Temple Bar (album)

Temple Bar is the fifth studio album by English singer and musician John Waite, released by Imago in 1995. The album was produced by Mike Shipley.[1]

Temple Bar
Studio album by
John Waite
Released1995
Length42:44
LabelImago
ProducerMike Shipley
John Waite chronology
Rover's Return
(1987)		 Temple Bar
(1995)		 When You Were Mine
(1997)

The album's lead single, "How Did I Get By Without You" peaked at No. 89 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and remained on the chart for eight weeks.[2] It also reached No. 20 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.[3] "Ain't No Sunshine" was also issued as a promotional single.[4]

Background

After the release of his fourth studio album, Rover's Return, in 1987, Waite joined the supergroup Bad English. When Waite left the group in 1991, he took some time away from the music business before returning to his solo career. He told The Record in 1995: "Being in Bad English was too much of a compromise. Instead of being true to the artistic side, there was this incredible pressure to keep producing the same kind of hits."[5]

Waite's return to his solo career was based on his "pure love of the music", with the material on Temple Bar inspired by Waite's recent divorce: "I wanted to describe my life to me and to tell the truth". When Waite was offered a contract with Terry Ellis' new label Imago, Waite agreed on the condition that the album he made "wouldn't be a rock record".[5] Speaking of the period on his official website, Waite recalled: "Terry Ellis gave me generous deal and I was able to move back into the city for several months to record. It's the only time I've ever had the head of a company tell me to make the record I wanted to make. I did. Temple Bar was the best I'd done to that point."[6]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Upon release, Stephanie Riefe of the Hartford Courant described the album as an "accessible, easy listen" and wrote: "Temple Bar is full of trademark Waite touches: great turns of phrase and truckloads of sentimentality. The surprise is that it's good. The music is pleasing, and the lyrics aren't so fluffy that they float off the page."[7] Brian S. Maloney of the Santa Cruz Sentinel considered the album to be "much more promising" than the material produced by Bad English. He commented: "The sincerity has returned and his solo music is more three-dimensional than those bland recent collaborations. It does go to show that sometimes old rockers still have a trick or two up their sleeves."[8]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."How Did I Get By Without You"John Waite, Mark Spiro, Tim Pierce4:02
2."Someone Like You"Van Morrison4:50
3."Price of My Tears"Waite, John DeNicola3:43
4."Ain't No Sunshine"Bill Withers3:38
5."Downtown"Waite, Glen Burtnik5:07
6."In God's Shadow"Keith Reid, Waite, Anthony Krizan, DeNicola5:50
7."I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry"Hank Williams2:30
8."The Glittering Prize"Waite, Krizan5:13
9."More"Waite, Krizan4:10
10."In Dreams"Waite, Spiro3:41

Personnel

References
  1. "Temple Bar - John Waite | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  2. Billboard. "John Waite How Did I Get By Without You? Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  3. Billboard. "John Waite How Did I Get By Without You? Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  4. "John Waite - Ain't No Sunshine (CD, Single, Promo)". Discogs. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  5. Jaeger, Barbara (21 April 1995). "Waite's soul-searching takes him full circle". The Record.
  6. "TEMPLE BAR | John Waite – Official Worldwide Web Site". Johnwaiteworldwide.com. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  7. Riefe, Stephanie (8 June 1995). "Catherine Wheel has driving beat; John Waite shines". The Hartford Courant.
  8. Maloney, Brian S. (19 May 1995). "This Waite isn't over: The big Baby resurfaces with a fine album". Santa Cruz Sentinel.
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