''New Light Through Old Windows'' is the first compilation album 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 ...

, released in 1988. The album consists primarily of re-recordings of songs from Rea's earlier albums, as well as the new track "

Working on It "Working on It" is a song by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 1989 as the fifth and final single from his compilation album '' New Light Through Old Windows'' (1988). It was written by Rea, and produced by Rea and Jon Kelly. "Workin ...

", which peaked at No. 73 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and was Rea's only No. 1 on the

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart. " On the Beach" peaked at No. 9 on the US Adult Contemporary singles chart, and No. 12 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 ...

. The album reached number five on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

, charted for over a year, and was certified 3× Platinum by BPI until 1992. It charted in the Top 10 in New Zealand, Australia and West Germany.

Track listing

All tracks written by

. # " Let's Dance" – 4:14 # "

" (previously unreleased) – 4:24 # "

Ace of Hearts The ace of hearts (A♥) is a card in a deck of playing cards: the ace in the suit of hearts (♥). There is one ace of hearts in a standard deck of 52 cards. Gameplay In the 17th century French game '' Le Jeu de la Guerre'', the ace of hearts ...

" – 4:52 # " Josephine" – 4:33 # "Candles" – 4:44 # " On the Beach" – 6:51 # "

Fool (If You Think It's Over) "Fool (If You Think It's Over)" is the title of a popular song originally released in 1978 by the British singer-songwriter Chris Rea. Rea also wrote the lyrics and composed the music of the song, which appears on his 1978 debut album, ''Whateve ...

" – 4:03 # " I Can Hear Your Heartbeat" – 3:23 # "Shamrock Diaries" – 4:12 # " Stainsby Girls" – 4:06 # "Windy Town" – 4:05 # "

Driving Home for Christmas "Driving Home for Christmas" is a Christmas song written and composed by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea. The first version was originally released as the B-side to his single " Hello Friend" in 1986. In October 1988, a re-recorded versio ...

" – 3:58 # "Steel River" – 6:48 The US vinyl release featured different cover artwork and an altered track listing, shown below: # "Let's Dance" – 4:16 # "Working on It" – 4:25 # "I Can Hear Your Heartbeat" – 3:24 # "Windy Town" – 4:06 # "On the Beach" – 6:53 # "Steel River" – 6:48 # "Stainsby Girls" – 4:08 # "Ace of Hearts" – 4:52 # "Josephine" – 4:17 (different version than international release) # "Candles" – 4:42

Personnel

– vocals, guitar, producer *

Steve Gregory Stephen 'Steve' Gregory (born 1945) is an English jazz saxophonist and composer. He plays tenor, alto, soprano and baritone saxophone as well as the flute. Biography and career Gregory was born in London. At St. Paul's School he learned guit ...

– Soprano saxophone *Robert Ahwai – guitar *Eoghan O'Neill – bass *

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 ...

– keyboards *

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

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control Chris Rea compilation albums 1988 compilation albums Magnet Records compilation albums Geffen Records compilation albums