Espresso Logic
Studio album by
Chris Rea
Released1 November 1993[1]
GenreAlbum-oriented rock
Length48:07 (original release)
53:21 (US edition)
LabelEast West
ProducerChris Rea
Chris Rea chronology
God's Great Banana Skin
(1992)		 Espresso Logic
(1993)		 The Best of Chris Rea
(1994)
Music video
"Julia (1993)" on YouTube
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Calgary HeraldB+[3]
Music Week[4]

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 ("God's Great Banana Skin" and "Miles Is a Cigarette") 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.

Critical reception

A "refined, elegant, rock style" characterizes the record, which continues Rea's '90s run of "commercially successful and critically acclaimed albums".[5][6] A review in Guitar Player finds that "Rea immediately declares his multi-ethnic impulses", as the title track begins with his "languidly atmospheric slide guitar shimmering like the Pacific Ocean under a full Oahu moon. Then Davy Spillane's mournful Uillean pipes inject Celtic melancholy, and the two instruments interweave throughout the track, accompanied by a Brazilian-inflected tribal rhythm, until they are nearly indistinguishable from one another."[7] Rea recorded the album using the two '62 Fender Stratocasters, plugged into a Fender piggyback amp, "that he's relied on for more than a decade", and he uses a glass slide, rather than a brass one. "From working with Irish pipers, I've adopted this technique of banging the slide onto the harmonic. So I've had to stop using the brass, because I've only got one more refret on my pink Strat. I've played it so hard that I don't think there's gonna be any wood left," he ruefully acknowledges.

Track listing

All songs written by Chris Rea.

Original track listing

  1. "Espresso Logic" – 6:54
  2. "Red" – 5:26
  3. "Soup of the Day" – 3:45
  4. "Johnny Needs a Fast Car" – 6:35
  5. "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" – 4:50
  6. "Julia" – 3:55
  7. "Summer Love" – 4:07
  8. "New Way" – 3:30
  9. "Stop" – 5:10
  10. "She Closed Her Eyes" – 3:55

US track listing

  1. "Espresso Logic" – 6:53
  2. "Julia" – 3:54
  3. "Soup of the Day" – 3:46
  4. "If You Were Me" (duet with Elton John) – 4:20
  5. "Johnny Needs a Fast Car" – 6:34
  6. "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" – 4:49
  7. "God's Great Banana Skin" – 5:18
  8. "Miles Is a Cigarette" – 4:21
  9. "Summer Love" – 4:04
  10. "Red" – 5:26
  11. "She Closed Her Eyes" – 3:56

Personnel

Production

  • Chris Rea – producer, sleeve concept
  • Neil Amor – engineer
  • Stuart Epps – engineer
  • Paul Mortimer – engineer
  • Simon Wall – assistant engineer
  • Tommy Willis – guitar technician
  • Willie Grimston – coordination
  • Stylorouge – artwork
  • Stephen Sandon – sleeve photography

Studios

  • Recorded at The Mill (Berkshire, England)
  • Mixed at Outside Studios (Oxfordshire, England)

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for Espresso Logic
Chart (1993) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[8] 16
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[9] 46
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[10] 14
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[11] 29
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[12] 24
UK Albums (OCC)[13] 8

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for Espresso Logic
Chart (1993) Position
UK Albums (OCC)[14] 85

Certifications

Certifications and sales for Espresso Logic
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Germany (BVMI)[15] Gold 250,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[16] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ "BPI".
  2. ↑ "Espresso Logic - Chris Rea | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  3. ↑ Obee, Dave (5 December 1993). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald.
  4. ↑ Jones, Alan (6 November 1993). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Albums" (PDF). Music Week. p. 15. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  5. ↑ Butler, Jackie (14 March 2008). "Jumping back on the road to hell". Evening Herald. Dow Jones Factiva. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  6. ↑ Helen, Sloan (14 March 2008). "Chris still keeps it rea-l". Western Daily Press. Dow Jones Factiva. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  7. ↑ Ransom, Kevin (1 December 1994). "Espresso Logic - sound recording review". Guitar Player. Dow Jones Factiva. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  8. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Chris Rea – Espresso Logic" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  9. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Chris Rea – Espresso Logic" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  10. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Chris Rea – Espresso Logic" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  11. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Chris Rea – Espresso Logic". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  12. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Chris Rea – Espresso Logic". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  13. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  14. ↑ "Top 100 Albums 1993" (PDF). Music Week. 15 January 1994. p. 25. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  15. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Chris Rea; 'Espresso Logic')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  16. ↑ "British album certifications – Chris Rea – Expresso Logic". British Phonographic Industry.
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