Collectables
1996
It Never Rains In Southern California
About This Album
It Never Rains in Southern California is not only Albert Hammond's biggest solo hit, the album which spawned that Top Five smash was the best representation of the songwriter until his When I Need You album was released a few years later. The band is in a groove on this disc, and the songs are more happening than on the two immediate follow-ups, The Free Electric Band in 1973 and 1974's self-titled Albert Hammond. Songs like "Down by the River" and "The Road to Understanding" have more enthusiasm and spirit than the two succeeding albums. Albert Hammond, better-known as a songwriter for Jefferson Starship, Julio Iglesias, and Leo Sayer, among others, could have been a superstar on his own had he maintained the high level of songwriting exhibited on this disc. Though Mama Cass Elliot did a brilliant rendition of "If You've Gotta Break Another Heart" on her The Road Is No Place for a Lady album, that single was not embraced by the public as it should have been. The original version is here, along with the songwriter's take on his own "The Air That I Breathe." The Hollies would get a bigger hit out of this song than they had with "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother," but Hammond's version has more tenderness and more subtlety.
Track List (try tracks 2,6,9,10,11,16 and 22)

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