Labour of Love

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This article is about the UB40 album. For the Hue and Cry song, see Labour of Love (song). For other uses, see Labor of Love.
Labour of Love
Labour of Love.jpg
Studio album by UB40
Released 1 September 1983
Recorded 1983
Genre Reggae
Length 39:52
Label DEP International/Virgin (UK)
A&M (US)
Producer Ray Falconer and UB40
UB40 chronology
UB44
(1982)UB441982		 Labour of Love
(1983)		 Geffery Morgan
(1984)Geffery Morgan1984
Singles from Labour of Love
  1. "Red Red Wine"
    Released: August 1983
  2. "Please Don't Make Me Cry"
    Released: October 1983
  3. "Many Rivers to Cross"
    Released: December 1983
  4. "Cherry Oh Baby"
    Released: March 1984
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 4.5/5 stars[1]
Robert Christgau A−[2]
Rolling Stone 4/5 stars[3]

Labour of Love is a reggae album by UB40, the band's fourth album and first covers album. It was originally released on 1 September 1983 and included the hits, "Red, Red Wine" (UK No. 1, US #1), "Cherry Oh Baby" (UK #12), "Many Rivers to Cross" (UK #16), and "Please Don't Make Me Cry" (UK #10).

Production

The entire album consists of cover versions of songs originally released by the group's musical idols. The most notable track is the cover of Neil Diamond's "Red, Red Wine," which reached No. 1 in the United Kingdom upon its release. The song was re-released in the United States in 1988, where it also topped the chart. The album and 12" version included a toasted verse by Astro, later copied by Neil Diamond in his live performances.

The band would later continue the series and release three more cover albums, Labour of Love II, Labour of Love III and Labour of Love IV.

The album was accompanied by a video also entitled Labour of Love, consisting of various music videos for the songs and tied together with a storyline showing the band working in the dump yard and relationships with wives, families and girlfriends. The film was directed by Bernard Rose.

Reception

The album reached No. 1 in the UK and No. 8 in the United States. With the inclusion of the new version of "Red, Red Wine," the album regained popularity in 1988 and climbed to No. 15 in the US

In 1989, it was ranked No. 98 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 100 Greatest Albums of the 80s.[4]

Track listing

Side one
No. Title Writer(s) Original artist Length
1. "Cherry Oh Baby"   Eric Donaldson Eric Donaldson 3:18
2. "Keep on Moving"   Bob Marley The Impressions; modelled after the reggae cover by The Wailers 4:37
3. "Please Don't Make Me Cry"   Winston Tucker Winston Tucker 3:26
4. "Sweet Sensation"   Renford Cogle The Melodians 3:42
5. "Johnny Too Bad"   Roy Beckford, Winston "Shadow" Bailey, Delroy Wilson, Derrick Crooks The Slickers 4:57
Side two
No. Title Writer(s) Original artist Length
6. "Red Red Wine"   Neil Diamond Neil Diamond; modelled after the reggae cover by Tony Tribe 5:21
7. "Guilty"   Tiger Tiger 3:16
8. "She Caught the Train"   Joe Monsano Joe Monsano 3:17
9. "Version Girl"   Boy Friday Boy Friday 3:27
10. "Many Rivers to Cross"   Jimmy Cliff Jimmy Cliff 4:31

References

  1. ↑ Labour of Love at AllMusic
  2. ↑ Robert Christgau Consumer Guide
  3. ↑ Rolling Stone review
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Preceded by UK number one album
24–30 September 1983		 Succeeded by
No Parlez by Paul Young
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