release date: Nov. 11, 1985
format: vinyl
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,56]
producer: David A. Stewart
label: Virgin Records - nationality: Northern Ireland, UK
Track highlights: A) 1. "A Good Heart" (5 / 5) (video) - 2. "You Little Thief" - 4. "Ashes and Diamonds" - 5. "Made to Measure" - - B) 1. "Someone to Somebody" - 2. "Don't Leave It to Nature" - 5. "It's All Over Now"
Solo studio album debut by Feargal Sharkey after the disbandment of The Undertones, Jul. 1983. The band's last two albums Positive Touch (1981) and Sin of Parade (1983) already showed the band's move from melodic punk rock via power pop and into a bolder mainstream pop / rock scene, and Sharkey's solo effort basically just takes another step into sophisti-pop arrangements with strong contributions from Dave Stewart, Patrick Seymour, Michael Kamen, Nathan East, Olle Romo (Eurythmics backing band), Martin Chambers (of Pretenders), and Debra Byrd. Unquestionably, Stewart's presence ensures a sound that doesn't fall far from that of Eurythmics, and that's both the album's strength and a bit of a pitfall, as many artists sought to replicate the sound and the success of Eurythmics. "A Good Heart" written by Maria McKee deservedly became a massive hit, and much sayingly, the best tracks here are written by others, counting: "A Good Heart", "You Little Thief", "Made to Measure", "Someone to Somebody", and "It's All Over Now". Sharkey has that fabulous vocal that just makes it more than generic pop. It's Northern pop soul, which puts him alongside someone like Paul Young; alas Sharkey soon tired of the music business and withdrew from the limelight shortly after his follow-up Wish (Mar. 1988).
