Colin James Hay - Looking For Jack (1986) + Bonus Track

(Australian 1987 - Present)
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Two years after Men At Work went down in flames, front man Colin James Hay returned to the spotlight with his solo debut.   Released by Columbia (which happened to be Men At Work's label), the company clearly had big hopes for Hay's solo career.  Recorded in London with Robin Millar producing  "Looking for Jack" sported an extremely large supporting cast (by my count the liner notes listed 26 players.   (The title was reportedly a reflection of a brief post-concert meeting with Jack Nicholson.)  Anyhow, anyone expecting to hear the fifth Men At Work album was probably going to be slightly disappointed by this album.  While Hay's voice remained instantly recognizable, that also meant it was impossible to separate from his Men At Work catalog.   For better or worse Hay seemed interested in making certain the debut was not a solo Men At Work endeavor.   Sure, it was impossible to completely avoid the Men At Work comparison.   Tracks such as 'Can I Hold You?' and 'Master of Crime' had a distinctive Men At Work flavor, but those tracks were the exception to the rule.   Unfortunately Hay wasn't very successful in finding a new sound.  Musically it was quite diverse with stabs at early Sting ('Puerto Rico'), "Graceland" era Paul Simon ('Hold Me'), and a host of other genres.  Professional and serviceable, but probably not an album most folks were going to spin on a regular basis. [ review by RDTEN1 April, 2018]
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Interview with SongFacts
"Looking for Jack" is the title track to Colin Hay's first solo album after disbanding his group Men At Work. When the group split up in 1986, he started work on the album in Los Angeles, which was a strange place for Hay, who was raised in Scotland before moving to Australia at age 14.

"When I was in Los Angeles I was driving around and I was aware of the fact that everyone was looking for something in Los Angeles," said Hay. "I wasn't sure what they were looking for, but I knew they were looking for something.

I couldn't sum it up: why people go to Los Angeles, why they take that trip. I knew a lot of people go there to realize their dreams and to get famous or whatever it is. People are drawn to that particular city for some reason and they all seem to be looking for something.

Jack Nicholson

I couldn't finish the song. I had that idea and I had a little bit of music for it. Then I went to a concert and I saw Jack Nicholson standing in the audience, and he was standing next to me at the mixing console. I said, 'Excuse me, Mr. Nicholson, my name's Colin Hay. I just want to say, I'm a great big fan of yours.' And he said, 'I can't hear you.'

I got a little bit embarrassed and I went into the green room. I was talking to these girls and Jack came into the green room and he came right up to me and said, 'I just want to say, I'm a great big fan of yours too.'

So, I got excited by that because I had just met Jack Nicholson and then he walked off. The girl was still talking to me but I was distracted and I kept looking over her shoulder. She said, 'What are you doing, Colin?' and I said, 'Oh, I'm sorry, you'll have to excuse me, I'm just looking for Jack.' And she said, 'Yeah, everybody's always looking for Jack.' So, I said: 'Excuse me, I have to go home and finish something.'"

This song aged well, finding space in Hay's setlists, but it fared poorly when it was released, making no chart impact. It was quite a comedown for Hay, who was a huge star with Men At Work, but couldn't find an audience with his solo material despite label support - the album was released on Men At Work's label Columbia, which commissioned a video to promote it.

Hay moved to MCA for his next album, Wayfaring Sons (1990), but was dropped after that one flopped. For much of the '90s, he battled alcohol addiction while playing small shows and releasing independent albums. The work paid off: he got sober and earned a deal with Compass Records, which helped him find a new audience. He never again came close to the heights he reached with his former band, but he earned enough acclaim to fill small venues on a regular basis and earn airplay on some eclectic radio stations. [extract from Songfacts.com]
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This post consists of FLACs ripped from my newly acquired vinyl, yet another chance find at the local flee market when one searches through the piles of 'rubbish' vinyl releases that no one wants.  Full album artwork plus label scans are included. I have also included the B-Side non-album track Home Sweet Home which in its own right deserved a place on the album. Great track.
It is interesting to note that "Hold Me" was released as a single with a playable cover jacket (see left). The playable side features a medley of song exerts from the album. I've never seen this type of packaging before and would love to know if any other artist has released a record with a playable jacket.
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Track Listing
01. Hold Me
02. Can I Hold You?
03. Looking for Jack
04. Master of Crime
05. These Are Our Finest Days
06. Puerto Rico
07. Ways of the World
08. I Don't Need You Anymore
09. Circles Erratica
10. Fisherman's Friend
11. Home Sweet Home (Bonus B-Side Single)

Band Members:
Colin Hay - Electric & Acoustic Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
Jeremy Alsop - Bass, Keyboards
Chad Wackerman - Drums, Percussion
Robbie McIntosh - Electric Guitar
Linda Lewis, Dee Lewis, Morris Michael, Noel McCalla - Backing Vocals

