You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic

You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic
Studio album by
Ian Hunter
Released27 March 1979 (1979-03-27)
Recorded1979
StudioPower Station, New York City
GenreRock
Length42:04
LabelChrysalis
ProducerMick Ronson, Ian Hunter
Ian Hunter chronology
Overnight Angels
(1977) 		You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic
(1979) 		The Ballad of Ian Hunter and Mott the Hoople
(1979)

You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic is the fourth solo studio album by Ian Hunter. The album featured members of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band as the backing band. AllMusic considers the album to be Hunter's best.[1]

Hunter says that the title had been spotted on a toilet wall by co-producer Mick Ronson, who planned to use it for one of his solo albums.[2] Hunter loved the title so much that he offered Ronson co-writing credit on the first single "Just Another Night" in exchange for the use of the title for the album. "Just Another Night" reached the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 68. The album became one of Hunter's biggest sellers at the time.

In 2009, EMI released a 30th-anniversary reissue of the album remastered with five bonus tracks on the first disc of outtakes and a second disc of live tracks recorded on the tour to support the album but previously unreleased. The reissue also came with a deluxe booklet discussing the making of the album, along with vintage and new interviews with Hunter.

The song "Cleveland Rocks" (originally recorded as a single for Columbia Records and entitled "England Rocks" around the time of "Overnight Angels") later became a hit when The Presidents of the United States of America re-recorded the song as the theme song to The Drew Carey Show in 1997, raising Hunter's profile. Also, singer Barry Manilow covered the song "Ships" for his album One Voice which became a top-ten hit.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideB[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[4]

The Globe and Mail noted that Hunter's "voice is of the Rod Stewart rasp variety, but with a punkish edge where Stewart's is icily urbane."[5]

Track listing

All tracks written by Ian Hunter except where noted.

Side one
  1. "Just Another Night" (Hunter, Mick Ronson) – 4:36
  2. "Wild East" – 3:58
  3. "Cleveland Rocks" – 3:48
  4. "Ships" – 4:11
  5. "When the Daylight Comes" – 4:27
Side two
  1. "Life After Death" – 3:49
  2. "Standin' in My Light" – 4:35
  3. "Bastard" – 6:37
  4. "The Outsider" – 5:57

Deluxe Edition track listing

Disc 1
  1. "Just Another Night"
  2. "Wild East"
  3. "Cleveland Rocks"
  4. "Ships"
  5. "When the Daylight Comes"
  6. "Life After Death"
  7. "Standin' in My Light"
  8. "Bastard"
  9. "The Outsider"
  10. "Don't Let Go" (Demo)
  11. "Ships" (Take 1)
  12. "When The Daylight Comes" (Early Version)
  13. "Just Another Night" (Early Version) (aka "The Other Side of Life")
  14. "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On"
Disc 2
  1. "F.B.I." – Live in Agora Ballroom, Cleveland 18/6/79
  2. "Once Bitten Twice Shy" – Live in Agora Ballroom, Cleveland 18/6/79
  3. "Life After Death" – Live in Agora Ballroom, Cleveland 18/6/79
  4. "Sons and Daughters" – Live at the Hammersmith Odeon, London 22/11/79
  5. "Laugh at Me" – Live at the Hammersmith Odeon, London 22/11/79
  6. "Just Another Night" – Live at the Hammersmith Odeon, London 22/11/79
  7. "One of the Boys" – Live at the Hammersmith Odeon, London 22/11/79
  8. "Letter to Brittania from Union Jack" – Live in Berkeley Community Theatre, Berkeley 7/7/79
  9. "Bastard" – Live in Berkeley Community Theatre, Berkeley 7/7/79
  10. "All the Way from Memphis" – Live in Agora Ballroom, Cleveland 18/6/79
  11. "Cleveland Rocks" – Live in Agora Ballroom, Cleveland 18/6/79
  12. "All the Young Dudes" – Live at the Hammersmith Odeon, London 22/11/79
  13. "When the Daylight Comes" – Live in Agora Ballroom, Cleveland 18/6/79
  14. "Sweet Angeline" – Live in Agora Ballroom, Cleveland 18/6/79

Personnel

Production

Charts

Chart (1979) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[6] 68
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[7] 45
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[8] 42
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[9] 26
UK Albums (OCC)[10] 49
US Billboard 200[11] 35

References

  1. ^ a b "You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic - Ian Hunter - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  2. ^ Weird & Gilly. Mick Ronson - The Spider With The Platinum Hair, p195. John Blake Publishing, 2017. ISBN 978-1-78606-268-0.
  3. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: H". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 26 February 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  4. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 335.
  5. ^ Niester, Alan (2 June 1979). "You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic". The Globe and Mail. p. F4.
  6. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 144. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4500a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  8. ^ "Charts.nz – Ian Hunter – You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  9. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Ian Hunter – You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  10. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  11. ^ "Ian Hunter Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 September 2024.