and produced by Harley. It reached number 41 in the UK Singles Chart and would be the band's last charting single before their split in 1977.
"Big Big Deal" is a song by British singer-songwriter Steve Harley, released by EMI as his debut solo single on 1 November 1974. The song, which was written and produced by Harley, would be his only solo release before the formation of the second line-up of Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel.
"Roll the Dice" is a song by English singer-songwriter Steve Harley, which was released in 1978 as the lead single from his debut solo album Hobo with a Grin. The song was written by Harley and Jo Partridge, and produced by Michael J. Jackson.
"I Can't Even Touch You" is a song by the English singer-songwriter Steve Harley, released under his band's name Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel by Chrysalis as a non-album single on 12 March 1982. The song was written by Harley and produced by Midge Ure.
"Psychomodo" is a song by the British rock band Cockney Rebel, fronted by Steve Harley. It was released in 1974 as the lead single from their second studio album The Psychomodo. "Psychomodo" was written by Harley, and produced by Harley and Alan Parsons.
"Tumbling Down" is a song by the British rock band Cockney Rebel, fronted by Steve Harley. It was released in 1975 as the third and final single from the band's second studio album The Psychomodo (1974). The song was written by Harley, and produced by Harley and Alan Parsons.
"(Love) Compared with You" is a song by the British rock band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, released in 1977 as the third and final single from the band's fifth studio album, Love's a Prima Donna (1976). Released as a single in America only, the song was written and produced by Harley.
More Than Somewhat – The Very Best of Steve Harley is a compilation album by Steve Harley, released by EMI on 23 March 1998. It features sixteen tracks recorded by Cockney Rebel, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel and Harley as a solo artist, spanning from Cockney Rebel's 1973 debut album The Human Menagerie to Harley's 1996 solo album Poetic Justice. At least one song from each studio album is included, with the exception of Harley's 1979 album The Candidate.
"Judy Teen" is a song by the British rock band Cockney Rebel, fronted by Steve Harley. It was released as a non-album single in 1974, and became the band's first UK hit, after their debut single, "Sebastian", was only a hit in continental Europe. "Judy Teen" was written by Harley, and produced by Harley and Alan Parsons.
"Mr. Soft" is a song by the British rock band Cockney Rebel, fronted by Steve Harley, which was released in 1974 as the second single from their second studio album The Psychomodo. The song was written by Harley, and produced by Harley and Alan Parsons. "Mr. Soft" peaked at number 8 in the UK Singles Chart.
"Sebastian" is a song by the British rock band Cockney Rebel, fronted by Steve Harley. It was released as the band's debut single in 1973 from their album The Human Menagerie. The song was written by Harley and produced by Neil Harrison.
"Hideaway" is a song by the British rock band Cockney Rebel, fronted by Steve Harley. Released as the opening track on the band's 1973 debut album The Human Menagerie, "Hideaway" was released in 1974 as a single in Denmark only. It was written by Harley and produced by Neil Harrison.
A Closer Look is a compilation album by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, which was released by EMI Records in the United States in 1975. It features material recorded by the original Cockney Rebel as well as the reformed Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel line-up.
The Come Back, All is Forgiven Tour: Live is a live concert video by the British rock band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, which was filmed during their 1989 tour. The concert video has also been released in a variety of guises as a live album.