Chris Rea Road To Hell & Back CD - Import

The veteran British singer-songwriter Chris Rea was beginning his third decade in the music business when he released what was to become his best-known and most successful album, THE ROAD TO HELL. Rea suffered the misfortune of starting his professional music career at around the same time as Britain first embraced punk rock, and his tasteful, R&B-inspired songs were initially better received in Europe than in his home country.

THE ROAD TO HELL, released in 1991, centered on Rea's portrayal of a modern world spinning out of control, and stuck close to its narrative throughout, providing a cohesive and musically varied dissection of an increasingly dehumanized society with tracks like the shimmering "Texas," the fiery "You Must Be Evil," and the album's title track, which became one of Rea's biggest-selling records. The spare bass, drums, and guitar instrumentation effectively frames Rea's rough-hewn voice, while his stinging, bluesy guitar playing punctuates his often acerbic lyrics with a biting musical commentary.

For a man who has enjoyed the many highs of success (he has sold over 25 million albums) and suffered too many lows (of ill health) over his illustrious career, "The Road To Hell and Back Again" is apt to say the least. With a body of work that most artists can only dream of (his 11 CD "Blues Guitar" box set sold an amazing 50,000 copies!) and a tour history that is second to none, it's surprising that this is Rea's set of hits performed live. From his farewell tour of 2005, the set includes his biggest international hit "Fool (If You Think It's Over)", "The Road To Hell", "Josephine", "Let's Dance", "Julia" and "Stainsby Girls", as well as Jazee Blue" and "Stony Road", some of Rea's first rate, genuine blues.

Liner Note Authors: Simon Honywill; Dave Sinclair.

Recording information: Brighton Centre (03/17/2006-04/14/2006); England (03/17/2006-04/14/2006); Europe (03/17/2006-04/14/2006); Moscow Kremlin Palace (03/17/2006-04/14/2006); Oxford New Theatre (03/17/2006-04/14/2006); Plymouth Pavilions (03/17/2006-04/14/2006); Russia (03/17/2006-04/14/2006); Warsaw Sala Kongresawa (03/17/2006-04/14/2006).

Photographer: Charlie Gray.

Personnel: Chris Rea (vocals, slide guitar); Robert Ahwai (guitar); Paul Hirsh (keyboards); Sylvain Marc (bass guitar); Martin Ditcham (drums).

Audio Mixer: Simon Honywill.