City of Love (album)

Last updated
City of Love
Deacon Blue - City of Love.png
Studio album by
Released6 March 2020 (2020-03-06)
Recorded2019
Studio Gorbals, Glasgow
Genre
Length44:03
Label Earmusic
Producer
Deacon Blue chronology
Believers
(2016)
City of Love
(2020)
Riding on the Tide of Love
(2021)

City of Love is the ninth studio album by Scottish pop rock band Deacon Blue, released through Earmusic on 6 March 2020. It is their first album since 2016's Believers . It was promoted by the lead single, the title track "City of Love". [2]

Contents

Background

Singer Ricky Ross said he thought it would be interesting to record the album in the Gorbals area "right in the heart of Glasgow" after learning that "there are bones reputedly belonging to St Valentine in St Francis' church" there. [3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Scotsman Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]

Reviewing the album for PopMatters , Adam Mason wrote that it features "11 open-hearted and largely sentimental songs with big choruses and traditional rock instruments", describing the band as having written "crowd-pleasers [...] with a firm eye on recapturing their glory days. They aim for singalong tunes that will stand proud with old favorites at their outdoor shows this summer". [2] Brett Callwood of LA Weekly found City of Love to be free of filler, writing that "everything that made their past work so special shines here too [...] It all sounds so effortless, nothing is forced, and yet it's clear that they worked hard about this slab of work". [1] Writing for Belfast Telegraph , Steve Grantham called the album a "solid, well-produced set, with big choruses where they are needed and more subtle contemplation when not. It will, no doubt, please the band's fans and may, given enough exposure, gain them some more." [5]

Track listing

City of Love track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."City of Love"Ricky Ross4:12
2."Hit Me Where It Hurts"Ricky Ross, Gregor Philp3:13
3."Weight of the World"Ricky Ross3:39
4."Take Me"Ricky Ross, Gregor Philp3:54
5."In Our Room"Ricky Ross, Gregor Philp, James Prime 4:09
6."Intervals"Ricky Ross3:36
7."Keeping My Faith Alive"Ricky Ross, Gregor Philp, Gordon Kennedy 3:10
8."A Walk in the Woods"Ricky Ross3:57
9."Come on In"Ricky Ross, Gregor Philp3:26
10."Wonderful"Ricky Ross, Gregor Philp, Aaron Espe 3:36
11."On Love"Ricky Ross7:11
Total length:44:03

Charts

Chart performance for City of Love
Chart (2020)Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC) [6] 1
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [7] 50
UK Albums (OCC) [8] 4

Related Research Articles

Deacon Blue Scottish band

Deacon Blue are a Scottish pop rock band formed in Glasgow during 1985. The line-up of the band consists of vocalists Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, keyboard player James Prime and drummer Dougie Vipond. The band released their debut album, Raintown, on 1 May 1987 in the United Kingdom and in the United States in February 1988. Their second album, When the World Knows Your Name (1989), topped the UK Albums Chart for two weeks, and included "Real Gone Kid" which became their first top ten single in the UK Singles Chart and reached number one in Spain.

<i>The Miracle</i> (album) 1989 studio album by Queen

The Miracle is the thirteenth studio album by the British rock band Queen, released on 22 May 1989 by Parlophone Records and Capitol Records in both the United Kingdom and the USA, respectively, where it was the band's first and final studio album to be released on those respective labels. The album was recorded as the band recovered from Brian May's marital problems and Freddie Mercury's HIV diagnosis in 1987. Recording started in January 1988 and lasted for an entire year. The album was originally going to be called The Invisible Men, but three weeks before the release, according to Roger Taylor, they decided to change the name to The Miracle. It was also the last Queen album with a photo of the band on the front cover.

Douglas Vipond is a Scottish broadcaster and drummer.

Come See About Me

"Come See About Me" is a 1964 song recorded by the Supremes for the Motown label.

<i>Symphony or Damn</i> 1993 studio album by Terence Trent DArby

Terence Trent D'Arby's Symphony or Damn* is the third studio album by Terence Trent D'Arby, released in 1993 through Columbia Records. This album marked something of a comeback after the disappointing performance of his previous album Neither Fish nor Flesh, and was generally well received by many critics, with Q magazine rating it five stars upon its release.

<i>Raintown</i> (album) 1987 studio album by Deacon Blue

Raintown is the debut album by Scottish pop rock band Deacon Blue. The album, written largely by lead singer Ricky Ross, was released in the United Kingdom on 1 May 1987. It proved a commercial success and has to date sold around a million copies, peaking in the UK Albums Chart at no. 14 and remaining in the charts for a year and a half.

Lorraine McIntosh Musical artist

Lorraine McIntosh is a Scottish singer, vocalist with Scottish band Deacon Blue, and actress.

Ricky Ross (musician) Musical artist

Richard Alexander "Ricky" Ross is a Scottish singer-songwriter and broadcaster who is the current lead singer of the rock band Deacon Blue. Alongside his discography with Deacon Blue, Ross has released a number of solo albums, his first, So Long Ago was released in 1984.

