Tear Down These Walls

Tear Down These Walls is the seventh solo studio album by British recording artist Billy Ocean. It was originally released in January 1988 by Jive and Arista as the follow-up to Ocean's critically and commercially successful 1986 album Love Zone.

Tear Down These Walls
Studio album by Billy Ocean
Released	January 19, 1988 (January 19, 1988)
Recorded	1987
Studio	Battery Studios, London
Genre	R&B pop adult contemporary dance-pop soul electronic urban contemporary
Length	46:57
Label	Jive Arista
Producer	Barry Eastmond Wayne Brathwaite Robert John "Mutt" Lange Teddy Riley
Billy Ocean chronology
Love Zone (1986) Tear Down These Walls (1988) Greatest Hits (1989)
Singles from Tear Down These Walls
"Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car" Released: January 1988 "Calypso Crazy" Released: April 1988 "The Colour of Love" Released: 1988 "Tear Down These Walls" Released: 1988 "Stand and Deliver" Released: 1988

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

Background

The album's title is a reference to then-President Ronald Reagan's "tear down this wall" speech. It features guest backing vocals from artists including The Manhattans, Will Downing, Carroll Thompson, and Mary Cassidy, and is generally regarded as the culmination of the smoother, more adult-oriented sound of Ocean's later work.

One of Ocean's most commercially successful solo albums, it went on to peak at #3 on the UK Albums Chart and reached #18 on the US Billboard 200. The album launched four charting singles in the UK: "Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car" peaked at #3 on the UK Singles Chart; "Calypso Crazy" peaked at #35; "The Colour of Love" at #65 and "Stand and Deliver" at #97.

"Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car" was Ocean's third and final #1 hit on the Billboard US Pop chart, and his fourth and final #1 R&B hit in that country. The song topped pop charts in several other countries, including Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Norway. "The Colour Of Love" was a top 20 pop hit in the US and Canada, and Ocean's tenth and final top-10 hit on the US R&B chart.

Tear Down These Walls was released in 39 versions, including a unique Mini CD version (three 3" CDs) for the UK.[2]

The album was re-released on 16 June 2014 on Cherry Pop featuring rare bonus content. The reissue is a 2-CD set with the original album digitally remastered from the original 1/2" mix tapes; the bonus content consists of associated 7", and 12" mixes.

Critical reception

On release, the album received generally favourable reviews by music critics. In a retrospective review for AllMusic, critic Ron Wynn gave the album three out of five stars and wrote that "While he was still a successful attraction, this album wouldn't reach the multi-platinum levels of its predecessors." also noting that "Ocean's voice also lacked the resonance and authority it had on earlier dance tunes and wasn't as convincing or confident on ballads."[1]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Wayne Braithwaite, Barry Eastmond, Billy Ocean, Jolyon Skinner, except where noted.

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Tear Down These Walls"	Robert Lange Billy Ocean Teddy Riley	3:41
2.	"Gun for Hire"		4:59
3.	"Stand and Deliver"		5:02
4.	"The Colour of Love"		4:26
5.	"Calypso Crazy"	Lange Ocean	4:55

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
6.	"Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car"	Lange Ocean	5:37
7.	"Soon As You're Ready"		4:38
8.	"Pleasure"		4:55
9.	"Because of You"		4:53
10.	"Here's to You"		4:14
Total length:			46:57

Bonus tracks on 2014 reissue

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	"Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car (Extended Version)"	Lange Ocean	9:01
12.	"Showdown"		5:00
13.	"Calypso Crazy (Extended Version)"	Lange Ocean	5:53
14.	"Let's Get Back Together"		4:42
15.	"Stand & Deliver (Extended Version)"		6:57

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[3]

• Billy Ocean – vocals
• Phillip Ballou, Ethel Beatty, Mary Cassidy, Will Downing, Lani Groves, Yolanda Lee Lewis, The Manhattans, Condy Mizelle, Brenda Nelson, Vaneese Thomas, Carroll Thompson, Bernita Turner, Andrey Wheeler – background vocals
• Mike Campbell, Jonathan Butler, Steve Byrd, Ira Siegel, Richard Bailey  - guitars
• Dave Collard, Mitchel Forman, Rob Lord, Brenda Nicholas, Eric Rehl, V. Jeffrey Smith  - keyboards and synthesizers
• Phil Nicholas: Keyboards and programming
• Pete Harris  - programming
• Paul Bruce, Jolyon Skinner  - bass
• Richard Bailey, Terry Silverlight, Buddy Williams  – drums
• Charles Dougherty, Wesley Magoogan, Lenny Pickett – saxophone
• Clifton Anderson – trombone
• Mac Gollehon, Ron Tooley – trumpet
• Richard Hendrickson, Edith Wint – cello

Production

• Producers – Robert John "Mutt" Lange (Tracks 1, 5 & 6); Barry J. Eastmond and Wayne Braithwaite (Tracks 2, 3, 4 & 7-10).
• Recording Engineers – Jerry Peal and Steve Power; assisted by Bruce Robbins and Chris Trevitt
• Mixing – Nigel Green (Tracks 1-7 & 10); Bryan "Chuck" New (Tracks 8 & 9).
• Sleeve Design – Zombart (Jonathan Elliot and Ben Wilson).
• Additional Design and Layout – Jim @ Wolf Graphics
• Photography – Iain McKell
• Liner Notes – Michael Silvester

Chart performance

Chart	Peak position
Australian Albums Chart[4]	13
Canadian Albums Chart[5]	8
Dutch Albums Chart[6]	18
Finnish Albums Chart[7]	24
German Albums Chart[8]	17
New Zealand Albums Chart[9]	7
Norwegian Albums Chart[10]	3
Swedish Albums Chart[11]	14
Swiss Albums Chart[12]	10
UK Albums Chart[13]	3
US Billboard 200[14]	18
US Billboard R&B Albums[14]	7

Sales and certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[15]	Gold	35,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[16]	Gold	100,000^^
Canada (Music Canada)[17]	Platinum	100,000^^
United States (RIAA)[18]	Platinum	700,000[19]
^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. Wynn, Ron. "Tear Down These Walls - Billy Ocean : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
2. "3 × CD, Mini, Album, Special Edition". discogs.com. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
3. Tear Down These Walls liner notes. Jive, Arista. 1988.
4. David Kent (1993). Australian Charts Book 1970—1992. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
5. "Results - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
6. Steffen Hung. "Billy Ocean - Love Zone". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
7. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 227. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
8. "Offizielle Deutsche Charts". Officialcharts.de. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
9. Steffen Hung. "Billy Ocean - Tear Down These Walls". charts.nz. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
10. Steffen Hung. "Billy Ocean - Tear Down These Walls". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
11. Steffen Hung. "Billy Ocean - Tear Down These Walls". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
12. Steffen Hung. "Billy Ocean - Love Zone". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
14. "Tear Down These Walls - Billy Ocean | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
15. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2016 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
16. "British album certifications – Billy Ocean – Tear Down These Walls". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 7 July 2015. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Tear Down These Walls in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
17. "Canadian album certifications – Billy Ocean – Tear Down These Walls". Music Canada. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
18. "American album certifications – Ocean, Billy – Tear Down These Walls". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 7 July 2015. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
19. George, Nelson (5 December 1987). "Increased CD Sales Predicted for Black Market" (PDF). Billboard. Billboard Publications, Inc. 99 (49): 63. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 25 April 2015.

External links

• Tear Down These Walls at Discogs (list of releases)