{{short description|1984 debut studio album by Howard Jones}} {{use British English|date=April 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox album | name = Human's Lib | type = studio | artist = Howard Jones | cover = HowardJonesHumansLib.jpg | border = yes | alt = | released = {{start date|1984|03|09|df=yes}}<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Howard Jones: ''Human's Lib'' |magazine=Music Week |page=5 |date=3 March 1984 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1984/Music-Week-1984-03-03.pdf |access-date=4 June 2023 |via=World Radio History}}</ref> | recorded = * June 1983 ("New Song")<ref name="Risk3">{{cite magazine |title=May / June |magazine=Risk |issue=3 |page=7 |year=1983 |url=http://www.howardjones.com/downloads/risk/Risk%203.pdf |access-date=22 August 2025}}</ref> * October–November 1983<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Risk Diary |magazine=Risk |issue=4 |pages=16–19 |year=1983 |url=http://www.howardjones.com/downloads/risk/Risk%204.pdf |access-date=23 August 2023}}</ref> | studio = * Farmyard (Little Chalfont, Buckinghamshire) * Chipping Norton (Oxfordshire; "New Song")<ref name="Risk3" /> | genre = Synth-pop | length = {{duration|m=42|s=58}} | label = * WEA * Elektra | producer = * Rupert Hine * Colin Thurston ("New Song") | prev_title = | prev_year = | next_title = The 12″ Album | next_year = 1984 | misc = {{Singles | name = Human's Lib | type = studio | single1 = New Song | single1date = 19 August 1983<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Records |magazine=Number One |issue=15 |page=7 |date=13 August 1983}}</ref> | single2 = What Is Love? | single2date = 18 November 1983<ref>{{cite magazine |title=News |magazine=Record Mirror |page=8 |date=12 November 1983}}</ref> | single3 = Hide and Seek | single3date = 10 February 1984<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Howard Seeks Out His Fans |magazine=Number One |issue=40 |page=5 |date=4 February 1984}}</ref> | single4 = Pearl in the Shell | single4date = 18 May 1984<ref>{{cite magazine |title=News |magazine=Record Mirror |page=8 |date=12 May 1984}}</ref> }}}} '''''Human's Lib''''' is the debut studio album by the English synth-pop musician Howard Jones. It was released on 9 March 1984 and entered the UK Albums Chart at the No. 1 spot, spending a total of 57 weeks on the charts.<ref name="UKchart">{{cite web |title=Howard Jones |publisher=Official Charts Company |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/20887/howard-jones/ |access-date=18 January 2019}}</ref> The album has been certified double platinum by the BPI for sales in excess of 600,000 copies.<ref name="bpicert" />
Four songs from the album were released as singles in the UK, all of which reached the top 20 on the UK singles chart: "New Song" peaked at #3, "What Is Love?" at #2, "Hide and Seek" at #12, and "Pearl in the Shell" at #7.<ref name="UKchart" /> "New Song" and "What Is Love?" also charted on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the US, both reaching the top 40.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/howard-jones-mn0000228099/awards |title=Howard Jones – Awards |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=8 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521010624/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/howard-jones-mn0000228099/awards |archive-date=21 May 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
"Equality" was released as a single only in South Africa, as a commentary about the policy of apartheid there at the time.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.howardjones.com/discography/singles/discography_singles.html |title=Howard Jones Discography – Singles |publisher=howardjones.com |access-date=30 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100831175548/http://www.howardjones.com/discography/singles/discography_singles.html |archive-date=31 August 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
