Back and Fourth is a 1978 album by English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 band Lindisfarne

Lindisfarne (band)

Lindisfarne were a British folk/rock group from Newcastle upon Tyne established in 1970 and fronted by singer/songwriter Alan Hull. Their music combined a strong sense of yearning with an even stronger sense of fun...

. Released in nine countries on three record labels, it reached position 22 on the UK album charts and contained the successful single "Run for Home".

Production

The album was produced by Gus Dudgeon

Gus Dudgeon

Angus Boyd Dudgeon , most commonly known as Gus Dudgeon was an English record producer, most notable for production of many of Elton John's recordings.-Early career:...

 and recorded between February and April 1978. It was the first album to feature the reformed original Lindisfarne lineup after they had broken up in 1973.

Release, chart performance and reception

Back and Fourth was released in June 1978 in the UK by Mercury Records

Mercury Records

Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...

. It spent eleven weeks in the UK album charts, reaching a highest position of #22, with a total of three weeks in the top 25. It was also released in eight other countries around the world on three different record labels.

Although it was a chart success, the album did not receive entirely positive reviews. Bruce Eder of Allmusic gave the album just two starts out of five, stating that it "isn't really that good a record, lacking the imagination and spirit of experimentation that highlighted their early albums". However, he did praise "Run For Home" as "Alan Hull's best song to date".

Singles

Three tracks from the album were released as singles. The first, "Run For Home", was released a few weeks before the album. It proved very popular, reaching #10 during a 15-week stint in the UK charts. It also became the band's first hit in the USA, reaching #33. The second, "Juke Box Gypsy", was less successful. It was released in October 1978 and spent four weeks in the charts, peaking at #56. A third track, "Warm Feeling", was released in early 1979 but failed to chart.

Track listing

All tracks credited to Alan Hull except where indicated

1. "Juke Box Gypsy" - 2:23
2. "Warm Feeling" (Jackson/Harcourt) - 4:05
3. "Woman" - 3:26
4. "Only Alone" - 3:44
5. "Run For Home" - 4:21
6. "Kings Cross Blues" (Jackson/Harcourt) - 3:45
7. "Get Wise" - 3:08
8. "You And Me" - 3:05
9. "Marshall Riley's Army" - 3:39
10. "Angels At Eleven" - 2:55
11. "Make Me Want To Stay" - 3:55

Personnel

• Alan Hull
  Alan Hull
  Alan Hull was an English singer-songwriter and founding member of the Tyneside folk rock band, Lindisfarne.-Career:...
  
   - vocals, acoustic, electric and 12-string guitars, keyboards
• Ray Jackson - vocals, mandolin, harmonica
• Rod Clements
  Rod Clements
  Rod Clements is a British guitarist and singer-songwriter.-Career:...
  
  - electric bass, acoustic, electric and 12-string guitars, violin
• Simon Cowe - lead, acoustic and 12-string guitars, mandolin, vocals
• Ray Laidlaw - drums