Colin James Hay FLAC Link (296Mb) New Link 17/12/2023

Colin Hay Band - Wayfaring Sons (1990) + Bonus Track

(Australian 1987-1991)
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Scottish-Australian singer Colin Hay (lead singer of Men At Work) released his second solo album, “Wayfaring Sons”, through MCA Records in 1990. The band was formed with Gerry Hale, Paul Gadsby and Robert Dillon. The single “Into My Life” was a huge hit in Brazil.
Even though Colin James Hay's solo debut sold acceptably in the States, the cost benefit ratio apparently wasn't high enough for Columbia Records which promptly dropped him from its recording roster.   Three years later Hay reappeared signed to MCA Records.  Billed as the Colin Hay Band, his sophomore album found Hay making some major changes to his sound.   The most immediate was Hay's decision to return to a band format - in this case drummer Robert Dillon, bassist Paul Gadsby, and violinist Gerry Hale.  Co-produced by Hay and Elliott Scheiner, "Wayfairing Sons" also found Hay trying to expand his sound beyond the pop/new wave sound that had made Hay a mega seller. While marketing pressures required the album include at least some pop and radio friendly material, exemplified by material like the title track, "Dreamtime In Glasgow" and "Dream On (In the Night)", about half of the set featured acoustic numbers that seemed to settle somewhere between Celtic folk and Mumford & Sons-styled folk-rock (I can already hear the shouts of protest over the latter comparison).
I'll be one of the first to admit those folkish numbers were surprisingly and somewhat jarring.  That said, given a chance, most f then grew on you.   As for the more conventional material, the single "Into My Life", the big pop ballad "Not So Lonely" and the jittery reggae-ish 'Don't Drink the Water'  were all worth hearing.
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Colin Hay 1990

Album Review
Opening up with Gerry Hale's squealing violin, "Wayfaring Sons" came as quite a surprise.   It wasn't that the track didn't rock, rather the Irish bar band vibe took awhile to get acclimated to.  Personally I wasn't a major fan. 
Just speculation on my part, but I'd imagine MCA wanted at least a couple of commercial tunes - one of the results being "Into My Life".  Musically this bouncy pop number actually bore a mild comparison to his earlier Men At Work catalog, in the process sounded nothing like the rest of Hay's new-found acoustic orientation.  Naturally it was the track MCA tapped as a single though it did nothing commercially.  Shame since it was actually pretty good; better than almost anything on the debut LP.    For anyone interested, you can see the MTV promotional video here.
"Storm In My Heart" returned to Hay's acoustic folk orientation.  With support for keyboardist Robert Kilgore, the result was one of the album's prettier melodies, showcasing the band's nice harmony vocals. 
Built on a jangly melody, "Dream On (In the Night)" was also notable for showcasing what a nice voice Hay had - especially when he wasn't trying to sound cute.  Simply a happy and uplifting song that was great for rolling down the car windows while cruising on a warm Spring day. My favourite track on the album actually.

Into My Life Single

The first of two group-penned songs, "Not so Lonely" was another exception to the folk orientation - Hay and company apparently aiming for a Corrs-styled epic pop ballad.   I'm guessing the odd backing vocals were in Gaelic.  Surprisingly commercial and enjoyable.
With a full rock arrangement (kudos to bassist Paul Gadsby), "Don't Drink the Water" found Hay demonstrating his environmental credentials on what was the album's second overtly pop-oriented tune.  This one would not have sounded all that out of place on a Men At Work album.
"Help Me" was another radio friendly tune showcasing a full band arrangement and another pro- environmental message.   While "Don't Drink the Water" was at least clever, this one's a bit short on subtlety.  I suspect most of his fans are already pretty environmentally sensitive.  Nice title track chorus, though the song had kind of an anonymous AOR feel.  MCA coughed up for a promo video on this one also. "Dreamtime In Glasgow" is a rollicking tune with some nice power chords hiding in the background.
"Back In My Loving Arms" is the second group composition and was a breezy, radio-friendly pop tune.   Probably one of the songs I would have tapped as a single.
With the last track "Ya (Rest In Peace)" Hay and company decide they like mandolins ...I generally like mandolins, but was lukewarm to this one.
And as mentioned, the single was: "Into My Life" b/w "If You Want It All' (MCA catalog number 1408) and the B-Side did not appear on the album. But you are in luck here, as I'm  including this nice little ballad here as a Bonus Track.

The Colin Hay Band - 1990

Now, in MCA's defense, figuring out how to sell Hay in an early 90's market that embraced Wilson Phillips, Phil Collins, and Madonna must have been a  nightmare and in spite of some promotional efforts, including a  single, the company seemingly threw in the towel with the album quickly disappearing without a trace.
[review by RDTEN1 Jan 25, 2014]
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This post consists of MP3 (320kps) ripped from virgin freshly pressed vinyl (yep, another shrink wrapped find at the market) and includes full album artwork for both LP and CD. As a bonus, I've also included the non-album B-Side single "If You Want It All" - a hard track to find indeed.
Note:  Track "Not So Lonely" is unfortunately distorted on the album and I suspect the pressing I have is either faulty or the production of the track is crap. Not much I could do with this I'm afraid 
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Track Listing

01 - Wayfaring Sons
02 - Into My Life
03 - Storm On My Heart
04 - Dream On (Into The Night)
05 - Not So Lonely
06 - Don't Drink The Water
07 - Help Me
08 - Dreamtime In Glasgow
09 - Back In My Loving Arms
10 - Ya (Rest in Peace)
11 - If You Want It All (Bonus B-Side Single) .

Colin Hay Band were:

Colin Hay - vocals, acoustic 12-string guitar, acoustic 6-string guitar, electric guitar, E-Bow
Gerry Hale - violin, mandolin, background vocals
Paul Gadsby - bass guitar, background vocals
Robert Dillon - drums, percussion
Robby Kilgore - keyboards
Jann Karam - background vocals ("Not So Lonely")
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Colin Hay Band Link (103Mb)  New Link 30/08/2015
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