== Critical reception == {{Music ratings | rev1 = AllMusic | rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref name="AllMusic" /> | rev2 = ''God Is in the TV'' | rev2score = 9/10<ref name="GIITT" /> | rev3 = ''Number One'' | rev3score = 3/5<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Bell |first=Max |title=Albums |magazine=Number One |issue=45 |page=45 |date=10 March 1984}}</ref> | rev4 = ''Record Collector'' | rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="RC" /> | rev5 = ''Record Mirror'' | rev5score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}<ref name="RM" /> | rev6 = ''Rolling Stone'' | rev6score = {{Rating|2|5}}<ref name="RS" /> | rev7 = ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'' | rev7score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Considine |first=J. D. |author-link=J. D. Considine |editor1-last=DeCurtis |editor1-first=Anthony |editor1-link=Anthony DeCurtis |editor2-last=Henke |editor2-first=James |editor3-last=George-Warren |editor3-first=Holly |chapter=Howard Jones |title=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |title-link=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |publisher=Random House |edition=3rd |year=1992 |isbn=0-679-73729-4 |page=379}}</ref> | rev8 = ''Smash Hits'' | rev8score = {{Fraction|6|1|2}}/10<ref name="SH" /> | rev9 = ''Sounds'' | rev9score = {{Rating|2|5}}<ref name="Sounds" /> | rev10 = ''The Village Voice'' | rev10score = C−<ref name="VV" /> }} Contemporary reviews of ''Human's Lib'' were generally negative, with many criticising the songs' music and lyrics as being lightweight. In ''Melody Maker'', Colin Irwin called Jones "the aural equivalent of painting by numbers" and said that although the sentiments expressed in the lyrics were worthy ones, "his sermons are embarrassingly glib". Irwin stated that only "Hide and Seek" and the title track were passable songs, and that overall "this is very shallow pop music dressed as something much more important and profound".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Irwin |first=Colin |author-link=Colin Irwin (journalist) |title=Human Failings |magazine=Melody Maker |page=27 |date=10 March 1984}}</ref> Don Watson of ''NME'' wrote, "It's as hard to distinguish his music as it is to distinguish it from your carpet; conveniently, though, the lyrics are printed on the inner sleeve so that we may fully appreciate the complete lack of any novel observation in the songs ... What's so amusing about Jones' songwriting is the glib manner in which he brandishes threadbare platitudes as unique insights."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Watson |first=Don |title=Just an Ordinary Jones |magazine=NME |page=33 |date=17 March 1984}}</ref> In ''Sounds'', David Tibet called ''Human's Lib'' "an LP of simple/simplistic electronic-pop tunes, irretrievably lightweight, that offer nothing new except more music to tap your feet and grin inanely to". He stated that it was "not an offensive record at all", but that "people {{em|should}} ask for something more demanding than aural air conditioning".<ref name="Sounds">{{cite magazine |author=Tibet |author-link=David Tibet |title=Lib and Let Lib |magazine=Sounds |page=32 |date=10 March 1984}}</ref>
In the US, Christopher Connelly of ''Rolling Stone'' stated that Jones "simply doesn't demonstrate the imagination or songwriting skill to produce anything truly memorable", and that "too often, his compositions are poor pastiches of already overworked synth exercises".<ref name="RS">{{cite magazine |last=Connelly |first=Christopher |author-link=Chris Connelly (journalist) |title=Howard Jones: ''Human's Lib'' |magazine=Rolling Stone |issue=421 |page=58 |date=10 May 1984 |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/howardjones/albums/album/170003/review/5945662/humans_lib |access-date=28 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090901090808/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/howardjones/albums/album/170003/review/5945662/humans_lib |archive-date=1 September 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Robert Christgau of ''The Village Voice'' panned ''Human's Lib'' as a "revolving self-help manual" marred by Jones' "ressentiment" and unadorned synth-pop.<ref name="VV">{{cite news |last=Christgau |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Christgau |title=Christgau's Consumer Guide: Turkey Shoot |newspaper=The Village Voice |date=12 June 1984 |url=https://robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/ts84-84.php |access-date=22 August 2013}}</ref>
