Waking Hours

Waking Hours is the second studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Del Amitri, released in July 1989. It reached number 6 in the UK Albums Chart and featured one of the band's most famous songs, "Nothing Ever Happens", which reached number 11 in the UK Singles Chart. The album's opening track, "Kiss This Thing Goodbye", entered the top 40 of the US Billboard Hot 100 when released as a single for the second time.

Waking Hours
Studio album by Del Amitri
Released	July 1989
Recorded	Park Lane, Glasgow; Great Linford Manor, Milton Keynes; Chipping Norton Recording Studios, Oxfordshire
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	45:49
Label	A&M AMA9006
Producer	Mark Freegard (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 & 9); Gil Norton (3, w/ additional recording by Mark Freegard); Hugh Jones (8; 5 & 10 w/ additional recording by Mark Freegard)
Del Amitri chronology
Del Amitri (1985) Waking Hours (1989) Change Everything (1992)
Waking Hours original cover

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

History

Many Del Amitri fans consider Waking Hours to be the band's first "real" album. The post-punk influence of the first album, Del Amitri (1985), had produced a sound radically different to the remainder of the band's output. The first album had been extremely difficult to find for many years, before its 2003 CD reissue, leaving many who became fans in the 1990s totally unaware of its existence. Waking Hours arguably represents Del Amitri's first "mature" record, and was certainly the first to bring them any mainstream success.

Typically for Del Amitri (the group never made two albums with the same band members), Waking Hours featured some recently introduced personnel: new guitarist Mick Slaven and keyboard player Andy Alston. Despite some important creative input (he contributed to the writing of "Kiss This Thing Goodbye" and "Hatful Of Rain") Slaven left the band before the album had even been released. He was replaced by David Cummings, who appears on the album's front cover despite not having played on it. It would also be the last record for drummer Paul Tyagi, who was replaced by Brian McDermott.

Track listing

All songs written by Justin Currie except as noted.

1. "Kiss This Thing Goodbye" (Currie, Iain Harvie, Mick Slaven) – 4:35
2. "Opposite View" – 4:52
3. "Move Away Jimmy Blue" (Currie, Harvie) – 3:47
4. "Stone Cold Sober" – 4:57
5. "You're Gone" (Currie, Harvie) – 5:10
6. "When I Want You" – 4:32
7. "This Side Of The Morning" – 4:21
8. "Empty" – 4:38
9. "Hatful Of Rain" (Currie, Harvie, Slaven) – 5:01
10. "Nothing Ever Happens" – 3:53

Personnel

Musicians

• Justin Currie – vocals, bass, guitars
• Iain Harvie – guitars
• Mick Slaven – guitars
• Andy Alston – keyboards
• Paul Tyagi – drums

Technical personnel

• Robert Cairns - violin
• Blair Cowan - accordion and synthesizer
• Julian Dawson - harmonica
• Caroline Lavelle - cello
• Stephen Irvine - drums
• James O'Malley - bass
• Will Mowat - keyboards and sequencing
• Mixed by - Julian Mendelsohn

Recorded at Park Lane, Linford Manor and Chipping Norton.

Singles

Kiss This Thing Goodbye Released: July 1989, re-released March 1990 B-sides: "No Holding On" "Slowly, It's Coming Back" 10" vinyl version included "Fred Partington's Daughter" Chart positions: original release – did not chart; re-release – # 35 (US)

Stone Cold Sober Released: September 1989 B-sides: "The Return Of Maggie Brown" "Talk It To Death" (Justin Currie, Iain Harvie) Chart positions: did not chart

Nothing Ever Happens Released: December 1989 (UK) January 1990 (US) B-sides: "So Many Souls To Change" "Don't I Look Like The Kind Of Guy You Used To Hate" "Evidence" Chart positions: # 11 (UK)

Move Away Jimmy Blue Released: May 1990 B-sides: "Another Letter Home" "April The First" "More Than You'd Ever Know" Chart positions: # 36 (UK)

• All singles released on A&M Records.
• All B-sides written by Justin Currie unless specified.

References

1. Schnee, Steve "Spaz". Waking Hours at AllMusic

External links

• Official Del Amitri homepage