Groove Approved

Groove Approved is the fourth solo studio album by the English singer-songwriter Paul Carrack, then a member of the supergroup Mike + The Mechanics. It was originally released in 1989, on the Chrysalis label.

Groove Approved
Studio album by
Paul Carrack
ReleasedNovember 1989
Genre
Length52:52
LabelChrysalis
ProducerT-Bone Wolk, Paul Carrack, Eddie Schwartz
Paul Carrack chronology
One Good Reason
(1987)		 Groove Approved
(1989)		 Blue Views
(1996)

While his previous album featured members of Mike + The Mechanics, for this album Carrack worked mainly with producer T-Bone Wolk. The album's only hit was "I Live by the Groove", which was co-written by Carrack and Eddie Schwartz, and which peaked at #31 on the Billboard Hot 100.[1] Schwartz co-produced the track with Wolk and Carrack; the rest of the album was produced by Wolk and Carrack working as a duo.

The song "Battlefield" was later covered by co-writer Nick Lowe under the title "I Live On A Battlefield". Carrack himself would use this longer title when he re-recorded the song in 2007 on his album Old, New, Borrowed And Blue, and again on his 2010 album A Different Hat (backed by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra). The song "I Live By the Groove" was featured in a montage scene in the 1989 cult film The Wizard, as well as in a scene in the 1994 film Camp Nowhere.

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]

AllMusic's William Ruhlmann calls Groove Approved "a solid, workman-like collection", and writes that its limited commercial success "had less to do with the album's real commercial potential than with upheavals in the record company".[2]

Jim Green of Trouser Press praised the album for its "good old-fashioned R&B grooves, often garnished with Carrack's tasty Hammond organ licks." However, Green also notes that "unfortunately, the synthetic drums sometimes slicken or stiffen the rhythm too much," and that "the songs aren't unforgettable, but they're mostly painless".[3]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Only My Heart Can Tell"Paul Carrack, T-Bone Wolk5:21
2."I Live by the Groove"Carrack, Eddie Schwartz4:09
3."Battlefield"Carrack, Nick Lowe4:20
4."Love Can Break Your Heart"Carrack, Michael McDonald5:20
5."I'm on Your Tail"Carrack, Lowe6:15
6."After the Love Is Gone"Carrack, Chris Difford6:23
7."Loveless"Carrack, Wolk4:22
8."Tip of My Tongue"Carrack, Wolk6:06
9."Dedicated"Carrack5:22
10."Bad News (At the Best of Times)"Carrack, John Welsey Harding5:14

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[4]

  • Paul Carrack – lead and backing vocals, keyboards, keyboard programming, additional drums
  • Tom "T-Bone" Wolk – keyboards, accordion, guitars, mandolin, bass
  • Jimmy Bralower – drum and percussion programming

Additional musicians

Production
  • Paul Carrack – producer
  • T-Bone Wolk – producer
  • Eddie Schwartz – producer (2)
  • Tim Leitner – recording
  • Thom Cadley – recording assistant
  • Derek McCartney – recording assistant
  • Bob Clearmountain – mixing (1, 3, 7, 8, 9)
  • Tom Lord-Alge – mixing (2, 4, 5, 6, 10)
  • Lee Curle – mix assistant
  • Joe Pirrera – mix assistant
  • Kevin Whyte – mix assistant
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering
  • Anthony Aquilato – production coordinator
  • Michael Krage – album design
  • John Millar – photography

Studios

  • Recorded at The Hit Factory (New York, NY) and Farmyard Studios (Little Chalfont, England).
  • Mixed at The Hit Factory; Advision Studios and Mayfair Studios (London, UK).
  • Mastered at Masterdisk (New York, NY).

References
  1. Paul Carrack USA chart history, Billboard.com. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  2. [Groove Approved at AllMusic allmusic review]
  3. Green, Jim. "Paul Carrack's albums". Trouser Press. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  4. Groove Approved liner notes. Chrysalis Records. 1989.
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