Paul Young (album)

Paul Young is the seventh solo studio album by English singer Paul Young, released in May 1997 on East West Records. This was Young's last album made up of original material, until his 2023 album, Behind the Lens. It displays a stronger country influence than his previous albums and saw significantly more songwriting input from Young than on his previous albums, with eight of the twelve tracks being co-written by him. The album and lead single "I Wish You Love" both charted inside the UK top 40.

Critical reception
A Guardian 1997 review believed the album marked a significant departure from Young's previous albums. The album instrumentation was found to sound more akin to a Garth Brooks album than the output Young was best known for. Despite saying the album potentially had "all the ingredients for a first-class disaster" the review rated the album as "good" and awarded it a score of 3 out of 5.

Personnel

 * Paul Young – lead vocals, backing vocals, acoustic guitar, sitar, tambourine
 * Simon Clark – keyboards (1, 3-12)
 * Steve Piggott – keyboards (1, 3-12), synthesizers (3, 5, 6, 9, 12)
 * Matt Irvine – accordion (1, 3, 7, 9, 11)
 * Ross Cullum – keyboards (2)
 * Jack Hues – programming (2), guitars (2), bass (2)
 * Robbie McIntosh – electric guitar, acoustic guitar
 * Jamie Moses – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
 * Melvin Duffy – pedal steel guitar (4, 8)
 * David Pilch – bass (1, 3-9, 12)
 * Chris Hughes – bass and drum programming (2)
 * Steve Greetham – bass (10, 11), backing vocals
 * Pino Palladino – bass (11)
 * Curt Bisquera – drums, percussion
 * Greg Penny – beat box (3), tambourine (6)
 * Ben Georgiades – cymbals (5)
 * Bob Loveday – violin (2)
 * Skaila Kanga – Paraguayan harp (3, 7, 12)
 * Brendan Power – harmonica (4)
 * Frank Mead – saxophone (6)
 * Nick Payn – saxophone (6)
 * Nick Pentelow – saxophone (6)
 * Courtney Pine – saxophone (12)
 * Martin Drover – trumpet (6, 7)
 * Drew Barfield – backing vocals
 * Steve Booker – backing vocals
 * Boo Hewerdine – backing vocals
 * Carol Kenyon – backing vocals

Production

 * Greg Penny – producer
 * Paul Young – producer
 * Chris Hughes – executive producer, mixing (2)
 * Andy Strange – recording, mixing (7, 9, 12)
 * Bob Clearmountain – mixing (1, 3-6, 8, 10, 11
 * Ross Cullum – mixing (2)
 * Tony Cousins – mastering
 * Martin Granville-Twig – mastering
 * Norman Watson – photography