Huey Lewis & the News: Sports (1983)

Huey Lewis & the News are my favorite 80's mainstream act. Admittedly I very much dislike 90% of all 80's mainstream acts so there's not a lot to choose from but Huey's band of glossed up bar rock gets me every time. There is obviously no better Huey album than Sports either. First off you have that cover photo. It's a perfect distillation of all the goodness that awaits the listener from the first moment they pop in their cassette tape, cd or play it on their ipod. The band is just hanging out in a bar playing pool and huey looks like he just got off work and is ready to kick back some brews.

While the cover is pretty legendary (especially in my twitter circle of friends) a good album cover means nothing if the music doesn't deliver and fortunately for us it does. With five hit singles -- of which four are immediately recognizable today -- there are no shortage of classic Huey jams here. "The Heart of Rock and Roll," "I Want a New Drug" and "Walking on a Thin Line" are great rockers, while "Heart and Soul" and "If This Is It" show off the bands pop side with fantastic results. Even the album tracks are strong. "Bad is Bad" is a nice doo-wop number and "Finally Found a Home" and "You Crack Me Up" are much more than just up-tempo filler. The closing Hank Williams cover, "Honkey Tonk Blues" feels a little bit out of place here and would fit better on a pure bar band album but it is by no means a bad song. The production is really clean and radio ready but never overshadows the fact that, stripped down, these songs would still be highly enjoyable.

When it comes to 80's music, I could leave almost all of it in the virtual garbage can and not miss a thing but please don't take away my Sports. It's the best album Huey Lewis and the News have ever made and even if it's a pure 80's document, it's one of the best ever made.

P.S. SPORTS!! and NSFW by way of Patrick Bateman


Rating: 5

Track Listing:

1. "The Heart of Rock & Roll" (5:03)
2. "Heart and Soul" (4:13)
3. "Bad is Bad" (3:48)
4. "I Want a New Drug" (4:46)
5. "Walking on a Thin Line" (5:11)
6. "Finally Found a Home" (3:43)
7. "If This Is It" (3:54)
8. "You Crack Me Up" (3:42)
9. "Honky Tonk Blues" (3:26)