Greatest Hits or Air Supply Greatest Hits is a greatest hits album by British-Australian soft rock duo Air Supply, released in August 1983. It spent one week on top of the Australian (Kent Music Report) album chart and reached number seven on the Billboard 200.[1] The Jim Steinman-written and produced track "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" had been released in July as a single. It is Air Supply's last top 10 hit in the United States, peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" also reached top 10 in Canada and South Africa. The album was certified 5× platinum in 1993 in the US, denoting shipments of five million copies.
| Greatest Hits | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Greatest hits album by | ||||
| Released | August 1983 | |||
| Genre | Pop rock, soft rock | |||
| Length | 37:27 (CD Edition) | |||
| Label | Arista | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Air Supply chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Greatest Hits | ||||
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Background
editBritish-Australian soft rock group Air Supply had been formed in Melbourne in 1975 by vocalists Russell Hitchcock and Graham Russell.[2][3] By the late 1970s, they were based in the United States.[2] The duo had released seven studio albums, Air Supply (1976), The Whole Thing's Started, Love & Other Bruises (both 1977), Life Support (1979), Lost in Love (1980), The One That You Love (1981) and Now and Forever (1982). Their compilation album Greatest Hits or Air Supply Greatest Hits was issued on vinyl by EMI Records in Australia and Arista Records in the United States in August 1983.[2][4] Each included a new track "Making Love Out of Nothing at All", released as a single a month earlier.[2][4] The EMI version had 13 tracks with "Love and Other Bruises", "Bring out the Magic", "Two Less Lonely People in the World" and "Now and Forever" not included on the 9-track Arista version.
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic reviewed the 1988 Arista Records version of Greatest Hits and rated it at four-out-of-five starts, "[it's] all that most Air Supply fans need, at least casual fans, but even the hardcore followers are sure to like having such a concentrated dose of hits in one package."[4] Australian writer Glenn A. Baker described how they used their "undeniably American laid-back style" to provide "six Stateside top ten hits", which are included on this compilation.[6] He considered the songs' writers, aside from band member Graham Russell, who "continued to pen excellent commercial songs, outside hitwriters (such as Lee Greenwood and the legendary Howie Greenfield) were also engaged to keep the hits flowing."[6]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Graham Russell, unless otherwise noted
| No. | Title | Album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Love and Other Bruises" | Air Supply | 3:40 |
| 2. | "Bring out the Magic" | Life Support | 3:51 |
| 3. | "The One That You Love" | The One That You Love | 4:17 |
| 4. | "Here I Am" (Norman Sallitt, Michael Masser, Linda Creed) | The One That You Love | 3:46 |
| 5. | "Sweet Dreams" | The One That You Love | 5:19 |
| 6. | "Lost in Love" | Lost in Love | 3:51 |
| 7. | "Chances" | Lost in Love | 3:32 |
| 8. | "Every Woman in the World" (Dominic Bugatti, Frank Musker) | Lost in Love | 3:30 |
| 9. | "All Out of Love" (Russell, Clive Davis) | Lost in Love | 4:01 |
| 10. | "Even the Nights Are Better" (K Bell, T Skinner, J L Wallace) | Now and Forever | 3:57 |
| 11. | "Two Less Lonely People in the World" (Howard Greenfield, Ken Hirsch) | Now and Forever | 3:59 |
| 12. | "Now and Forever" | Now and Forever | 4:18 |
| 13. | "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" (Jim Steinman) | New recording | 5:15 |
Greatest Hits Arista Records (AL8-8024)[8]
- "Lost in Love" – 3:51
- "Even the Nights Are Better" – 3:57
- "The One That You Love" – 4:17
- "Every Woman in the World" – 3:29
- "Chances" – 3:32
- "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" – 5:15
- "All Out of Love" – 4:01
- "Here I Am" – 3:46
- "Sweet Dreams" – 5:19
Personnel
editCredits (tracks 1–5, 7–9)
- Russell Hitchcock – lead and backing vocals
- Graham Russell – lead vocals (1, 4, 7), backing vocals (1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9), rhythm guitar (1, 2, 4, 5, 7), acoustic guitar (3, 8, 9)
- David Moyse – lead guitar (1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9), bass guitar (1, 4, 5, 7), backing vocals (1, 4, 5, 7), rhythm guitar (3, 8, 9)
- Rex Goh – lead guitar (2), rhythm guitar (8, 9)
- Frank Esler-Smith – keyboards, orchestrations
- David Green – bass (2, 3, 8, 9)
- Ralph Cooper – drums (1-5, 7, 8, 9)
Credits (track 6 "Making Love Out of Nothing at All")
Air Supply
- Russell Hitchcock – lead vocals
- Graham Russell – backing vocals
Musicians
- Roy Bittan – acoustic piano, synthesisers, arrangements
- Larry Fast – synthesisers
- Rick Derringer – guitar
- Sid McGinnis – acoustic guitar
- Steve Buslowe – bass
- Max Weinberg – drums
- Jimmy Maelen – percussion
- Jim Steinman – arrangements
- Rory Dodd – additional backing vocals
- Holly Sherwood – additional backing vocals
- Eric Troyer – additional backing vocals
Production
- Clive Davis – executive producer
- Rick Chertoff – producer (1)
- Charles Fisher – producer (1)
- Robie Porter – producer (1, 4, 5, 7)
- Harry Maslin – producer (2, 3, 4, 8, 9), engineer (2, 3, 8, 9)
- Jim Steinman – producer (6), mixing (6)
- John Jansen – associate producer (6), engineer (6), mixing (6)
- Rod Hui – engineer (6)
- Scott Litt – engineer (6)
- Arthur Payson – engineer (6)
- Dee Rob – engineer (6)
- Neil Dorfsman – mixing (6)
- Greg Calbi – mastering (6)
- Donn Davenport – art direction, design
- Linda Fenimore – illustration
- Don Arden – management
Charts
edit
Weekly chartsedit
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Year-end chartsedit
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Certifications and sales
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[13] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[14] | 5× Platinum | 5,000,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ Kent, David. "Australian Chart Book 1970-1992, published 1993, ISBN 0 646 11917 6 , page 418".
- ^ a b c d * McFarlane (1999). Encyclopedia entry for 'Air Supply'. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
- McFarlane, Ian (2017). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Air Supply'". The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. Jenkins, Jeff (Foreword) (2nd ed.). Gisborne, VIC: Third Stone Press. pp. 11–12. ISBN 978-0-9953856-0-3.
- ^ Holmgren, Magnus; Thornton, Mary Ann; Padgett, Chris. "Air Supply". Australian Rock Database. Archived from the original on 3 March 2004. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
- ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Air Supply – Greatest Hits [Arista] Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
- ^ Greatest Hits at AllMusic
- ^ a b Baker, Glenn A. "Air Supply Greatest Hits". Dreamtime JSP. Archived from the original on 25 May 2000. Retrieved 16 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Air Supply (Musical group) (1983), Air Supply's Greatest Hits, EMI Records, retrieved 16 March 2024
- ^ Air Supply (1983), Greatest hits, Columbia, retrieved 16 March 2024
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 13. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Charts.nz – Air Supply – Greatest Hits". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ "Air Supply Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1983 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Air Supply – Greatest Hits". Music Canada. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
- ^ "American album certifications – Air Supply – Greatest Hits". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 20 June 2023.