Every Man a King
Australian album cover
Studio album by
James Reyne
Released5 May 2007
RecordedHobby Horse Studio, Supersonic Studio
2006-2007
GenreRock music, Pop music
LabelLiberation Records
ProducerJames Reyne, Scott Kingman
James Reyne chronology
And the Horse You Rode in On
(2005) 		Every Man a King
(2007) 		Ghost Ships
(2007)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

Every Man a King is the eighth solo studio album by Australian singer/songwriter James Reyne released on 5 May 2007. On the album, Reyne rips into several of his pet hates and finds plenty going askew with the Australian character; showing contempt for celebrity culture, men who are 'chasing the chattering classes' and aspiring to be a part of the 'million balconies facing the sun' and John Howard and George W. Bush are written about in "Light in the Tunnel" and "Little Man You've Had a Busy Day."[2]

Reyne said; "If there's any theme to this album it's people being easily impressed. This silliness that they aspire to, the lives they read about in magazines. Their obsession with trash culture, the bizarre values we seem to live by. It's all just endlessly and perversely fascinating to me".[3]

The album was recorded at Hobby Horse Studios in St Kilda West and at Supersonic Studios in Scott Kingman's home studio.[4]

Review

Tomas Mureika of All Music said "Reyne issues his most satisfying studio set since Design for Living (1999). While not as strong an album as his early solo work, Every Man a King is a solid affair from an artist who continues to stay relevant nearly 30 years after Australian Crawl. "Broken Romeo" and "Superannuated Idol" are just two of the highlights found here. The title of the album comes from Huey Long and the record has a populist theme running through it. Reyne still loves to use his lyrics to tell stories, but this time the individual characters are "Everymen." Every Man a King proves that Reyne continues to be one of the best singer/songwriters in the world, let alone his native Australia. A powerful collection".[5]

Track listing

CD/DD
  1. "Little Man You've Had a Busy Day" (James Reyne) - 4:51
  2. "Stop Draggin' My Name Around" (Reyne) - 4:22
  3. "Mr. International" (Reyne, Gary Clark, Eric Pressly) - 4:03
  4. "Sammy & Doofus & Our Man in New York" (Reyne, Scott Kingman) - 3:28
  5. "Light in the Tunnel" (Reyne) - 3:50
  6. "Cry Baby Killer" (Reyne) - 3:50
  7. "Broken Romeo" (Reyne) - 3:23
  8. "Superannuated Idol" (Reyne) - 2:29
  9. "I'm a Man" (Reyne, Kingman) - 3:40
  10. "Lapis Lazuli" (Reyne, Kingman) - 4:16
  11. "The Postman" (David Baerwald) - 3:20
  12. "Light in the Tunnel" (reprise) (Reyne) - 5:38

Credits

Charts

Chart performance for Every Man a King
Chart (2007) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[6] 141

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label Catalogue
Australia[7][8] 5 May 2007 Compact Disc, Music download Liberation Records LIBCD92392

External links

References

  1. ^ ""Every Man a King" by James Reyne". Allmusic. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  2. ^ "James Reyne". Brett Winterford. www.smh.com.au. 17 May 2007. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  3. ^ "James Reyne - Every Man a King". Sanity.com.au. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  4. ^ "Home, James". www.theage.com.au. 10 June 2007. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  5. ^ "Every Man a King by James Reyne review". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  6. ^ "James Reyne ARIA Albums chart history 1988 to 2022, received from ARIA in 2022 page 2". ARIA. Retrieved 2 December 2023 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
  7. ^ "James Reyne - Every Man a King". Sanity.com.au. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  8. ^ "James Reyne -Every Man a King". iTunes Store Australia. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
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