"Auberge" is a song by British singer-songwriter

Chris Rea Christopher Anton Rea ( ; born 4 March 1951) is an English rock and blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, fie ...

, which was released in February 1991 as the lead single from his eleventh studio album, '' Auberge''. It was written by Rea and produced by

Jon Kelly Jon Kelly is a British audio engineer and record producer, who began his career as an engineer at Air London Studios. He has produced albums and singles for Chris Rea, the Damned, Kate Bush (where he co-produced with Bush on her third album ...

. "Auberge" reached 16 in the United Kingdom and remained on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

for six weeks. A music video was filmed to promote the single. It was directed by

Nigel Dick Nigel Dick (born 21 March 1953) is a British music video and film director, writer and musician from Catterick, England, now based in Los Angeles, California. He directed the Britney Spears videos " ...Baby One More Time" and " Oops!... I Did I ...

and shot at

Bray Studios Bray Productions was a pioneering American animation studio that produced several popular cartoons during the years of World War I and the early interwar era, becoming a springboard for several key animators of the 20th century, including the ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

Critical reception

Upon release, ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' wrote, "Rea at his best: the perfect combination of Dire Straits-framed vocals and Ry Cooder-styled slide guitar. The type of song to play loud during driving. Traffic will be much nicer the next weeks." Andy Stout of ''

Sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

'' described the song as "good honest rock à la Bob 'Excitement' Harris". In the US, ''

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'' described the song as a "dreamy blues-induced rocker", with "dark, Morrison-esque vocal delivery, "rockabilly guitar backdrop", "psychedelic organ vibes" and "lighthearted horn riffs". In a review of the album of the same name, Johnny Loftus of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote, "The rousing title track and its accompanying set piece "Set Me Free" move from searching, tentative guitar noodlings into full-blown epics, with bluesy bottom end, blustering horns, backup singers, and Rea's own grainy vocal rumble."

Track listings

7-inch and cassette single :A. "Auberge" :B. "Hudson's Dream" 12-inch single :A1. "Auberge (In Its Entirety)" :B1. "Hudson's Dream" :B2. "Every Second Counts" CD single # "Auberge" # " Let's Dance" (7-inch version) # " On the Beach" (7-inch version) # " The Road to Hell (Part II)"

Personnel

– guitar, slide guitar, Hammond organ *

Max Middleton David Maxwell Middleton (born 4 August 1946) is an English composer and keyboardist who was originally a docker on the London docks. Middleton is known for his work on the Fender Rhodes Electric piano, the Minimoog synthesiser and his percussiv ...

– piano * Robert Ahwai – bass *

Martin Ditcham Martin Ditcham is an English drummer, percussionist and songwriter. Ditcham is a prolific session musician, working with artists such as Henry Cow, Status Quo, Elton John, The Rolling Stones, Roger Daltrey, Sade, Mary Black, Nik Kershaw, Chris ...

– drums, percussion *

Carol Kenyon Carol Kenyon (sometimes spelt Karol; born 1959) is a British singer. She is best known for her vocals on the Heaven 17 hit song "Temptation", which reached number two in the UK Singles Chart in 1983. When the song was re-released as a remix by ...

– backing vocals * Linda Taylor – backing vocals Production *

– producer * Justin Shirley-Smith – engineer * Russell Shaw – assistant engineer Other * Alan Fearnley – illustration

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 1991 songs 1991 singles Chris Rea songs East West Records singles Songs written by Chris Rea