Working on It

Hey Zoo Freaks, the Zoo Crew just slid Working on It by Chris Rea onto the turntable, pulled from the 1988 compilation New Light Through Old Windows, and that driving pulse fits the freeform album rock vibe we keep spinning here at THE ZOO. This one carries that mix of blues grit and rock energy that keeps the highway rolling, with a message that lands for anybody pushing through the grind while dreaming of something freer. The track came out as the new song on what was otherwise a set of refreshed older cuts, and it hit the airwaves as a single in January 1989. It reached number 53 on the UK charts and climbed to 73 on the US Billboard Hot 100, while locking down the number one spot on the Mainstream Rock chart. Billboard noted the straight-ahead four-on-the-floor power rock and how Rea's label move looked smart, and the Philadelphia Inquirer said the song deserved hit status. The lyrics dig into that push of work taking over, with somebody above in a desperate state and urgency that will not wait, the man in his head saying no way while he keeps at it. He talks about eight little fingers and two thumbs, asking to be left in peace to finish the job, all while wishing he and his girl could just take the day and fly. Produced by Rea himself with Jon Kelly, it features the solid groove from the band, with Rea on vocals and instruments, keeping that signature rasp and slide feel front and center.

What makes the album stand out is how Rea handled the whole project. New Light Through Old Windows was not a standard greatest hits package. He went back in and re-recorded a bunch of earlier tracks because the original versions felt too smoothed out and polished for his liking. He wanted more soul, more of the raw edge from his slide guitar roots in the blues. Songs like On the Beach and Let's Dance got fresh takes that became the versions many people know, and the title itself points to bringing new light to those older windows. Working on It was the only brand new piece, written specifically for the set, and it became the standout that carried the rock radio side. The compilation itself did solid business, cracking the top ten in places like Australia, New Zealand, and West Germany, and it stayed around long enough to build on the momentum from his previous album Dancing with Strangers. Fans have long pointed out how the re-recordings let him capture the grit he always chased, turning the collection into something that felt current rather than just a look back. The song itself has that relentless beat like a car engine on a long stretch, and the plea in the chorus about working on it lands as both a mantra and a call for a little patience in a world that wants everything yesterday.

Stories around the track pop up from listeners who found it useful when they needed to push through something. One fan recalled cranking it up whenever the job felt overwhelming, using that chorus to keep moving. Another tied it to getting through tough stretches, remembering the song as a companion that helped finish what needed doing. It showed up in spots like an episode of Miami Vice and later in the soundtrack for Above the Law, which put that driving energy in different scenes. The whole thing fits Rea's style of writing from observation, keeping things personal without getting too heavy on the polish. He has talked in interviews about how his best songs often come when the idea and the tune arrive together, without forcing the work, and this one carries that direct feel about the cost of keeping the professional side rolling while wanting time for the personal side. The personnel list shows the tight crew, with Justin Shirley-Smith engineering, and the mix keeping the focus on the voice and the groove rather than layers of extra gloss.

Turning to how Chris Rea got started, the story runs deeper than the late eighties rock hits. Born Christopher Anton Rea on March 4, 1951, in Middlesbrough, England, he grew up as one of seven kids to an Italian father who ran the family ice cream factory and coffee bars, and an Irish mother. The family business was local and known, and as a teenager he worked in the cafes and helped make the ice cream, even taking his driving test in one of the vans. He did not pick up a guitar until he was about twenty-one, buying a Hofner Verithin for 32 guineas in a secondhand shop. He has said he was supposed to be helping turn the ice cream cafe into something bigger, but he spent his time in the stockroom playing slide guitar instead. Inspired by hearing Charlie Patton on the radio one Saturday, that bottleneck sound grabbed him, and he started using a bottle for the slide. Self-taught and coming late to it, he felt he had missed some of the early years that players like Mark Knopfler or Eric Clapton had put in, but he caught on quick with the blues roots from the Delta, names like Blind Willie Johnson and Muddy Waters, plus more modern guitar like Joe Walsh and Ry Cooder.

From there he joined local bands around Teesside. He started with Magdalene, which had earlier included David Coverdale before he moved on to Deep Purple, and Rea wrote material and stepped up to sing when the regular vocalist did not show for a gig. Then came the Beautiful Losers, which picked up Melody Maker's best newcomer award around 1975. That led to a solo deal with Magnet Records, and his first album Whatever Happened to Benny Santini? came out in 1978. The name itself came from a joke when the label wanted something more commercial than Chris Rea, and he sarcastically suggested Benny Santini to cover different markets. The big single from that was Fool (If You Think It's Over), which did well in the US and got a Grammy nomination, but Rea has said he was not that keen on it as yacht rock territory. He preferred the blues and the slide, and it took time to steer things toward the sound he wanted. Early on he had ideas about writing for films, but Middlesbrough was not the spot for that, so the music path took over. He has described the guitar as something that eased anxiety when he played up in the stockroom, turning that into the blues rather than just sitting with the dark. The career built from those roots, through the European success and the later albums that let the road and the observation come through in the songs.

The whole arc shows a guy who kept working on it from late start to the gravel voice and the guitar that defined him, building a catalog that mixes the soft rock side with the deeper blues. For more on the man and the music, head to Chris Rea's official website at chrisrea.com. You can also follow the official accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and X. Fans keep things going in places like the Chris Rea Fans group and the Chris Rea Music Archive page, sharing the stories and the tracks that still hit the road.