Design for Living (album)

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Design for Living
Australian album cover
Studio album by
James Reyne
Released23 February 1999
Recorded1998
GenreRock music, Pop music, Experimental music[1]
LabelVillage Roadshow, Liberation Records
ProducerJames Reyne, Ashley Cadell, Michael Letho
James Reyne chronology
Live in Rio
(1996) 		Design for Living
(1999) 		Reckless: 1979–1995
(2000)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]

Design for Living is the fifth solo studio album by Australian singer/songwriter James Reyne released in February 1999. The album follows a four-year hiatus from recording, which saw Reyne's band Australian Crawl inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame, and Reyne working in theatre (Little Shop of Horrors) and television (State Coroner).[3] The album was recorded with friends and brothers Scott and Brett Kingman and further cemented his position as a unique, witty, thoughtful and challenging songwriter and singer.[citation needed] "Not Waving Drowning" and "Wonderful Today" were released as singles. A limited edition 2CD was released featuring live recordings of Reyne's tracks. The album was re-issued by Liberation Records in 2006

Review[edit]

The album has been named a "critically lauded masterwork" and a "classic Australian album by one of Australia's true icons."[citation needed] From the opening track, "Wonderful Today", to the closing track, "Stranger than Fiction" (which looks at the incredibly odd Baptist boycott of the Walt Disney Company), this album covers a huge spectrum of musical styles.[4]

Tomas Mureika of All Music said "Without question, Design for Living is James Reyne's happiest album. After a four-year hiatus from recording, Reyne returned with the dynamite one-two-three punch of "Wonderful Today," "Oh Oh Kimberley," and the title track, and he had never sounded lighter or more enthusiastic. This is not to say Reyne had softened his touch. His lyrics are still enigmatic, his trademark angst-ridden delivery intact but this is an album chock-full of potential radio-friendly singles." adding "A turn-of-the-millennium album that echoes the last of the carefree innocence of the 20th century".[5]

Track listing[edit]

CD (4509980932)
  1. "Wonderful Today" - 2:59
  2. "Oh Oh Kimberley" - 4:16
  3. "Design for Living" - 3:31
  4. "Poetry in Motion" - 2:50
  5. "Nothin's Too Good for My Baby" - 4:27
  6. "Reno"- 5:17
  7. "Little Criminals" - 4:24
  8. "I Don't Get Out Much Anymore" - 4:52
  9. "Every Tooth a Tombstone" - 4:24
  10. "Sleeping My Way to the Top" - 5:01
  11. "After You've Gone" - 4:45
  12. "Lizards From Lounges" - 3:58
  13. "Not Waving, Drowning" - 2:53
  14. "Stranger Than Fiction" - 3:35
Limited Edition Bonus Disc (James Reyne Live 99)
  1. "Fall of Rome" - 5:26
  2. "Ferris Wheel" - 3:51
  3. "Harvest Moon" - 4:20
  4. "Take a Giant Step" - 4:59
  5. "Land of Hope and Glory"- 4:08
  6. "Any Day Above Ground" - 3:28
  7. "Heaven on a Stick" - 4:22
  8. "Slave" - 3:52
  9. "Some People" - 4:53
  10. "Water Water" - 5:05

Credits[edit]

  • Bass – Chris Bekker, Mark Gray (tracks: 1,2,11,13)
  • Drums – John Watson (tracks: 1,11,13)
  • Electric Piano – Mark O'Connor (tracks: 1,13)
  • Guitar, E-bow, Strings, Vocals – Brett Kingman
  • Guitar, Vocals, Sequenced By [Programming] – Scott Kingman
  • Organ, Piano – Dan Knight (tracks: 8,11)
  • Vocals – Lindsay Field (tracks: 1,10), Tracy Kingman (tracks: 7, 8)
  • Vocals, Guitar, Piano, Bass, Keyboards, Strings, Percussion – James Reyne

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for Design for Living
Chart (1999) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[6] 153

Release history[edit]

Region Date Format(s) Label Catalogue
Australia[7] 23 February 1999 Compact Disc Village Roadshow 101890-2
Australia[8] 24 June 2006 Compact Disc, Music download Liberation Records BLUE1222

References[edit]

  1. ^ "James Reyne - Design for Living". discogs.com. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  2. ^ ""Design for Living" by James Reyne". Allmusic. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  3. ^ "James Reyne timeline". jamesreyne.com.au. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  4. ^ "Design for Living by James Reyne". JBHiFi.com.au. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  5. ^ "The Whiff of Bedlam by James Reyne review". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  6. ^ "James Reyne ARIA Albums chart history 1988 to 2022, received from ARIA in 2022 page 2". ARIA. Retrieved 2 December 2023 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
  7. ^ "James Reyne - Design for Living". discogs.com. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  8. ^ "James Reyne - Design for Living". iTunes Store Australia. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
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