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Born in the Big Apple, raised in California, dimple on the chin, crooked and sly smile, an amiable heartbreaker demeanor, Huey Lewis, born Hugh Antony Cregg III (class of 1950), looks at us with "sports" eyes (as Umberto Saba would say) from the cover, with his faithful News behind him, an American bar, and a decade of experience as a bluesman with an easy harmonica.
In the '70s, he played in Clover, an American rhythm'n'blues band, where he met keyboardist Sean Hopper and later founded his personal band: Huey Lewis & The News. During the early days in 1980, he performed Rock'n'Roll with Hard and Pop enhancements, and with "Picture This" in 1982, he began the race to success with the single "Do You Believe In Love," always under the banner of melodic touches and catchy strokes that traveled through American radios. "Sports" exploded in the U.S. charts in the biennium 1983/84 without rewriting the Rock'n'Roll rulebook but utilizing various aspects of it, from the appealing vocal blend, to the lively sax, from the robust rock runway to the keyboard background, never leaning towards syrupy or overly elaborate notes. Huey Lewis had never experienced the thrill of high charts so strongly and never thought that his sound mixture could conquer such a wide audience.
In his favor, he has a band of cohesive and experienced musicians, from the never intrusive drummer Bill Gibson to the lively bassist Mario Cipollina, brother of John from Quicksilver Messenger Service, the aforementioned keyboardist, never over the top, Sean Hopper, rhythmic guitarist and saxophonist Johnny Colla, to the young and virtuoso guitarist Chris Hayes, comfortable with both hard phrases and delicate accompaniments. The album is opened by the beats of the Yankee musical heart, with the taste of American streets leading to the musical cities listed in the song "The Heart Of Rock'n Roll," a lively track with an insistent rhythm where harmonica passages alternate with sax parades and energetic guitar riffs, in a really vibrant mix that enters the Top 10 of U.S. singles along with "Heart And Soul," where Hayes' guitar dominates without stifling other instruments but combines with the keyboard in the main riff.
However, the peak of the album is "I Want A New Drug," which shoots to the top of the singles chart, certainly one of the band's heaviest tracks, featuring a nice interlocking riff between guitar and keyboards and a long guitar pilgrimage that fascinates and keeps the listener on track, serving as a counterbalance to an overly 80s bass, quite rubbery and electronic, which is the small flaw of this album. Truly pleasant "Finally I Found Home," still standard rock, effective chorus, and heartfelt voice, whereas "Walking On A Thin Line" is an anthemic and Springsteen-like track, the fifth single extracted with stanzas sung by Huey in a Phil Lynott (his friend and major musical influence) style, and "If This Is" is a sugary song, unpretentious (yet still in the Top 10 singles, and there are four!), contrary to "You Crack Me Up" a rousing fast-paced rock track, with a frenetic rhythm, where the singing is more excited. On a lower plane remains the whimsical Blues-Doo Wop of "Bad Is Bad," which is just a nice piece, and the fun cover "Honky Tonk Blues" which bends its DNA from the title and throws us into a barrelhouse atmosphere, as the Led Zeppelin did with "Hot Dog," perhaps with less clarity. Just fun and nothing more.
The intent of Huey Lewis & The News is to entertain and enjoy themselves, talk about everyday life without growling or burning out, as evidenced by the videos supporting the singles extracted from the album, but also to rediscover the initial spirit of Rock'n Roll, of live performances: rock notes and fans' hands reaching towards the stage. A magic that the group will face for three years before the next album, letting the commercial success of "Sports" take its course.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 The Heart of Rock & Roll (05:05)
New York, New York, is everything they say
And no place that I'd rather be
Where else can you do a half a million things
All at a quarter to three
When they play their music, ooh that modern music
They like it with a lot of style
But it's still that same old back beat rhythm
That really drives 'em wild
They say the heart of rock and roll is still beating
And from what I've seen I believe 'em
Now the old boy may be barely breathing
But the heart of rock and roll is still beating
L.A., Hollywood, and the Sunset Strip
Is something everyone should see
Neon lights and the pretty, pretty girls
All dressed so scantily
When they play their music, that hard rock music
They like it with a lot of flash
But it's still that same old back beat rhythm
That really kicks 'em in the...
They say the heart of rock and roll is still beating
And from what I've seen I believe 'em
Now the old boy may be barely breathing
But the heart of rock and roll is still beating
D.C., San Antone and the Liberty Town
Boston and Baton Rouge
Tulsa, Austin, Oklahoma City
Seattle, San Francisco, too
Everywhere there's music, real live music
Bands with a million styles
But it's still that some old rock and roll music
That really, really drives 'em wild
They say the heart of rock and roll is still beating
And from what I've seen I believe 'em
Now the old boy may be barely breathing
But the heart of rock and roll is still beating
In Cleveland, Detroit
Heart of rock and roll
04 I Want a New Drug (04:45)
Yeah-eah!
I want a new drug
One that won't make me sick
One that won't make me crash my car
Or make me feel three feet thick
I want a new drug
One that won't hurt my head
One that won't make my mouth too dry
Or make my eyes too red
One that won't make me nervous
Wondering what to do
One that makes me feel like I feel when I'm with you
When I'm alone with you
I want a new drug
One that won't spill
One that don't cost too much
Or come in a pill
I want a new drug
One that won't go away
One that won't keep me up all night
One that won't make me sleep all day
One that won't make me nervous
Wondering what to do
One that makes me feel like I feel when I'm with you
When I'm alone with you
I'm alone with you, baby
I want a new drug
One that does what it should
One that won't make me feel too bad
One that won't make me feel too good
I want a new drug
One with no doubt
One that won't make me talk too much
Or make my face freak out
One that won't make me nervous
Wondering what to do
One that makes me feel like I feel when I'm with you
When I'm alone with you
I'm alone with you
06 Finally Found a Home (03:43)
It used to make me so fed up
People always asking me
What will you be when you grow up
You're gonna need security
Spent a little time in school
Wishing I was somewhere else
Having fun and acting cool
I just want to be myself
And I finally found a home
Where I'll never be alone
Right here where I belong
And I finally found a home
Here, in a song
Thought I'd finally found the one
Together we would always be
Funny how things come undone
Love's not what it's supposed to be
Now everybody need a place
Even if it's on a stage
Eveybody needs a race
Something to help them turn the page
And I finally found a home
Where I'll never be alone
Right here where I belong
And I finally found a home
Here, in a song
It used to make me so fed up
People always asking me
What are you now that you've grown up
Exactly what I want to be
08 You Crack Me Up (03:43)
Oh my god, I can't believe my eyes
Underneath that ghostly pale is that you
Someone in your shape shouldn't be driving
Someone in your shape shouldn't be doing anything at all
You should see yourself in the mirror
With your leather lips and your snakeskin shoes
Do you have to shout in my ear
Do me a favor, just stop talking for a minute or two
You crack me up, you really really do
With your sunglasses on, acting so young
Only I know what you're really up to
You break me up
No, I don't want to sit in your sports car
No, I don't want to hear a tune
All the locals say you'll go far
That's funny; they don't know you like I do
You crack me up you twisted wreck
Shouding in the parking lot, think you'll give it one more shot
Better hope they'll cash a check
You break me up
You better ask yourself a question
Cause you cant live like this for long
You better listen to my suggestion
Before you wind up in somebody else's song
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