One Good Reason

A nondescript release from '87 from a talented singer-songwriter, musician.
Paul Carrack has the dossier thick enough to sow envy amongst fellow contemporaries.
From the get-go, Carrack pierced the scene with his group Ace in 1975, with the memorable hit "How Long." Played keyboards for Manifesto, the '79 reunion album of Roxy Music. Joined Squeeze in '81, sang their hit "Tempted." Left the band a year later, then joined up with Nick Lowe in a band called Noise To Go.
Did backup for other musicians like Frankie Miller and John Hiatt, also adding keyboard embellishments to the Pretenders' Learning To Crawl album. In the mid-80's, he became a mechanic, singer to be exact, for Genesis' Mike Rutherford's side project Mike + The Mechanics. (That's Paul on "Silent Running")
Which brings us to where we are, with One Good Reason.

Carrack's unmistakably recognizable tenor rings throughout Reason,
from the Squeeze-ish title track opener, and the effervescent, reggae flavored "Button Off My Shirt." Even on his take of Jackie DeShannon's "When You Walk In The Room."

But Carrack saves the fire for the album's hit single "Don't Shed A Tear."
Penned by one equally talented Eddie Schwartz (more on him in a future entry),
with baleful lyrics and its clever hammer-on guitar hook, Paul woes scornfully at the hands of a lover's betrayal, yet declaring "..my life won't end without you.." seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

It is a joy to discover that Paul Carrack is still very much active on the touring circuit, when not performing with Mike + The Mechanics.
Good talent should not go to waste.
Besides, it's hard to keep a good man down.