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. It displays a stronger country influence than his previous albums and saw significantly more songwriting input from Young, 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.
Critical reception A review in The Guardian believed the album marked a significant departure from Young's previous albums. The instrumentation was found to sound more akin to a Garth Brooks album than the output Young was best known for. Despite saying it 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. for preview to see full article
Track listing
Note Track 10 contains a loop of the song "Neanderthal Man" by Hotlegs. Track 11 contains a loop of the songs "Overcome" by Tricky, "Loser" by Beck, and "I Couldn't Keep It to Myself" by Tony! Toni! Toné!.
Personnel
Paul Young – lead vocals (all tracks), backing vocals (1–4, 6–10), acoustic guitar, sitar (8), tambourine (8) Simon Clark – keyboards (1, 3–12) Steve Piggott – keyboards (1, 3–12), synthesizers (3, 5, 6, 9, 12) Matt Irving – 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 (1, 3, 5, 7, 9) 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 (4) 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) The London Session Orchestra – orchestra; led by Gavyn Wright (3, 4, 8, 11) Anne Dudley – string arrangements & conductor (3, 4, 8, 11) Drew Barfield – backing vocals (1–10) Steve Booker – backing vocals (5) Boo Hewerdine – backing vocals (5) Carol Kenyon – backing vocals (2) John Tonks – loops & fills
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)PeakpositionUK Albums Chart39German Albums Chart90
References
External links