This Time It's Personal (John Cooper Clarke and Hugh Cornwell album)
| This Time It's Personal | ||||
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| Released | 14 October 2016 | |||
| Genre | Rock and roll | |||
| Length | 33:51 | |||
| Label | Sony | |||
| Producer | Hugh Cornwell | |||
| John Cooper Clarke chronology | ||||
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| Hugh Cornwell chronology | ||||
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| Singles from This Time It's Personal | ||||
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This Time It's Personal is a covers album by the English performance poet John Cooper Clarke, and the former vocalist and guitarist of the Stranglers, Hugh Cornwell. It was released on 14 October 2016[1] by Sony. The album features songs that were important to Clarke and Cornwell in their youth, and includes tracks by artists and songwriters such as Ricky Nelson, Ritchie Valens, Conway Twitty, Lieber and Stoller and Jimmy Webb.[2] This Time It's Personal marks Clarke's singing debut on an album.[3] It was Clarke's first album release since 1982's Zip Style Method.
Background[edit]
The album was conceived by Cornwell, when drunk and listening to "MacArthur Park", he wondered what the song would sound like if Clarke had sung it. Having spent dinner with Clarke weeks before, he rang him up and asked him if he was interested. Clarke was receptive to the idea, and after covering "MacArthur Park", the two decided to make an album of songs from their youth, with Clarke on vocals and Cornwell on guitars.[4][1] "This is the music Hugh and I listened to at a similar age, the music we heard on radio growing up," Clarke said in 2017. "Not everyone had a record player, so radio was much more important then and we wanted to capture that."[5]
To support the album's release, the duo undertook a small UK tour during November and December 2016.[6]
Critical reception[edit]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| The Arts Desk |   [7] |
| The Music |  [8] |
The Arts Desk called the album "great 20th-century pop at its shortest, sweetest, and lingering best ... Warm, rich and full of heart." Clarke's delivery, they felt, "works perfectly against the skeletal, echoey guitars of Cornwell," adding, "there's a sense of austere clarity and simplicity, as opposed to indulgence or nostalgia."[7] The Music wrote, "Doctor's unashamedly Manchester nasal tones, which can be surprisingly melodic at times, are delivered against Cornwall's dense guitar noise. The results can be almost bebop jazz – or karaoke night at The Salford Workers Club. The kind-of-sweet ("It's Only Make Believe") collides with the dryly comical ("Love Potion No 9"). Then there's a sprawling ramble at "MacArthur Park", which is either towering genius or towering folly – but, like the whole project, probably somewhere between the two."[8]
The Louder Than War website called it "a modern masterpiece" and "one of the more remarkable albums in recent history." They felt that the album shows "an impressive ability" to assemble these songs and "mastermind an album of modern interpretations." Cornwell's production skills, they wrote, "demonstrate a rare talent and are all the more impressive for the challenge of the project." Louder Than War said of Clarke's vocal performance: "He brings sensitivity and affection for the songs he is singing, and his distinctive vocals ... add the vital touch of originality ... the fact that [the songs] are well-known means it is not so easy to take liberties with them, but the tracks chosen are respectfully, even lovingly, delivered and this is clearly a labour of love for both men."[3]
Track listing[edit]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "It's Only Make Believe" | Conway Twitty, Jack Nance | Conway Twitty | 2:59 |
| 2. | "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans" | John Turner Layton Jr., Henry Creamer | from the Broadway production Spice of 1922; later recorded by the Peerless Quartet, Blossom Seeley and Paul Whiteman[9] | 2:25 |
| 3. | "Spanish Harlem" | Jerry Leiber, Phil Spector | Ben E. King | 3:02 |
| 4. | "Johnny Remember Me" | Geoff Goddard | John Leyton | 3:17 |
| 5. | "MacArthur Park" | Jimmy Webb | Richard Harris | 6:20 |
| 6. | "She's a Woman" | Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller | Christine Kittrell | 2:36 |
| 7. | "Donna" | Ritchie Valens | Ritchie Valens | 3:59 |
| 8. | "Jezebel" | Wayne Shanklin | Frankie Laine | 3:39 |
| 9. | "Love Potion No. 9" | Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller | The Clovers | 2:57 |
| 10. | "Sweeter Than You" | Baker Knight | Ricky Nelson | 4:37 |
| Total length: | 33:51 | |||
Personnel[edit]
- Dr John Cooper Clarke – vocals
- Hugh Cornwell – guitar, drum programming, backing vocals (track 7)
Additional musicians
- Phil Andrews – keyboards, programming, drum programming, accordion (track 10)
- Ian Anderson – flute (track 5)
- Lettie Maclean – backing vocals (track 4)
- Ben Waghorn – saxophone (tracks 1, 2)
- Hilary Kops – trumpet (tracks 2, 3)
Technical
- Hugh Cornwell – producer, mixing
- Phil Andrews – engineer, mixing
- Scott Minshall – design
- Donal Whelan – mastering
- Dean Chalkley – photography
- Joanna Kalli – project manager
References[edit]
- ^ a b Simpson, Dave (15 July 2016). "John Cooper Clarke: polymath, renaissance man and true enigma". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
- ^ Lach, Stef (13 July 2016). "Stranglers man Cornwell teams with poet John Cooper Clarke". Classic Rock. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ^ a b Jennings, Dave (29 October 2016). "This Time It's Personal: Dr John Cooper Clarke and Hugh Cornwell – Album Review". Louder Than War. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ^ "John Cooper Clarke and Hugh Cornwell to release 'This Time It's Personal' album". Music News. 14 July 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
- ^ Burrell, Leo (20 January 2017). "Poetry in Motion: John Cooper Clarke". Exposed Magazine. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ^ Bonner, Michael (28 September 2016). "Watch John Cooper Clarke and Hugh Cornwell discuss their new album, This Time It's Personal". Uncut. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ^ a b Cumming, Tim (9 October 2016). "CD: Dr John Cooper Clarke and Hugh Cornwell – This Time It's Personal". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ^ a b Clelland, Ross (17 October 2016). "Dr John Cooper Clarke & Hugh Cornwell / This Time It's Personal". The Music. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890–1954. Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p. 604. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
- ^ "Dr John Cooper Clarke & Hugh Cornwell – This Time It's Personal". Discogs. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
