Description
What You Need is the fourth studio album by the American singer, songwriter, and session drummer Joe English (on this record credited as The English Band), a former member of Paul McCartney’s post-Beatles band Wings, released on Myrrh Records in 1985, a division of Word. The album was recorded and mixed by Brian Tankersley at Rivendell Recorders in Pasadena, Texas; with Tankersley, Joe English, and George Cocchini producing.
After several blandly pleasant pop albums, Joe English’s initial foray into rock is mildly disappointing despite the presence of the inspirational rocker «What You Need» – a multi-format hit if I’ve ever heard one. Not even good producer like Brian Tankersley could give English what he truly needs: better crafted tunes and hooks.
The album features a raspier Joe English and music that is more direct, more current. But apart from the title track, Glen Allen Green‘s «Take the Cross», the pop-tinged «I Will Follow You», and the rocker «Children of the Light», the material is absolutely dispensable.
The album ends, however, with a wonderous bit of serendipity. «Through the Veil» is an hypnotic synthesized hymn with all the beauty of a full-fledged concerto. It’s strangely out of place on ‘What You Need’, but I’m glad it’s there. [Bob Darden, CCM, December 1985]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/what-you-need/1507712199)
LP tracklist:
Side One
A1. “What You Need” – 3:33
A2. “The Master” – 3:38
A3. “Take The Cross” – 4:05
A4. “The First Stone” – 3:10
A5. “Easy Street” – 3:13
Side Two
B1. “I Will Follow You” – 3:51
B2. “Yield To The Spirit” – 3:52
B3. “The Joy Of The Lord” – 4:12
B4. “Children Of The Light” – 3:29
B5. “Through The Veil” (Instrumental) – 2:22
Note: Released on cassette, 12-inch vinyl LP, and CD by Myrrh Records.
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