"The Best Years Of Our Lives" is an album by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel released in March 1975. It was their first album that used Harley's name ahead of the band (the band was previously known simply as Cockney Rebel). The album contains the band's biggest hit, the million selling "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)".
By his third album, Steve Harley had developed a strong grasp of how to combine his artistic ambitions with strongly crafted pop tunes that win the casual listener over to his artsy cause. The result was "The Best Years of Our Lives", the most successful album of his mid-'70s heyday. This album was a big hit in his native England, thanks to the fact that it spawned two major hit singles. The first was "Mr. Raffles," a surreal yet romanticized portrait of a convention-flaunting outlaw. The odd lyrics work thanks to the phenomenal tune backing them up, which contrasts gentle verses built on piano and acoustic guitar with choruses that work in a surprising but slickly integrated reggae beat. The second and even more impressive hit was "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)," a romantic pop tune that pairs Harley's clever wordplay with a clever pop tune that boasts an inventive stop-start arrangement and a lovely flamenco-styled acoustic guitar solo. Although the rest of the songs on the album aren't as strong as these singles ("It Wasn't Me" has an atmospheric synthesizer-dominated soundscape, but lacks any memorable hooks or surprising twists in its arrangement), there are plenty of highlights for the Harley fan. Some of the standouts include "The Mad, Mad Moonlight," a driving rocker with humorous lyrics about a romantic encounter with an unlikely female suitor, and the title track, a touching acoustic ballad that highlights some of Harley's most direct and emotional lyrics. All in all, The Best Years of Our Lives is a fine, slickly crafted album that will delight Steve Harley enthusiasts and will also appeal to fans of glam-oriented 1970s English rock.
Track listing
01. Introducing the Best Years - 1:07
02. The Mad, Mad Moonlight - 4:30
03. Mr. Raffles - 4:33
04. It Wasn't Me - 6:02
05. Panorama - 5:38
06. Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me) - 4:01
07. Back to the Farm - 5:53
08. 49th Parallel - 3:13
09. The Best Years of Our Lives - 5:46
10. Another Journey (Bonus Track) - 2:52
11. Sebastian (Live at Hammersmith Odeon) (Bonus Track) - 10:54
Released: March 1975
Recorded, Mixed at: The EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London and Air Studios
Genre: Pop, Rock
Label: EMI
Producer: Steve Harley, Alan Parsons
All songs written and composed by: Steve Harley
Personnel
Steve Harley - vocals
Jim Cregan - guitars, backing vocals
George Ford - bass guitar, backing vocals
Duncan Mackay - synthesizer, keyboards, Hammond organ, electric piano, clavinet, elka, grand piano, violin
Stuart Elliott - drums, percussion, marimba
Tina Charles - backing vocals
Martin Jay - backing vocals
Yvonne Keeley - backing vocals
Linda Lewis - backing vocals
Liza Strike - backing vocals
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