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Album of the Week - Opinion/Samples

Okay - a thread along the lines of "What are You Listening to Lately". Hopefully this won't get out of hand, but - my thoughts are for thread participants to recommend (on a weekly basis) a single album/CD from their stacks, make a few personal comments, and add a link so people can hear some of the album. Keeping it to a once a week basis should let the pleasure extend indefinitely...

To link - add a mark-up tag to an Amazon page that has a "Listen to Samples" selection.

I'm sure everyone here has GREAT musical taste, and probably know quite a few hidden gems/personal treasures that have yet to hit mainstream consciousness ...

Starting out from my collection, I'm going to dust off the jacket and select:

The Blue Nile - Hats

The Blue Nile puts out an album about once every six years, and god knows I wish they were more prolific. Their first two albums - A Walk In the Rain and Hats from the mid-late 80's - are tone poems more than anything. I'd probably describe these two as "Impressionistic rock" or "smoky cabaret rock". It's sort of haunting and uplifting at the same time, with mournful horns - synthesized beats/keyboards - yearning vocals with a Scots burr. And the lyrics are poetry of an everyman ...

Last heard from with 1996's "Peace at Last". A little less atmospheric than the other two - but still great.

Hoping they release at least once more in my lifetime, because they are so damned good. I assume they were bigger in the UK - but are little known over here. Unfortunately "Hats" and "A Walk In The Rain" only appear to be on import labels now, but they are worth forking over the dough for...
regiolanthe

Showing 5 responses by ben_campbell

ben_campbell
1,169 posts
 
Regiolanthe-Blue Nile are/were excellent-Paul Buchanan stays near me-I see him a lot-I read a while back (2/3 years ago?)that they had recorded a new album but problems with Warners meant it's tied up in red tape.
Hats could do with a polish up on CD now but doubt if that will happen.
They haven't actually sold that well in the UK-not major anyway and I think they are becoming increasingly less involved with music.
Paul Moore is working full time in child care beside one of my friends.
Anyway good recommendation-Peter Gabriel is a big fan and they've appeared on his and Robbie Robertson records.
ben_campbell
1,169 posts
 
Regiolanthe-well I buy an awful lot of music-I'm usually digesting so much I hardly have time to post about it though I make an effort to give a review of the year.
The new Bowie (Reality) seems good-not earth shattering possibly more concise than Heathen but I think both these albums are his strongest work(at least in parts) for a long time.......a list of what I'm listening to is never ending.
Well hopefully for while yet...
ben_campbell
1,169 posts
 
Charlie I love The Jayhawks but hated this album.
It's very seldom I recycle my new purchases but I got rid of this.
It was also spotted by another Audiogon member that this recording distorts and it does.........
ben_campbell
1,169 posts
 
I was big fan of that album at the time (as was Paul MacCartney) and saw the subsequent tour,clearly their greatest moment.
It still stands up quite well.
Wallinger was previously in The Waterboys.
ben_campbell
1,169 posts
 
Charlie-I'm a really big fan of Sound Of Lies although most purists enjoy Hollywood Town Hall and Tomorrow The Green Grass before Olsen left.
These are probably closer in tone to Rany Day Music with their Alt-country sound (but not as like The Byrds) but imho much better written,varied and with a deftness of touch missing from their last album.
Sound Of Lies is both rockier and a bit more out there but the key songs really are excellent and feature really great guitar lines.
This was also a break up album and as such appeared to be written from the heart (Louris was on the verge of divorce from his wife).
I think the new one song's are a bit lame lyrically as well.
More to discover