More positive reviews came from Betty Page in ''Record Mirror'', who said the album provided "lashings of beaty, intensely danceable chunks of electropop alternated with sincere and heartfelt one-man-and-his-piano ballads. And to a point, he does it very well ... for an occupier of the Middle Earth of chart pop, he's quite a grower, if not a wrencher of guts",<ref name="RM">{{cite magazine |last=Page |first=Betty |title=Sniff and Jones |magazine=Record Mirror |page=18 |date=10 March 1984}}</ref> and from Neil Tennant in ''Smash Hits'', who commented that Jones had "a neat talent for writing melodic pop songs with clever hooks and real 1970s singer-songwriter lyrics. A must for all Supertramp fans."<ref name="SH">{{cite magazine |last=Tennant |first=Neil |author-link=Neil Tennant |title=Howard Jones: ''Human's Lib'' |magazine=Smash Hits |volume=6 |issue=5 |page=37 |date=1–14 March 1984 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Smash-Hits/1984/Smash-Hits-1984-03-01.pdf |access-date=29 December 2024 |via=World Radio History}}</ref>
In a retrospective review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic found that ''Human's Lib'', with its "state-of-the-art" synth-pop sound and songs about "the power of positive thinking" and "universal love", possesses "an appealing dichotomy: underneath his electronics and stylish haircut, he's singing about subjects better suited to acoustic guitars and tie-dyed T-shirts." "Still," Erlewine continued, "''Human's Lib'' benefits from Jones' complete immersion in synths, giving the album a glimmering sheen that remains emblematic of the dawn of MTV."<ref name="AllMusic">{{cite web |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |title=''Human's Lib'' – Howard Jones |publisher=AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/humans-lib-mw0000190438 |access-date=15 July 2025}}</ref> ''God Is in the TV''{{'}}s Andy Page called it "a masterclass in pop-with-a-conscience",<ref name="GIITT">{{cite web |last=Page |first=Andy |title=Howard Jones – ''Human's Lib'' / ''Dream Into Action'' (Cherry Red Records) |website=God Is in the TV |date=27 November 2018 |url=http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/2018/11/27/howard-jones-humans-lib-dream-into-action-cherry-red-records/ |access-date=15 July 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205231937/http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/2018/11/27/howard-jones-humans-lib-dream-into-action-cherry-red-records/ |archive-date=5 December 2018 |url-status=deviated}}</ref> while in ''Record Collector'', Joel McIver reflected on the album's negative reception from critics upon release, writing, "as ever, they (we) knew nothing because it sounds killer all these years later".<ref name="RC">{{cite magazine |last=McIver |first=Joel |author-link=Joel McIver |title=Howard Jones: ''Human's Lib'' / ''Dream into Action'' |magazine=Record Collector |issue=559 |page=96 |date=July 2024}}</ref>
== Track listing == All tracks are written and composed by Howard Jones, unless indicated otherwise. Track timings are taken from the original UK LP edition. {{Track listing | headline = Side one | title1 = Conditioning | writer1 = music: Jones, lyrics: Bill Bryant | length1 = 4:32 | title2 = What Is Love? | writer2 = music: Jones, lyrics: Bryant, Jones | length2 = 3:45 | title3 = Pearl in the Shell | length3 = 4:03 | title4 = Hide and Seek | length4 = 5:34 | title5 = Hunt the Self | writer5 = music: Jones, lyrics: Bryant, Jones | length5 = 3:42 }} {{Track listing | headline = Side two | total_length = 42:58 | title6 = New Song | length6 = 4:15 | title7 = Don't Always Look at the Rain | length7 = 4:13 | title8 = Equality | writer8 = music: Jones, lyrics: Bryant, Jones | length8 = 4:26 | title9 = Natural | writer9 = music: Jones, lyrics: Bryant | length9 = 4:25 | title10 = Human's Lib | writer10 = music: Jones, lyrics: Bryant | length10 = 4:03 }}
* Many CD editions substitute a 6:32 mix of "What Is Love?" (identical to the extended mix from the 12-inch single except that the vocal echo at 2:52 is missing) for the 3:45 album version and add "China Dance", an instrumental B-side from the "Hide and Seek" single, as a bonus track (track 11).
* In May 2024, Cherry Red Records released new special edition versions of both ''Human's Lib'' and the follow-up album, ''Dream into Action'' (1985) as CD + Blu-ray packages. The releases feature new mixes of the albums by Stephen W. Tayler. The Blu-ray contains both 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio and 96/24 LPCM stereo versions by Tayler, plus Dolby Atmos versions of "What Is Love?", "Hide and Seek" and "New Song" (Farmyard version) mixed by Bob Clearmountain.
