Critics were almost unanimous in their praise for Coles Corner. AllMusic said that "early rock & roll and rockabilly, country, traces of the vintage-'40s pop, jazz, and even some blues, fall together in a seamless, nearly rapturous whole... Coles Corner is glorious, magical, and utterly lovely in its vision, articulation, and execution". PopMatters stated that "Coles Corner heads full-bore into the vintage sounds of five decades ago... It takes a certain flair for a modern-day artist to pull off such a retro sound, and Hawley's complete lack of irony and bombast on this record makes it work... It's certainly not uncommon for contemporary artists to mine the past and successfully corner the ever-growing adult contemporary market... but none of those youngsters can match the style and grace with which Richard Hawley crafts his music. It's achingly beautiful, disarmingly intimate, simply the best-kept secret in popular music today." The Guardian called the tracks "old-fashioned, lovelorn, immaculately produced songs" and said " third album follows the template of its predecessors... if there is a difference it's in the richness of the emotions and textures". Mojo called it "a glorious melange of love, loss, regret, homesickness and romance". Pitchfork said "Coles Corner is unapologetically retro to the max but it works... Hawley resides deep inside this material, writing songs with the melodic muscle to stand up next to standards... you realize that Hawley's music can go wherever he wants it to go. He's not stuck in the past. He inhabits his record collection because he likes it there and has a feeling we will too. He's right." MusicOMH felt that if there were any reservations it was that "many Hawley songs are interchangeable" and "apart from the title track itself - which really is a cracker - there isn't anything in this album we didn't hear in the first two. It's still gorgeous, though." The cover photo is NOT Coles Corner, but it is actually The Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough.
Legacy
The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Track listing
All tracks written and composed by Richard Hawley, except where noted.
"Coles Corner" – 4:49
"Just Like the Rain" – 3:17
"Hotel Room" – 3:42
"Darlin' Wait for Me" – 3:53
"The Ocean" – 5:36
"Born Under a Bad Sign" – 3:41
"I Sleep Alone" – 3:44
"Tonight" – 4:32
" The Waters of My Time" – 3:48
"Who's Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet?" – 4:08
"Last Orders" – 4:59
Singles
In the UK, six singles were released from the album:
"The Ocean" - # 102 UK
* CD : "The Ocean" / "The Ocean"
* 7" vinyl : "The Ocean" / "Kelham Island"
"Coles Corner" - # 146 UK
* CD b/w: "I'm Absolutely Hank Marvin"
* 7" vinyl b/w: "A Bird Never Flew on One Wing"
"Just Like the Rain" - # 94 UK
* CD : "Just Like the Rain" / "Room with a View" / "Long Black Veil"
"Born Under a Bad Sign" - # 81 UK
* CD : "Born Under a Bad Sign" / "Dark Road" / "Just Like the Rain"
* 7" vinyl : "Born Under a Bad Sign" / "I'm Just Here to Get My Baby Out of Jail"
"Coles Corner" - # 136 UK
* CD b/w: "Long Black Train"
* 7" vinyl b/w: "Can You Hear the Rain, Love?"
"Hotel Room" - # 64 UK
* CD : "Hotel Room" / "Young and Beautiful"
* 7" vinyl : "Hotel Room" / "Some Candy Talking"
Personnel
Richard Hawley – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar, 12-string electric guitar, baritone guitar, Spanish guitar, Hawaiian lap steel, hammer dulcimer, enchanted lyre, Omnichord, piano, drums, steel drum, vibraphone, baby glockenspiel
Andy Cook – drums
Colin Elliot – baritone guitar, electric bass, upright bass, piano, percussion, backing vocals, string arrangements
Shez Sheridan – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar, 12-string electric guitar, baritone guitar, reverb tremolo guitar, backing vocals
Jon Trier – piano, Fender Rhodes, vibraphone, baby glockenspiel
