The Works (Nik Kershaw album)

The Works
Studio album by
Nik Kershaw
Released22 May 1989 (1989-05-22)[1]
RecordedAugust 1987–October 1988
Studio
Genre
Length42:13
LabelMCA
Producer
Nik Kershaw chronology
Radio Musicola
(1986) 		The Works
(1989) 		The Best of Nik Kershaw
(1993)
Singles from The Works
  1. "One Step Ahead"
    Released: 23 January 1989[2]
  2. "Elisabeth's Eyes"
    Released: 24 April 1989[3]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [4]
Smash Hits[5]

The Works is the fourth studio album by the English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Nik Kershaw. It was released in 1989 and was the last album he created for MCA Records. Kershaw chose the album's title as he felt the album represented "the collected works of Nik Kershaw". He did not release any new solo material until 15 Minutes, 10 years later.

The album was not commercially successful, though the lead single "One Step Ahead" reached No. #55 in the UK.[6] "Elisabeth's Eyes", the second and final single, failed to chart altogether.

Although the album was produced by Peter Wolf and co-produced by Brian Malouf, both singles were written shortly after Kershaw became unhappy with Wolf's production and his direction for the album. They were produced by Kershaw and Julian Mendelsohn, with the two also re-working the production of the entire album, earning them an additional production credit.[7]

After its original release, the album remained out of print on any format for years. However, in November 2006, the album became available via online MP3 download on major sites such as Amazon[8] and iTunes.[9]

  1. ^ "New Albums" (PDF). Music Week. 20 May 1989. p. 46. Retrieved 2 October 2024 – via World Radio History.
  2. ^ Strymowicz, Anita (28 January 1989). "A&R Talent: Growing up in public" (PDF). Music Week. p. 20. Retrieved 8 April 2022 – via World Radio History.
  3. ^ Fitzsymons, Paddy (23 April 1989). "Night Life: Holly hits the right note...". Sunday Life. p. 24.
  4. ^ The Works at AllMusic
  5. ^ Smash Hits magazine - Review: LPs - Ian Cranna - 31 May 1989 - page 61
  6. ^ "The Official Charts Company - One Step Ahead by Nik Kershaw Search". The Official Charts Company. 6 May 2013.
  7. ^ "Images for Nik Kershaw - The Works". Discogs.com. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
  8. ^ "The Works: Nik Kershaw: Amazon.co.uk: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
  9. ^ "iTunes - Music - The Works by Nik Kershaw". Itunes.apple.com. 1 March 1958. Retrieved 10 September 2012.