Burning Questions
Studio album by
James Warren
Released2 February 1987
Recorded1985–1986
GenrePop, electropop
LabelSonet Records (UK)
ProducerJames Warren
Andy Davis
James Warren chronology
The Best of The Korgis
(1983)
Burning Questions
(1987)
The Best of & the Rest of The Korgis
(1990)

Burning Questions is the debut solo studio album by English singer and composer James Warren, (of Stackridge and The Korgis fame). It was released on Sonet Records on 2 February 1987.[1]

The album was recorded between January and October 1985 at Sonet Studio, London. It includes the singles "True Life Confessions" ('The Korgis', June 1985), "Burning Questions" (released as 'The Korgis', October 1985), "They Don't Believe In Magic" ('James Warren', July 1986) and "It Won't Be The Same Old Place" (James Warren, October 1986). None of the singles were a commercial success, but "True Life Confessions" achieved airplay on BBC Radio 2 and Independent Local Radio,[2][3] and peaked at number 166 in the UK Singles Chart on 15 June 1985.[4] "Burning Questions" also received airplay on BBC Radio 2 and I.L.R., but did not chart.[5][6]

Burning Questions was re-issued on compact disc by Angel Air Records in 2007.

Track listing

Side A

  1. "Burning Questions" (Andy Davis, James Warren) - 4:41
  2. "Climate of Treason" (Warren) - 3:51
  3. "They Don't Believe in Magic" (Warren) - 4:10
  4. "Possessed" (Warren) - 4:11
  5. "I Know Something" (Warren) - 3:10

Side B

  1. "True Life Confessions" (Davis, Warren) - 4:17
  2. "It Won't Be the Same Old Place" (Davis, Warren) - 4:59
  3. "Loneliness" (Warren) - 4:10
  4. "Can You Hear the Spirit Dying" (Warren) - 3:27
  5. "I Want To Remember" (Warren) - 5:46

2007 CD bonus tracks

  1. You Made Me Believe" (previously unreleased) (Warren) - 3:36
  2. "How Did You Know?" (featuring Eddi Reader) (single 1987) (Warren, Matthios Siefert) - 3:46
  3. "I'll Be Here" (B-side "They Don't Believe in Magic") (Warren) - 4:27

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]

In a retrospective review, Jo-Ann Greene of AllMusic described the album as "very much a child of its time", with Warren doing a "brilliant" job on the songs, which she noted "put even his past hits to shame". Greene noted that the album, containing Warren's "strongest songs to date", suffered from a lack of promotion and was "consigned to the dust heap of history".[7]

Personnel

Production

Other

2007 Angel Air Records reissue

Release history

Single releases

Format: 7" unless otherwise noted.

References

  1. ^ "New Albums". Music Week. 31 January 1987. p. 26. ISSN 0265-1548.
  2. ^ "Airplay: Radio 2". Music Week. 11 May 1985. p. 14. ISSN 0265-1548.
  3. ^ "Airplay: I.L.R. Stations". Music Week. 18 May 1985. p. 19. ISSN 0265-1548.
  4. ^ "Gallup Top 200 Singles". Gallup. 15 June 1985.
  5. ^ "Airplay: Radio 2". Music Week. 19 October 1985. p. 18. ISSN 0265-1548.
  6. ^ "Airplay: I.L.R. Stations". Music Week. 26 October 1985. p. 9. ISSN 0265-1548.
  7. ^ a b Jo-Ann Greene (15 January 2007). "Burning Questions - James Warren | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  8. ^ "New Singles". Music Week. 19 October 1985. p. 22. ISSN 0265-1548.
  9. ^ "New Singles". Music Week. 12 July 1986. p. 29. ISSN 0265-1548.
  10. ^ "New Singles". Music Week. 11 October 1986. p. 27. ISSN 0265-1548.