Walkabout (The Fixx album)

Walkabout
Studio album by
the Fixx
Released May 1986
Recorded November 1985
Studio Farmyard Studios, Little Chalfont, Buckinghamshire, England
Genre New wave
Length 48:32
Label MCA
Producer Rupert Hine
The Fixx chronology
Phantoms
(1984) 		Walkabout
(1986) 		React
(1987)
Singles from Walkabout
  1. "Secret Separation"
    Released: May 1986
  2. "Built for the Future"
    Released: 1986
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide
The Rolling Stone Album Guide

Walkabout is the fourth studio album by the English new wave band the Fixx, released in 1986. The first single, "Secret Separation", spent two weeks atop the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart in July 1986; it was the band's second No. 1 single on the chart.

Production

The album was produced by Rupert Hine. Singer Cy Curnin started working on the album while temporarily living in Africa. Walkabout was the first album to include bass player Danny Brown as an official member of the band.

Critical reception

The Ottawa Citizen called the album "the most well-rounded, honest effort by the group so far, marked by a deliberate attempt to 'uncomplicate' the group's sound, without sacrificing the poignancy of the social messages in the songs." The Los Angeles Times called the album the band's best to that point, writing that "the LP's uninventive slices of quirky new wave, tentative funk and Bowie impersonations could have been worse." The Sun Sentinel wrote that "the Fixx is capable of creating polished but ultimately passionless and perfunctory pop-funk ... this is not a record that anyone's going to remember five years from now."

Track listing

All songs are written by Dan K. Brown, Cy Curnin, Rupert Greenall, Jamie West-Oram, and Adam Woods, except when noted.

  1. "Secret Separation" (Brown, Curnin, Greenall, Jeannette Obstoj, West-Oram, Woods) - 3:51
  2. "Built for the Future" - 4:07
  3. "Treasure It" - 4:38
  4. "Chase the Fire" - 4:27
  5. "Can't Finish" - 4:09
  6. "Walkabout" - 4:35
  7. "One Look Up" - 4:15
  8. "Read Between the Lines" - 3:59
  9. "Sense the Adventure" - 3:42
  10. "Camphor" - 3:53 [with hidden CD track "Peace on Earth (Do What You Can)" - 10:46]

Personnel

The Fixx

  • Cy Curnin – lead vocals, backing vocals, acoustic piano
  • Rupert Greenall – keyboards
  • Jamie West-Oram – guitars, backing vocals
  • Dan K. Brown – bass guitar
  • Adam Woods – drums

Additional personnel

  • The TKO Horns:
    • Brian Maurice (credited as 'Brian Morris') – alto saxophone
    • Geoffrey Blythe – tenor saxophone
    • Jimmy Paterson – trombone
    • Dick Hanson – trumpet, solos (5, 7)
  • Rupert Hine – backing vocals
  • Lisa Dalbello – backing vocals (1)

Production

  • Rupert Hine – producer
  • Stephen W. Tayler – recording, mixing
  • Andrew Scarth – technical assistant
  • Georgina Rhodes – design
  • Iain McKell – photography

Charts

Chart (1986) Peak
position
Australia Kent Music Report 99
US Billboard Top Pop Albums 30

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
1986 "Built for the Future" US Album Rock Tracks 13
"Secret Separation" US Billboard Hot 100 19
US Album Rock Tracks 1