Paul Carrack – How Long (Has This Been Going On)? Greatest Hits – review

Greatest Hits: 50th Anniversary Collection 1974-2024

Paul Carrack has one of the most recognizable voices in the music business. His voice can be heard on countless hits such as Tempted (Squeeze), The Living Years (Mike + The Mechanics), and How Long(Ace), which is the namesake song for this collection. Additionally, he wrote other songs that became big hits for other artists, most notably Love Will Keep Us Alive, which the Eagles made world-famous.

Now, another career retrospective from Paul Carrack has been released with a rather unwieldy title: Greatest Hits – How Long (Has This Been Going On)? – 50th Anniversary Collection 1974-2024.

One might spontaneously ask: Another one? Yes, one is inclined to say it’s unnecessary, as there have already been several variations. The most well-known are certainly the Collected set and the album The Story So Far.There are also The Best Of Paul Carrack, The Singles, and Love Songs. And a compilation that includes re-recordings as well as new songs: Old, New, Borrowed And Blue. How Long (Has This Been Going On)? – Greatest Hitsis another variation that aims to cover an impressive 50 years of his career.

Paul Carrack wanted to present a cross-section of his work on this Best-of album – and it can be revealed that he has succeeded quite well.

New Recordings and Song Selection

There are seven new recordings, some of which are interestingly arranged. The mix of songs is generally okay – only the album Soul Shadows is represented with two songs. Mike + The Mechanics are included with two new recordings. The albums Nightbird, Beautiful World, It Ain’t Over, Rain Or Shine, Good Feeling and These Days are not represented.

Album Tracklist 

How Long * [Ace]?

Groovin’** [Groovin‘]?

Eyes Of Blue ** [Blue Views]?

Satisfy My Soul ** [Satisfy My Soul]?

Don’t Shed A Tear * [Groove Approved]?

Dedicated ** [Groove Approved / The Story So Far]?

The Living Years * (Mike + The Mechanics)?

Moon River ** [A Different Hat]?

Don’t Wait Too Long (With the SWR Big Band) [Don’t Wait Too Long]

?Love Will Keep Us Alive * [Blue Views]?

Sleep On It [Soul Shadows]?

Let Me Love Again [Soul Shadows]?

Tempted [Squeeze]?

I Don’t Want To Hear Any More ** [I Know That Name]?

You’re Not Alone [One On One]?

I Need You * [Suburban Voodoo]?

Over My Shoulder * [Mike + The Mechanics]

?Don’t Dream It’s Over ** [Old, New, Borrowed And Blue]?

Raining In My Heart *

* New recording 2024?

** Remastered 2014? (more info and original album release in brackets)

Paul himself has written something about the new recordings, and we also want to comment on them after our listening impression.

How Long: 

Written by Paul, the first single by Ace is from their 1974 debut album, Five-A-Side. It reached #3 in the US and Canadian singles chart and #20 in the UK. Paul has re-recorded the track several times over the years. In March 2020, 45 years after its original release, the song returned to the charts, reaching #1 on Billboard’s Rock Digital Song Sales chart. This new recording is from 2024.

Paul’s new recording is catchy but unremarkable. The song’s DNA hasn’t been altered, so this new version is pleasant but lacks edges and corners. The song fades out as usual. It’s all okay, but it doesn’t stick.

The Living Years:

Paul sang lead on the original Mike + The Mechanics 1988 #1 US hit. The song received four Grammy nominations including Best Vocal Performance. This new recording is from 2024.

This version with choir and strings has a lot of pathos, but it’s engaging and reminds us why Paul Carrack is the perfect singer for this song. There’s actually a played-out ending, along with an almost playful Carrack who enlivens the song without affecting its intensity – very nice!

Don’t Shed A Tear: 

Originally recorded in 1987 for Paul’s third solo album, One Good Reason. It became Paul’s biggest solo US hit, reaching number nine on the Billboard Hot 100. This new recording is from 2024.

This is a nice, crisp new version. Although one secretly wishes that the somewhat strange-sounding guitar riff in the verses could have been removed. However, from the second verse on, there are additional guitars to hear that do the song immensely good.

Love Will Keep Us Alive: 

Co-written by Paul, it was first performed in 1994 by the Eagles, during their Hell Freezes Over reunion tour, with lead vocals by bassist, Timothy B. Schmit. Paul first recorded the song for his 1996 album, Blue Views and in 2011 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. This new recording is from 2024.

The new recording is subtly arranged with piano and percussion at the beginning and focuses on Paul’s voice.

I Need You: 

Taken from Paul’s second solo album, Suburban Voodoo (1982). The album, produced by Nick Lowe, was the first project following his time with Squeeze. This was Paul’s first chart hit as a solo artist, peaking at #37 in the US. This new recording is from 2024.

This new recording sounds fresh, balanced, and is preferable to the original.

Over My Shoulder: 

Originally recorded in 1995 with Mike + The Mechanics, the first single from their fourth album, Beggar on a Beach of Gold. Co-written and sung by Paul, it was the most successful single from the album, reaching number 12 on UK Singles Chart. This new recording is from 2024.

What works wonderfully with The Living Years goes completely wrong here. This new recording initially sounds very much like the original, but Paul sings the song very idiosyncratically, robbing it of its strengths. A pity.

Raining In My Heart: 

Originally recorded in 1958 by Buddy Holly, it was the very first single that Paul bought together with his brother. It was first performed by Paul on tour in 2019, where he was presented with a very exclusive replica Buddy Holly acoustic guitar by one of the presidents of the Buddy Holly Foundation. This new recording is from 2024.

This is essentially a new song (although a cover version). Curiously, in some online platforms, the song is delivered but is “empty,” i.e., you hear nothing (for example on Apple Music).

The Other Songs

Creating a complete balance of 50 years in the music business on one album is simply impossible. Therefore, the selection offers room for criticism. Nightbird is certainly not the album that needs to be represented here, but it was his first. Additionally, there are no songs from the comparatively strong albums It Ain’t Over and Beautiful World. Songs that spontaneously come to mind include The Way I’m Feeling Tonight, Close To Me, Time To Let Go, Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City, One Small Step, She Lived Down The Street or Nothing To Lose. From Satisfy My Soul, the relaxed Together or Better Than Nothing would have also been good candidates. The same applies to No Easy Way Out from Blue Views.

Later works, such as Good Feeling, Rain Or Shine or These Days, also come up empty. Two songs from Soul Shadows is at least one too many, as the album wasn’t good enough compared to the others mentioned. Perhaps a kind of bonus EP would have been the solution, where 2-3 rarer pieces could have been included, such as Can’t Find My Way Home from Spin 1ne 2wo, Deja Vuor Your Own Special Way with Steve Hackett, or the Pink Floyd classic Hey You, which he sang in Berlin in 1990. After all, the list of his session work is also very long.

Conclusion

Greatest Hits – How Long (Has This Been Going On)? – 50th Anniversary Collection 1974-2024 is a solid retrospective that gives Carrack newcomers a good overview and is certainly well-suited for this fan group. The new recordings work very well for the most part. For fans, the compilation remains just something for the collection. It lacks rarities and surprises that would provide a greater incentive to buy.

Author: Christian Gerhardts