Anonymous wrote:Hi im Andy and Im 30 from Bognor in good old --- by the Sea in the uk!
Well I can remember listening to New Light Through Old Windows in my dads car on Holiday in Denmark about 16 years ago! Well I found that tape 1 1/2 ago and listened to it on the way back from a Jools Holland concert, ever since then I've been hooked!
I've been buying all the albums old and new and like his new and old stuff equally! Favourite tracks well its hard to pick because thay change in my mind constantly and different tracks are added!
Tracks that allways come to mine are Windy Town, Shamrock Diaries, Josaphine, Nothing to fear, Stainsby Girls, Fool if you think its over, Since I found you, Warm and Tender Love and I just love the Memphis Blues album from Blue Guitars and the Blue Jukebox and Stoney Road are fantastic!
Anyway from listening to Chris Ive gone and brought myself a Fender Strat and Im learning to play the blues!
Cant wait to see Chris live in concert in Brighton, and Im taking my dad along as well!
Nice to see a strong Polish following for Chris as Im 25% Polish.
Enjoy the music Andy
:smt035 :smt045
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Hallo Andy,
Good to have you on this forum dedicated to Chris Rea.
Obviously, I cannot speak for all Poles (because I shouldn't), but I think a lot of us here, in Poland (and that's fair to say), are thankful to Chris for his touchy texts, melodic songs, friendly attitude, compassion, social awareness. In short: for his profound sensitivity in his lyrics and music towards life as such. He expresses in his beautiful songs all these feeling we all have deep inside of us, regardless whether we are Polish, English, Germans, Dutch, Italians or what have you. We all tend to perceive certain things schematically, for instance that the some nationalities are (allegedly) 'more sensitive' than others, but I can testify to just the opposite. Sensitivity has no nationality!
I've been identifying myself with Chris, with his songs, ever since I've heard him first (in fact!) on a German radio in late 70s. I wrote about it in several posts, so I don't want to repeat myself.
I'm glad that many other fans are saying the same on this forum, sharing their feelings with us. They feel especially close to Chris' songs when they are down, depressed, put down by others, home sick or seriously ill. I'm sure that his songs have helped many individuals pull out of serious crises or even sickness.
There are some important (for us Poles, at least), what I call, "Polish accents" in Chris Rea's biography. At this point others can say, he is also pretty much "German", "Dutch" or "French" because he refers in his songs to "a taste of Duesseldorf still on our lips", an Amsterdam story, or a Provence vineyard. Well, he is all of little this and little that. What I'm trying to say is: we all share his feelings, worries and memories because he grew up in a mixed environment among immigrants, speaking Italian with his father and having many foreign friends. That way, he knows life a lot better than many mono cultural individuals and - in a sense - he "speaks (and sings) the same language as we do", if you will . Chris Rea is proud of his background and regrets that we are losing our tradition at Christmas, for instance. He spoke about it in several interviews while appealing to other Europeans to uphold what is being slowly lost in England to pure commercialism. He particularly mentioned our Christian-derived tradition, not necessarily (as he always makes sure he doesn't offend anyone) in truly religious sense. In other interviews he shows understanding towards Muslims....
One of the most striking to me were recent Chris' remarks about Spanish flamenco and Pyotr (Peter) Tschaykovsky's music being blues, too!
The other day Dmitry from Moscow asked us whether anyone knew what the "E" in the song "E" stands for. I was amazed to discover that Chris wrote this particular song based on his first hand experience with the drug problem among his daughter's schoolmates! The lyrics are like fatherly talk with his children: "let's talk about it, let's talk about it." He was trying to explain to others, to youngsters in particular, "what's so wrong with E." He was not propagating the use of this drug, but to the contrary: wanted to warn others "before it's too late."
I'm looking forward to Chris Rea concert in Warsaw, on Saint Patrick's Day! (March 17), although I'm perfectly aware that this tour could prove particularly difficult for him, both in the sense of being unnecessarily exhausted and deadly tired. Therefore, I admire him that in spite of all this, he decided to go through with the tour. For all of us to enjoy.
Best regards,
Chris
English
and the songs you have mentioned are also among my best of the best.
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