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Water Sign is the fifth studio album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 1983. The album reached No. 64 on the UK Albums Chart. "I Can Hear Your Heartbeat" was released as a single, initially peaking on the UK Singles Chart at No. 60, while a re-recorded version for Rea's 1988 compilation album, New Light Through Old Windows, reached No. 74.[2] Water Sign reached No. 36 in New Zealand. It sold well in Ireland, prompting Rea to mount an extensive tour there, which marked the beginning of an upswing in the musician's fortunes.[3][4]

Water Sign
Studio album by Chris Rea
Released	1983
Genre	Album-oriented rock
Length	40:24
Label	Magnet
Producer	Chris Rea David Richards
Chris Rea chronology
Chris Rea (1982) Water Sign (1983) Wired to the Moon (1984)
Singles from Water Sign
"I Can Hear Your Heartbeat" Released: April 1983

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

Production and impact

According to the sleeve notes in the 2019 deluxe version of Shamrock Diaries, the record company would not fund Water Sign, "forcing [Rea] to use tracks that had been intended as demos".[5] As a result, Rea plays most instruments on the album, and - unusually - drum machines feature. In an interview for Q magazine, Rea told Paul Du Noyer, "I turned in the Water Sign tapes as demos. And they said, that's it, put them out. And it looked like once they'd released that album they were gonna drop us."[3] In a fresh interview for the Shamrock Diaries sleeve notes, Rea recounts how - at that time - he was ready to throw in the towel, quit the music business and open an Italian restaurant. "Then a guy from Ireland phoned Magnet Records and said, 'I really like Water Sign. Will Chris come over and do a concert?'", which was the beginning of a change in his fortunes. "Then it all started to come good in Ireland," he said. "I went over there, it was like Beatlemania! So I stayed there a while, did a large tour."

The founder of the Montreux Jazz Festival, Claude Nobs, plays harmonica on the opening track, which is his only appearance on a studio album.

Track listing

All tracks written by Chris Rea.

1. "Nothing's Happening by the Sea" – 4:18
2. "Deep Water" – 4:06
3. "Candles" – 4:40
4. "Love's Strange Ways" – 3:38
5. "Texas" – 3:58
6. "Let It Loose" – 3:35
7. "I Can Hear Your Heartbeat" – 3:28
8. "Midnight Blue" – 4:50
9. "Hey You" – 4:00
10. "Out of the Darkness" – 3:27

("Texas" is the 1983 song, not the better known 1989 song from The Road to Hell.)

Personnel

• Chris Rea – vocals, all other instruments (1, 5, 6, 7, 10), all instruments (3, 4, 8, 9), guitars (2), keyboards (2)
• Ian Hawkins – guitars (2, 7, 10), bass (2, 7, 10)
• Claude Nobs – harmonica solo (1)
• Kevin Leach – saxophone solo (2, 10), acoustic piano (7)
• David Richards – horns (5), sequencing (6), additional drums (10), additional percussion (10)

Production

• Chris Rea – producer
• David Richards – producer, engineer
• Shoot That Tiger! – design
• Daniel Kleinman – hand tinting
• Fin Costello – photography
• Tontine Management – management

Singles

1. "Let It Loose" b/w "Sierra Sierra", "Urban Samurai"
2. "I Can Hear Your Heartbeat" b/w "From Love to Love"
3. "Love's Strange Ways" b/w "Smile"

Charts

Chart (1983)	Peak position
New Zealand Albums Chart[6]	36
Australian Albums Chart	60
French Albums Chart[7]	26
Dutch Albums Chart[8]	33
German Albums Chart[9]	30
Swedish Albums Chart[10]	7
UK Albums Chart[11]	64

References

На других языках

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- [en] Water Sign (Chris Rea album)

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[it] Water Sign

Water Sign è il quinto album in studio del musicista britannico Chris Rea, pubblicato nel 1983.

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[ru] Water Sign

Water Sign (прибл. рус. Водная стихия / Водный знак) — пятый студийный альбом Криса Ри, выпущенный в 1983 лейблом Magnet. В 1998 был переиздан лейблом WEA International. Возможно, наибольшего успеха он достиг в Швеции, заняв 7 место 6 сентября 1983 года и продержавшись в чартах в общей сложности 12 недель[2].

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