== Personnel == * Howard Jones – synthesizers, keyboards, vocals, drum machines * Davey Payne – saxophone on "Pearl in the Shell" * Stephen W. Tayler – engineer, mixing; saxophone on "Pearl in the Shell" * Ben Rogan – assistant engineer * Colin Thurston – producer and engineer on "New Song" * Rupert Hine – producer on all other tracks; uncredited backing vocal on "What Is Love" * Simon Fowler – photography * Steg – artwork
== Equipment used == Howard Jones used the following equipment on ''Human's Lib'':<ref>Howard Jones 25th anniversary tour book (2008)</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Gilby |first=Ian |title=Human Evolution |magazine=Home Studio Recording |volume=1 |issue=10 |pages=25, 28–29 |date=July 1984 |url=https://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/human-evolution/4078 |access-date=15 July 2025}}</ref> * Roland Jupiter-8 * Roland Juno-60 * Yamaha DX7 (×2) * Sequential Circuits Pro-One * Sequential Circuits Prophet T8 – MIDI'd to two DX7s * Moog Prodigy * Memorymoog * Roland TR-808 drum machine * E-mu Drumulator drum machine * Simmons SDSV drum module with SDS6 sequencer * LinnDrum – owned by Rupert Hine
Various drum sounds replaced with real drum samples from an AMS DMX 15-80S digital delay.<ref>Anil Prasad. "Challenging Preconceived Ideas: Inside ''Human's Lib''." ''Human's Lib: Super Deluxe Expanded Box Set'' booklet. Cherry Red Records, 2018.</ref>
== Charts == {{col-begin}} {{col-2}}
=== Weekly charts === {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" ! scope="col" | Chart (1983–1984) ! scope="col" | Peak<br />position |- ! scope="row" | Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)<ref>{{cite book |last=Kent |first=David |author-link=David Kent (historian) |title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 |publisher=Australian Chart Book |edition=illustrated |year=1993 |isbn=0-646-11917-6 |page=161}}</ref> | 68 |- ! scope="row" | Canadian Albums (''RPM'')<ref>{{cite magazine |title=''RPM'' 100 Albums |url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.6726a&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.6726a.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.6726a |magazine=RPM |volume=40 |number=12 |page=8 |date=26 May 1984 |access-date=18 January 2019}}</ref> | 18 |- {{Album chart|Netherlands|15|artist=Howard Jones|album=Human's Lib|access-date=18 January 2019|rowheader=true}} |- {{Album chart|Germany|8|artist=Howard Jones|album=Human's Lib|id=91|access-date=18 January 2019|rowheader=true}} |- {{Album chart|New Zealand|21|artist=Howard Jones|album=Human's Lib|access-date=18 January 2019|rowheader=true}} |- {{Album chart|Norway|13|artist=Howard Jones|album=Human's Lib|access-date=18 January 2019|rowheader=true}} |- {{Album chart|Sweden|5|artist=Howard Jones|album=Human's Lib|access-date=18 January 2019|rowheader=true}} |- {{Album chart|Switzerland|12|artist=Howard Jones|album=Human's Lib|access-date=18 January 2019|rowheader=true}} |- {{Album chart|UK2|1|date=19840311|access-date=22 August 2025|rowheader=true}} |- ! scope="row" | US ''Billboard'' 200<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/howard-jones/chart-history/tlp/ |title=Howard Jones Chart History (''Billboard'' 200) |website=Billboard |access-date=18 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117230835/https://www.billboard.com/artist/howard-jones/chart-history/tlp/ |archive-date=17 November 2021 |url-status=dead}}</ref> | 59 |} {{col-2}}
=== Year-end charts === {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" ! scope="col" | Chart (1984) ! scope="col" | Position |- ! scope="row" | Canadian Albums (''RPM'')<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Top 100 Albums of 1984 |url=http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.9642&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.9642.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.9642 |magazine=RPM |volume=41 |number=17 |page=8 |date=5 January 1985 |access-date=18 January 2019}}</ref> | 68 |- ! scope="row" | German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)<ref>{{cite web |title=Top 100 Album – Jahrescharts: 1984 |url=https://www.offiziellecharts.de/charts/album-jahr/for-date-1984 |publisher=GfK Entertainment Charts |access-date=18 January 2019 |language=de}}</ref> | 31 |- ! scope="row" | UK Albums (Gallup)<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Top 100 Albums |magazine=Music Week |page=42 |date=26 January 1985}}</ref> | 16 |} {{col-end}}
== Certifications == {{Certification Table Top}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|type=album|artist=Howard Jones|title=Human's Lib|award=Gold|relyear=1984|certyear=1986|access-date=18 January 2019}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=album|artist=Howard Jones|title=Human's Lib|award=Platinum|number =2|relyear=1984|certyear=2004|refname="bpicert"|id=3044-2487-2|access-date=12 August 2022}} {{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * {{Discogs master|66374}}
{{Howard Jones}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Human's Lib}} Category:Howard Jones (English musician) albums Category:Albums produced by Colin Thurston Category:Albums produced by Rupert Hine Category:Elektra Records albums Category:Warner Music Group albums Category:1984 debut albums