<i>When the World Knows Your Name</i> 1989 studio album by Deacon Blue

When the World Knows Your Name is the second album by the Scottish rock band Deacon Blue. It was released in 1989 and attained the number 1 chart position in the UK Albums Chart.

<i>Whatever You Say, Say Nothing</i> 1993 studio album by Deacon Blue

Whatever You Say, Say Nothing is the fourth studio album by Scottish rock band Deacon Blue, released in 1993. Changing from producer Jon Kelly to the team of Steve Osborne and Paul Oakenfold, this album presented a change in musical style for Deacon Blue. While the band's songwriting remained based in rock and blues, many of the tracks moved into alternative rock territory in their presentation.

<i>Our Town – The Greatest Hits</i> 1994 greatest hits album by Deacon Blue

Our Town – The Greatest Hits is the first greatest hits compilation album by the Scottish rock band Deacon Blue. The album reached the top spot of the UK Albums Chart in May 1994 for two weeks, and has been certified Platinum. It was also their second and final number one album to date. It is also notable for being the 500th number one album since the charts inception in 1956.

<i>Homesick</i> (Deacon Blue album) 2001 studio album by Deacon Blue

Homesick is a studio album by Scottish rock band Deacon Blue. Released in May 2001, it was the band's fifth studio album. It includes the single "Everytime You Sleep", which reached No. 64 in the UK Singles Chart. Homesick was Deacon Blue's final album to feature guitarist Graeme Kelling, who died in 2004.

Real Gone Kid 1988 single by Deacon Blue

"Real Gone Kid" is a song by the Scottish pop rock band Deacon Blue. Released on 3 October 1988, it was the first single to come from the band's second album When the World Knows Your Name which was released six months later. The single was the band's first top-10 hit, reaching number eight on the UK Singles Chart, number 10 in Ireland, and number five in New Zealand. In Spain, the song peaked at number one for three weeks. Vocalist Ricky Ross wrote the song about a performance he saw of ex-Lone Justice singer Maria McKee on stage.

Fergus Sings the Blues 1989 single by Deacon Blue

"Fergus Sings the Blues" is the third single from the album When the World Knows Your Name by the Scottish rock band Deacon Blue. Writer Ricky Ross has stated in an interview with Johnnie Walker that the song was inspired by "Gael's Blue" by Scottish singer-songwriter Michael Marra.

Love and Regret 1989 single by Deacon Blue

"Love and Regret" is the fourth single from the album When the World Knows Your Name by the Scottish rock band Deacon Blue.

Queen of the New Year 1989 single by Deacon Blue

"Queen of the New Year" is the fifth and final single from the album When the World Knows Your Name by the Scottish pop rock band Deacon Blue.

Everytime You Sleep 2001 single by Deacon Blue

"Everytime You Sleep" is the first single from Deacon Blue's album Homesick. It reached number 64 on the UK Singles Chart in April 2001.

<i>A Hundred Million Suns</i> 2008 studio album by Snow Patrol

A Hundred Million Suns is the fifth album by Scottish-Northern Irish alternative rock band Snow Patrol. The album was written by Snow Patrol and was produced by longtime producer Jacknife Lee, who has previously produced albums for Bloc Party, R.E.M., and U2. The songs were recorded through the summer of 2008 in Hansa Studios in Berlin and Grouse Lodge Studios in Ireland. The album was released in Ireland on 24 October 2008, on 25 October in Australia, on 27 October in the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe and in the US on 28 October.

<i>The Hipsters</i> 2012 studio album by Deacon Blue

The Hipsters is the sixth studio album released by Scottish pop group Deacon Blue. The album was released by Demon Music on 24 September 2012, making it their first studio album in eleven years. The album's lead single, "The Hipsters" was released on 23 September 2012.

<i>Riding on the Tide of Love</i> 2021 studio album by Deacon Blue

Riding on the Tide of Love is the tenth studio album by Scottish band Deacon Blue released on 5 February 2021. The lead single from the album, the title track "Riding on the Tide of Love", was released on 27 November 2020.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Callwood, Brett (10 March 2020). "Album of the Week: Deacon Blue's City of Love". LA Weekly . Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  2. 1 2 Mason, Adam (5 March 2020). "Deacon Blue: City of Love (album review)". PopMatters . Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  3. English, Paul (17 February 2020). "All you need is love: Deacon Blue's Ricky Ross reveals romantic inspiration". The Sunday Post . Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  4. Shepherd, Fiona (10 March 2020). "Album reviews: Deacon Blue | Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott | Sergio Mendes | Sound of Yell". The Scotsman . Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  5. Grantham, Steve (13 March 2020). "Albums of the week – From Deacon Blue to Circa Waves". Belfast Telegraph . Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  6. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  7. "Top 100 Albumes – Semana 11: del 6.3.2020 al 12.3.2020" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España . Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  8. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 March 2020.