Paul Young (album)

Paul Young
Studio album by Paul Young
Released	May 1997
Genre	Country
Length	58:20
Label	East West
Producer	Greg Penny, Paul Young
Paul Young chronology
Reflections (1994) Paul Young (1997) Rock Swings On The Wild Side Of Swing (2006)
Singles from Paul Young
"I Wish You Love" Released: April 1997 "Ball and Chain" Released: July 1997

Paul Young is the seventh solo studio album by English singer Paul Young, released in May 1997 on East West Records. This was Young's last album made up of original material, until his 2023 album, Behind the Lens.[1] It displays a stronger country influence than his previous albums[2] and saw significantly more songwriting input from Young than on his previous albums, with eight of the twelve tracks being co-written by him. The album and lead single "I Wish You Love" both charted inside the UK top 40.[3]

Critical reception

A Guardian 1997 review believed the album marked a significant departure from Young's previous albums. The album instrumentation was found to sound more akin to a Garth Brooks album than the output Young was best known for. Despite saying the album potentially had "all the ingredients for a first-class disaster" the review rated the album as "good" and awarded it a score of 3 out of 5.[4]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Ball and Chain"	Paul Young Barfield	5:12
2.	"I Wish You Love"	Young Barfield	4:52
3.	"Tularosa"	Young Barfield	5:55
4.	"Vanish"	Young Burr Wilson	3:46
5.	"Hard Cargo"	Hewerdine Booker	5:40
6.	"Say Goodbye"	Young Barfield	4:10
7.	"In A Dream Gone By"	Young Barfield Moses	4:07
8.	"You'd Better Run Away"	Young Barfield Keys	3:39
9.	"Across The Borderline"	John Hiatt Ry Cooder Jim Dickinson	5:39
10.	"Then There's You"	Young Steve Seskin MacDonald	3:55
11.	"It Was a Very Good Year"	Ervin Drake	4:56
12.	"Window World"	Young Barfield	6:29

Personnel

• Paul Young – lead vocals, backing vocals, acoustic guitar, sitar, tambourine
• Simon Clark – keyboards (1, 3-12)
• Steve Piggott – keyboards (1, 3-12), synthesizers (3, 5, 6, 9, 12)
• Matt Irvine – accordion (1, 3, 7, 9, 11)
• Ross Cullum – keyboards (2)
• Jack Hues – programming (2), guitars (2), bass (2)
• Robbie McIntosh – electric guitar, acoustic guitar
• Jamie Moses – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
• Melvin Duffy – pedal steel guitar (4, 8)
• David Pilch – bass (1, 3-9, 12)
• Chris Hughes – bass and drum programming (2)
• Steve Greetham – bass (10, 11), backing vocals
• Pino Palladino – bass (11)
• Curt Bisquera – drums, percussion
• Greg Penny – beat box (3), tambourine (6)
• Ben Georgiades – cymbals (5)
• Bob Loveday – violin (2)
• Skaila Kanga – Paraguayan harp (3, 7, 12)
• Brendan Power – harmonica (4)
• Frank Mead – saxophone (6)
• Nick Payn – saxophone (6)
• Nick Pentelow – saxophone (6)
• Courtney Pine – saxophone (12)
• Martin Drover – trumpet (6, 7)
• Drew Barfield – backing vocals
• Steve Booker – backing vocals
• Boo Hewerdine – backing vocals
• Carol Kenyon – backing vocals

Production

• Greg Penny – producer
• Paul Young – producer
• Chris Hughes – executive producer, mixing (2)
• Andy Strange – recording, mixing (7, 9, 12)
• Bob Clearmountain – mixing (1, 3-6, 8, 10, 11
• Ross Cullum – mixing (2)
• Tony Cousins – mastering
• Martin Granville-Twig – mastering
• Norman Watson – photography

Charts

Chart (1997)	Peak position
UK Albums Chart[3]	39
German Albums Chart[5]	90

References

1. "Paul Young: It's fun to go looking back over my music success". Belfasttelegraph.co.uk. Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
2. "Biography > Paul Young". All Music Guide. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
3. "UK Charts > Paul Young". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
4. "Review: Paul Young". The Guardian. 23 May 1997. p. 40. Retrieved 30 October 2018 – via Newspapers.com. for preview (subscription required) to see full article
5. "German Charts > Paul Young". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 28 October 2018.^[dead link‍]

External links

• Paul Young at Discogs (list of releases)