"Let It Loose" 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 1983 as the lead single from his fifth studio album ''

Water Sign In Western astrology, astrological signs are the twelve 30-degree sectors that make up Earth's 360-degree orbit around the Sun. The signs enumerate from the first day of spring, known as the First Point of Aries, which is the vernal equinox. ...

''. The song was written by Rea, and produced by Rea and

Dave Richards Sir David Gerald Richards (born 3 October 1943) was the chairman of the FA Premier League, member of the Football Association's (FA) Board, chairman of the FA's international committee, president of the European Professional Football Leagues o ...

. "Let It Loose" reached No. 85 in 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 ...

and remained in the Top 100 for four weeks.

Critical reception

On its release, Simon Tebbutt of ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the ''NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in ''Re ...

'' wrote, "With all the jibes about dire Rea, I wouldn't have thought 'Let It Loose' was a very wise choice for a title. Another silly synth dirge that goes snap, crackle and... plop!" In a retrospective review of ''Water Sign'', Sharon Mawer 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 ...

noted the song's "driving rock beat". In a 2021 retrospective on Rea's "30 best tracks for the open road", ''Dig!'' picked "Let It Loose" as number 27 on the list. They noted the song's "80s synth beats" and Rea's "soft-spoken voice".

Track listing

;7" single # "Let It Loose" – 3:37 # "Urban Samurai" – 4:31 ;7" single (French release) # "Let It Loose" – 3:37 # "Hey You" – 4:00 ;7" single (UK, with special four-track sampler EP) # "Let It Loose" – 3:37 # "Urban Samurai" – 4:31 # "Fool If You Think It's Over" – 4:47 # "The Closer You Get" – 3:31 # "Diamonds" – 4:51 # "Guitar Street" – 3:58 ;12" single # "Let It Loose" (Special Extended Remix) – 5:45 # "Sierra Sierra" – 5:38 # "Urban Samurai" – 4:31 ;12" single (UK, with special 7" four-track sampler EP) # "Let It Loose" (Special Extended Remix) – 5:45 # "Sierra Sierra" – 5:38 # "Urban Samurai" – 4:31 # "Fool If You Think It's Over" – 4:47 # "The Closer You Get" – 3:31 # "Diamonds" – 4:51 # "Guitar Street" – 3:58 ;12" single (French release) # "Let It Loose" (Special Extended Remix) – 5:45 # "Hey You" – 4:00

Personnel

Production * Chris Rea,

– producers of "Let It Lose", "Urban Samurai" and "Sierra Sierra" *

Gus Dudgeon Angus Boyd "Gus" Dudgeon (30 September 1942 – 21 July 2002) was an English record producer, who oversaw many of Elton John's most acclaimed recordings, including his commercial breakthrough, "Your Song". Their collaboration led to seven US No ...

– producer of "Fool If You Think It's Over", "The Closer You Get" and "Diamonds" *

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 '' ...

, Chris Rea – producers of "Guitar Street" Other * Mike Laye – photography

Charts

References

{{Chris Rea 1983 songs 1983 singles Chris Rea songs Magnet Records singles Songs written by Chris Rea