Chris Rea Blue Guitars (2005) 11cd Dvd9

130-track CD/DVD set comprising of 11 CD albums each with it's own distinct musical style which showcases his passion for the guitar, plus a DVD for the 'Stony Road' album. Having created the cover of Stony Road and interpreted the cover of The Blue Juke Box the close relationship between Chris Rea's music and his painting was defined. This relationship was clearly leading in one direction, a ground-breaking idea to link the two driving forces in his life. The idea of Blue Guitars was born. Eleven albums from Chris Rea in one book pack, 130 brand new Chris Rea songs inspired by the blues ranging globally across all his own interpretations of this musical form, songs that Chris believes are some of his best to date.

A sequel of sorts to his earlier On the Beach, King of the Beach continues the laid-back mood of the earlier album but is (despite the goofy title) a more mature and unified work. It's one of his best albums and is a return to form after the film soundtrack La Passione and the more electronic sounds of The Road to Hell Part 2. Written primarily during a vacation in the Turks and Caicos Islands, it's replete with lots of beach and summer imagery in the titles ("King of the Beach," "All Summer Long," "Sandwriting," "Sail Away") as well as the lyrics, which were originally written as poems. A remix of "All Summer Long" was a big dance hit in Ibiza and other Mediterranean hot spots. A good album for a summer day, with a soulful mellowness flowing through the tracks.

La Passione is a British 1996 drama film written and produced by Chris Rea, directed by John B. Hobbs, and starring Sean Gallagher, Paul Shane and Shirley Bassey. The film premiered on 14 November 1996 at the BFI London Film Festival. The film features a cameo appearance by Rea, as well the same-titled soundtrack also composed by him. On the film soundtrack Shirley Bassey provides vocals on two tracks. Recorded in 1995, 'La Passione' is a modern classic, with both contemporary and orchestral pieces sewn together by a film clip for each track and a story loosely based on dreams Chris had as a young boy growing up in the industrial North East.

All of the highlights from guitarist/songwriter Chris Rea's moody late-'80s and early-'90s records are collected on The Best of Chris Rea. For neophytes and casual fans, this a perfect introduction, though more serious listeners will find plenty to treasure on his original albums.

A sequel of sorts to his earlier On the Beach, King of the Beach continues the laid-back mood of the earlier album but is (despite the goofy title) a more mature and unified work. It's one of his best albums and is a return to form after the film soundtrack La Passione and the more electronic sounds of The Road to Hell Part 2. Written primarily during a vacation in the Turks and Caicos Islands, it's replete with lots of beach and summer imagery in the titles ("King of the Beach," "All Summer Long," "Sandwriting," "Sail Away") as well as the lyrics, which were originally written as poems. A remix of "All Summer Long" was a big dance hit in Ibiza and other Mediterranean hot spots. A good album for a summer day, with a soulful mellowness flowing through the tracks.

Originally released on Rea's own label in 2002 under the title Dancing Down The Stony Road, this was Rea's first album following a life-threatening illness that had forced him off the road for nearly two years. This bluesy album features 13 tracks including 'Changing Times', 'Burning Feet', 'Easy Rider' and many more.

God's Great Banana Skin is the twelfth studio album by Chris Rea, released in 1992. The album wasn't released in the USA, though some tracks later appeared on the US release of Rea's following album Espresso Logic. The song "Too Much Pride" was featured in the 1993 Erotic Thriller Cold Sweat.

The perfect album for a day at the beach, Rea's eighth album takes the listener from the water's edge of the title song to the sunny fields of the French countryside in "Giverny." The upbeat reggae feel of "Lucky Day" works particularly well, but it is "On the Beach" that's the standout track. Rea seems to think so, too, as he's recorded it numerous times. The version here, though, is the most evocative, a little slower and more meditative than others. The lyrics, as in many of his songs, deal with remembrance and old love. "Little Blonde Plaits," "Hello Friend," and "It's All Gone" are other examples of this theme that appear on the album. While his later release, The Road to Hell, shows the darker side of Rea's worldview, On the Beach is an excellent introduction to his brighter, more optimistic songwriting. The last three songs are bonus tracks that were not on the original LP release, "Bless Them All" being a smooth, fluid instrumental.

Shamrock Diaries is the seventh studio album by Chris Rea, released in 1985. This album represents the beginning of a creative and commercial zenith for Rea. Shamrock Diaries was a huge seller in Europe, reaching the Top 20 in several countries including Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The album was also successful in Australia, where it reached number one.

With the success of the band Incantation and ethnic South American music in 1982-1983, Chris Rea introduced his sixth album, Wired to the Moon, with the track "Bombollini," which was over six minutes of jungle-sounding drums and the haunting sound of pan pipes. The ethnic flavor continued on the second track, "Touché d'Amour," which was reggae in the unashamed style of lovers rock. However, Rea wasn't going to disappoint his fans altogether, small in number though they were in the U.K., having built a career over several albums of soft rock tracks and midtempo ballads with Dire Straits-style guitar breaks, and the rest of the tracks on Wired to the Moon fell easily into this category, especially "Shine, Shine, Shine" and "Holding Out," which were lovely emotive ballads. Meanwhile, "Ace of Hearts," the title track, and the final song, "Winning," were soft rock numbers – almost MOR – crying out for daytime radio play or a top-selling commercial artist to cover them (but neither of these came about). Yet again, the record company released just one single from a Rea album.