"Soft Top, Hard Shoulder" 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 ...

, released in January 1993 as the third single from his 12th studio album, ''

God's Great Banana Skin ''God's Great Banana Skin'' is the twelfth studio album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 1992. The album was not released in the United States, though some tracks later appeared on the US release of Rea's following album '' Esp ...

'', and the soundtrack of the 1992 British comedy drama film of the same name. "Soft Top, Hard Shoulder", which was written and produced by Rea, reached 53 in the United Kingdom and remained on the chart for two weeks. A music video was filmed to promote the single. Two editions of the single was issued on CD. The first contained three previously unreleased tracks from 1980: "One Fine Day", "One Sweet and Tender Touch" and "Sierra, Sierra", while the second contained two additional tracks from the ''Soft Top Hard Shoulder'' film: "Melancholy" and "The Van Stomp/Glasgow Horizon".

Background

"Soft Top, Hard Shoulder" was specifically written for the film of the same name. During sessions for ''God's Great Banana Skin'', Rea discovered the film project after seeing the idea plugged on Channel 4. He told

John Pidgeon Sir John Allan Stewart Pidgeon (15 July 1926 – 2 June 2016) was an Australian contractor and property developer. He and his sister, Valmai Pidgeon, have been involved with the Queensland construction industry since joining their father's busin ...

in a 1992 interview: "I saw these guys struggling with a lower budget and the idea of the movie. I saw what they were trying to do and was very impressed. It seemed very real life and it appealed to me. So I went down immediately, that morning, knocked on their door and said, I want to do the music for the film."

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: "Soft pop, hard mould. The power of Rea's atestsingle is skindeep, maybe because of the reminiscence of outlaw

Lee Clayton Lee Clayton (born Billy Schatz; October 29, 1942June 12, 2023) was an American songwriter and musician. He notably wrote Waylon Jennings' 1972 outlaw country song "Ladies Love Outlaws". Biography Clayton grew up in Oak Ridge, Tennessee an ...

's "I Ride Alone"." In a review of ''God's Great Banana Skin'', Patrick Davitt of ''

The Leader-Post The ''Regina Leader-Post'' is the daily newspaper of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, and a member of the Postmedia Network. Founding The newspaper was first published as ''The Leader'' in 1883 by Nicholas Flood Davin, soon after Edgar Dewdney, Lie ...

'' described the song as "aggressive and urgent". In a 2017 article on British road movies, '' The Skinny'' noted the film's "earworm in the form of Chris Rea's title track".

Track listings

7-inch single # "Soft Top, Hard Shoulder" – 4:30 # "Soft Top, Hard Shoulder" (Half Time version) – 2:25 Cassette single # "Soft Top, Hard Shoulder" – 4:30 # "Soft Top, Hard Shoulder" (Half Time version) – 2:25 CD single 1 # "Soft Top, Hard Shoulder" – 4:30 # "One Fine Day" – 4:04 # "One Sweet and Tender Touch" – 4:41 # "Sierra, Sierra" – 4:13 CD single 2 # "Soft Top, Hard Shoulder" – 4:30 # "Melancholy" – 1:40 # "The Van Stomp/Glasgow Horizon" – 2:50 # "Soft Top, Hard Shoulder" (Half Time version) – 2:25

Personnel

– vocals, guitars *

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 * 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 Production *

– production * Neil Amor – engineering * Phillipe Garcia – assistant engineering * Simon Wall – assistant engineering * Tommy F.N. Willis – guitar technician

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1992 songs 1993 singles Chris Rea songs East West Records singles Songs written by Chris Rea