Huey Lewis & The News
Fore!

When in the now distant 1983 the album "Sports" reached the top spots of the American charts, achieving million sales within a few months, the name Huey Lewis & The News suddenly gained the popularity that the Californian musician and his colleagues had been chasing for at least four years.

Huey Lewis, in fact, had been on the scene for about ten years, first with the Clover, an energetic country rock group remembered for playing on records by Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, and on the debut album of Elvis Costello, the marvelous "My Aim Is True," and then, indeed, with the News, a solid and cool band that included among others guitarists Chris Hayes, Johnny Colla, and bassist Mario Cipollina, brother of the famous guitarist from Quicksilver Messenger Service. The explosion of "Sports" did justice to Huey's tenacity, as well as his undeniable talent and his skill as a harmonica player. Moreover, the winning card for Lewis and his associates was being able to offer a rock and roll that was compelling, full of energy and power, particularly suited for live performances.

"Fore!," released in 1986, confirmed the band's success, although achieved with effort. This millionaire-selling album earned the group another six hits, the most sensational of which was the clever and very famous "The Power Of Love", the central theme of the movie "Back To The Future." Among other chart-toppers are the pleasant and innocent "Stuck With You", the carefree "Doing It All For My Baby", the decisive and driving "Hip To Be Square" and the beautiful "Jacob's Ladder", composed by friend Bruce Hornsby, all accompanied by charming videos. The entire album is enjoyed with pleasure thanks to the skill of the individual musicians and the easy-listening yet absolutely quality artistic offering. "I Know What I Like" and "I Never Walk Alone" are two energetic rock tracks while "Whole Lotta Lovin'" and the choral "Naturally" are two tributes to the fifties. However, despite the enormous fame achieved, Huey Lewis will not be able to replicate the extraordinary success of "Fore!" in terms of both critical acclaim and sales over the years.

The following "Small World" will not achieve exciting sales results despite the presence of an illustrious guest like jazz player Stan Getz and a slight shift towards a sound closer to roots rock. Not even the 1990 album "Hard At Play," with its vitaminized pop rock and a few discreet tracks, or the heartfelt and successful homage to R&B "Four Chords & Several Years Ago", comprising only covers, will artistically revive Huey Lewis's career, who, instead of continuing to repeat an already tired formula, will prefer to momentarily and gracefully pause his activity with the News. In the nineties, in fact, Lewis will mostly make appearances as a harmonica player alongside Dick Dale, Asleep At the Wheel, and Wayne Perkins, reappearing as a solo artist only on a couple of tribute albums.