Huey Lewis & The News - Sports (30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) (2013)

Picture This found Huey Lewis and the News developing a signature sound, but they truly came into their own on their third album, Sports. It's true that the record holds together better than its predecessors because it has a clear, professional production, but the real key is the songs. Where their previous albums were cluttered with generic filler, nearly every song on Sports has a huge hook. And even if the News aren't bothered by breaking new ground, there's no denying that the craftsmanship on Sports is pretty infectious. There's a reason why well over half of the album ("The Heart of Rock & Roll," "Heart and Soul," "I Want a New Drug," "Walking on a Thin Line," "If This Is It") were huge American hit singles -- they have instantly memorable hooks driven home with economical precision by a tight bar band who are given just enough polish to make them sound like super stars. And that's just what Sports made them. [For the 30th Anniversary of Sports, the 1983 blockbuster that turned Huey Lewis & the News into super stars, the album was given a sparkling new remaster and expanded into a two-disc set containing a second CD comprised entirely of live versions of the album's nine songs. Not all of these nine songs date from the supporting tour for Sports. As a matter fact, only "Walking on a Thin Line" -- here introduced with "this is another one off the new record," a phrase that often sends audiences rushing to the nearest beer stand -- dates from 1983, with the vast majority dating from 1987-1989, when the band was recording and promoting Small World, the 1988 album that brought their streak of hits to a close. Two other cuts come from the Fore! era -- "If This Is It" was cut in 1986; "Bad Is Bad" is from 1987 -- and these, like the Small World performances, are precise, professional, and a bit too polished; the sound of arena rockers, not a bar band. Remarkably, the two songs cut in 2012 -- presumably because neither song was performed live in the '80s -- do indeed showcase Huey Lewis & the News at their raucous, barroom best. They tear through "You Crack Me Up" and, best of all, they bring in former Clover guitarist John McFee to play steel on a rowdy "Honky Tonk Blues." Long the weak link on the LP, here on this deluxe edition, this Hank Williams cover is a standout, capturing all the good humor and joy of Huey Lewis & the News at their best, and it's something of a small wonder that they still sound so good 30 years after their commercial peak.]