Huey Lewis & the News - Picture This

Limited Edition Japanese pressing of this album comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve. EMI. 2008. Album Description

Wow! Excellent Sound Quality Now Makes This My Favourite Huey Album!

I had always been a fan of "Do You Believe In Love" ever since I first heard it when it came out all those years ago. I have always been loathe to get an entire album just for one song though and especially so on the allowance that I was getting at the time as a teen and so I never got the chance to hear the rest of this album until now. I also realise now that this great track that I love isn't even composed by the band! The song credits go to another individual that I greatly admire John Mutt Lange who is the husband of Shania Twain and who produced some of my all time favourite albums such as AC/DC's "Back In Black" and Def Leppard's "Hysteria". When I saw that our mlps expert friends from Japan were putting together a remastered mini-lp sleeve replica version of this album I though I'd give it a try and boy am I glad I did!

The sound quality is very good having been excellently remastered and I now even like this album better than "Sports". Perhaps part of the reason could be that I'd heard too much of "Sports" over the years but I think the real reason could be that this is the overall more cohesive and fun-filled album of the two. I can't find any fillers on this baby and every track sounds fresh even today and it's clear that the remastering has really rejuvenated the sound of this album.

There are no bonus tracks but that's fine with me as I've found from experience that frequently such tracks only end up detracting from the overall enjoyment of the cd. The unfortunate thing about this version of the album is the mlps design itself which is poorly assembled out of thin cardboard that looks like it will fall apart in time when the glue gets old. They should look at the Hall & Oates and The Band mlps series if they want to know what good mlps designs look like. There is also an insert with all the lyrics in both English and Japanese.

This is pricey though but the great sound quality makes up somewhat for the price although the poor mlps design is unfortunate and makes you wonder if your existing remastered cd, if you have one already, is worth the "upgrade". October 8, 2008

Sports preview from Huey Lewis and News.

Huey Lewis and the News' sophomore album, the self-produced Picture This (1982) was a warmup for the colossal explosion that would become Sports. While not as polished as Sports, Picture This does feature HL&N's trademark 80's rock fused with soul and doowop stylings, not to mention their appealing falsetto harmony vocals and some downright fiery guitar from lead guitarist Chris Hayes, and snappy percussion from drummer Bill Gibson. But the synergistic teamwork ensured that Huey Lewis didn't steal the spotlight just because he was lead singer. In examining the people consisting the groups, I note how they play an instrument and do vocals.

The album itself yielded three singles, two of which the Top 40. The first was the Mutt Lange-penned smooth pop song "Do You Believe In Love," a #7 hit which contains the aforementioned hallmarks of their sound, where the title chorus features harmonies from the group. The #36 "Hope You Love Me Like You Say You Do," had a more leisure doowop/jazz sound, with some stylings that would later be used in "If This Is It" in Sports. Finally, the snappy and upbeat "Working For A Livin'", which has some cool organ and which I remembered being played over the speakers at the 1992 Democratic Convention, missed the Top 40 by one spot. "I'm taking what they're givin cuz I'm working for a livin'" goes the chorus, as Lewis and buddies sing of the hardships of trying to make ends meet, such as a check that's already spent for expenses such as a $100 condo and $200 rent. It seems a bit unfair that a song aimed at those of us hard workers didn't do as well, and yet the equally upbeat "Hip To Be Square" made it to #3 years later.

As for the rest, "The Only One" with some hard-driving guitar from Hayes, is a fond remembrance to a classmate who had what it took to be cool and was an inspiration to his peers, only to have a not-so successful life, losing his girl, and finally dying in an accident. This catchy tune could've been a single due to its resemblance to the pop-rock performed by Rick Springfield, Jackson Browne, and Loverboy. Ditto for "Whatever Happened to True Love" on the protagonist's idealistic belief that they were going to be different from the breakup couples, yet in musing on the title words, tries to figure out what went wrong.

"Change of Heart" benefits from some strong guitars and a consistent rhythm section and is a great opener. It's classic 80's material. They cover the Hollywood Flames' #11 1958 hit "Buzz Buzz Buzz" to close things off, and their fondness for early rock and their influences are evident with this decent and upbeat cover.

Cutting their teeth on this Sports preview proved worthwhile, as it gave them a warmup at the gym-I mean studio, to produce their best album and arguably one of the best albums of the 1980's.
February 10, 2006

Hard Workin' Band

Picture This was Huey Lewis & The News' breakout album. It contains one of the ten best songs of the 80's in "Do You Believe In Love". Try listening to the song without singing along. The rest of the album is a collection of catchy, hummable tunes including "Giving It All Up For Love", "The Only One" & "Buzz Buzz Buzz". The rolicking "Workin' For A Livin'" defines the band's attitude. There are no messages here, just fun, good-time music, that's easy on the ears. Great to throw on at a party. Sit back, crack a beer and enjoy the ride. July 10, 2000

My friend Mark Donaldson's favorite rock'n roll band review!

You people out there if you think Huey Lewis and The News is the best CD album yet. I recommend you buy this second album of 1982's "Picture This". Because it's the landmark of the artist ever to perform in their eighties decade career! June 30, 1999

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