Sports [Remaster] (CD - 1983)

Huey Lewis & The News: Huey Lewis (vocals, harmonica); Johnny Colla (guitar, saxophone, background vocals); Chris Hayes (guitar, background vocals); Sean Hopper (keyboards, background vocals); Mario Cipollina (bass); Bill Gibson (drums, percussion, background vocals).

Additional personnel: John McFee (pedal steel guitar).

Producer: Huey Lewis & The News.

Reissue producer: Kevin Flaherty.

Recorded at Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California; The Plant Studios, Sausalito, California; live in San Francisco, California on February 21, 1985; live on TV Rock Palace, Los Angeles, California on January 15, 1984.

Digitally remastered using 20-bit technology by Bob Norberg (Capitol Mastering).

This is part of EMI's Expanded Editions series.

Personnel: Huey Lewis (vocals, harmonica); Johnny Colla (vocals, guitar, saxophone); Chris Hayes (vocals, guitar); Sean Hopper (vocals, keyboards); Bill Gibson (vocals, drums, percussion); John McFee (pedal steel guitar); Mario Cipollina (bass).

Recorded at Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California and The Plant Studios, Sausalito, California.

After two mildly successful, vaguely new-wave albums, Bay Area bar band Huey Lewis and the News (several of whose members had backed Elvis Costello on MY AIM IS TRUE) hooked up with mega-selling producer Mike Chapman and released 1983's SPORTS. The album dominated both AM and FM radio throughout 1984, aligning it with THRILLER, PURPLE RAIN, SHE'S SO UNUSUAL, and Madonna's early singles as definitive pop music of its era.

SPORTS is genial frat-boy rock at its finest. Singles "The Heart of Rock and Roll," "Heart and Soul," "I Want a New Drug," and "If This is It" comprise half of the album, and these songs have stood up to repeated listens. Hearing SPORTS today, the album still sounds surprisingly fresh, all the more remarkable when one considers how poorly other hits of the day have fared. This reissue contains two demos and three live tracks.

After two mildly successful, vaguely new-wave albums, Bay Area bar band Huey Lewis and the News (several of whose members had backed Elvis Costello on MY AIM IS TRUE) hooked up with mega-selling producer Mike Chapman and released 1983's SPORTS. The album dominated both AM and FM radio throughout 1984, aligning it with THRILLER, PURPLE RAIN, SHE'S SO UNUSUAL, and Madonna's early singles as definitive pop music of its era.

SPORTS is genial frat-boy rock at its finest. Singles "The Heart of Rock and Roll," "Heart and Soul," "I Want a New Drug," and "If This is It" comprise half of the album, and these songs have stood up to repeated listens. Hearing SPORTS today, the album still sounds surprisingly fresh, all the more remarkable when one considers how poorly other hits of the day have fared. minimize