Espresso Logic finds Chris Rea taking life a little less serious than on his last two releases. The songs are generally more pop friendly and the lyrical commentary is brighter and more trival. Sometimes that doesn't work to good effect, like on "Julia" for example. But Rea maintains his moments of moody atmospherics, such as the dream-like intro to "Espresso Logic" and on "Miles is a Cigarette," both being fine songs. Rea should have made the Top 40 on some format or another with "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" and the spectacular riffery towards the end of that track. Much the same could be said for "Johnny needs a Fast Car." If you only are familiar with Rea's work through "The Road to Hell" and found that album interesting, it would be worth your while to track this one down.