The Up Escalator
	Produced by Jimmy Iovine
	Released on May 1980
	UK CHART POSITION #11 . . . US CHART POSITION #40
	Find it at GEMM
AL 9517 cover [high resolution scan]

K ronomyth 6.0: RISING FORTUNES. Sparks fly again on The Up Escalator, even as The Rumour was slowly disappearing from view (Bob Andrews had already left and the rest of The Rumour would soon follow). The album is notable for the appearance of Bruce Springsteen (“Endless Night,” inexplicably not one of the album’s two singles) and the E Street Band’s Danny Federici on organ. Honestly, I’d never made a connection between Parker and Springsteen, but the prickly Parker can use all the help he could get, and it wasn’t like they paired him with pretty boy Daryl Hall or anything. (Cough.) Producer Jimmy Iovine keeps a tighter rein on things than Jack Nitzsche, though you can’t argue with the results (Dire Strait’s Making Movies, Tom Petty’s Hard Promises). Great material (“No Holding Back,” “The Beating of Another Heart”) and a greater focus on delivering a consistent sound make The Up Escalator a fun ride for Parker fans. The singer hasn’t softened his attack, spitting out plenty of venom on songs like “Empty Lives” (from whence “the up escalator” references comes) and “Stupefaction.” While Iovine seemed lately incapable of producing a poor album, the real credit for consistency goes to Parker, who managed to release three unerringly excellent albums (Sparks, Escalator, Grey Area) with three different producers. Each of them feature the amply baited, barbed hooks that intelligent rock fans will find nigh irresistible. And yet, a measure of commercial success still eluded him in the form of a US hit single, a situation that Another Grey Area would soon rectify.

AL 9517 back cover	AL 9517 picture sleeve

TRACK LISTING

1. NO HOLDING BACK    3:18
2. DEVIL'S SIDEWALK    3:14
3. STUPEFACTION    3:30
4. EMPTY LIVES    5:06
5. THE BEATING OF ANOTHER HEART    4:20
6. ENDLESS NIGHT    3:35
7. PARALYZED    3:12
8. MANEUVERS    3:28
9. JOLIE JOLIE    2:59
10. LOVE WITHOUT GREED    3:24
    
    CD bonus track
    
11. WOMEN IN CHARGE
    
    CD reissue bonus, bonus track
    
12. HEY LORD DON'T ASK ME QUESTIONS (LIVE)
    
    All songs written by Graham Parker

CREDITS

GRAHAM PARKER -- vocals, rhythm & acoustic guitars
MARTIN BELMONT -- rhythm & acoustic guitars
ANDREW BODNAR -- bass
STEPHEN GOULDING -- drums & backing vocals
BRINSLEY SCHWARZ -- lead guitars & backing vocals
Danny Federici -- organ
Nicky Hopkins -- acoustic piano
Jimmy Maelen -- percussion
Bruce Springsteen -- backing vocals (6)
Peter Wood -- synthesizer
Shelly Yakus -- engineer
Dave Thoener, Jon Mathias -- additional engineering
Jack Drumond -- cover painting
Glenn M. Brown -- photography
Richard Giglio -- lettering

return to GRAHAM PARKER AND THE RUMOUR discography

For more discographies visit...

© 2010 Connolly & Company. All rights reserved.