| Design for Living | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | James Reyne |
| Cover: | Design for Living by James Reyne.jpg |
| Caption: | Australian album cover |
| Released: | 23 February 1999 |
| Recorded: | 1998 |
| Genre: | Rock, pop, experimental[1] |
| Label: | Village Roadshow, Liberation Records |
| Producer: | James Reyne, Ashley Cadell, Michael Letho |
| Prev Title: | Live in Rio |
| Prev Year: | 1996 |
| Next Year: | 2000 |
Design for Living is the fifth solo studio album by Australian singer/songwriter James Reyne released in February 1999. The album follows a four-year hiatus from recording, which saw Reyne's band Australian Crawl inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame, and Reyne working in theatre (Little Shop of Horrors) and television (State Coroner).[2] The album was recorded with friends and brothers Scott and Brett Kingman and further cemented his position as a unique, witty, thoughtful and challenging songwriter and singer."Not Waving Drowning" and "Wonderful Today" were released as singles. A limited edition 2CD was released featuring live recordings of Reyne's tracks. The album was re-issued by Liberation Records in 2006
The album has been named a "critically lauded masterwork" and a "classic Australian album by one of Australia's true icons." From the opening track, "Wonderful Today", to the closing track, "Stranger than Fiction" (which looks at the incredibly odd Baptist boycott of the Walt Disney Company), this album covers a huge spectrum of musical styles.[3]
Tomas Mureika of All Music said "Without question, Design for Living is James Reyne's happiest album. After a four-year hiatus from recording, Reyne returned with the dynamite one-two-three punch of "Wonderful Today," "Oh Oh Kimberley," and the title track, and he had never sounded lighter or more enthusiastic. This is not to say Reyne had softened his touch. His lyrics are still enigmatic, his trademark angst-ridden delivery intact but this is an album chock-full of potential radio-friendly singles." adding "A turn-of-the-millennium album that echoes the last of the carefree innocence of the 20th century".[4]
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label | Catalogue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia[6] | 23 February 1999 | Compact Disc | Village Roadshow | 101890-2 |
| Australia[7] | 24 June 2006 | Compact Disc, Music download | Liberation Records | BLUE1222 |