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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
clueless
763 posts
 
Chris Smither just went thru my neck of the woods again and if you get a chance he is always a great live show. Have to like guy with guitar in his lap. He does a blues based on Lighting Hopkins and John Hurt.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00004U02M/qid=1065206296/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_2/002-3290392-5668016?v=glance&s=music&n=507846

Cheers,
regiolanthe OP
75 posts
 
Clueless - Thanks for the input. I have to say - that even listening over $5 headphones and streaming audio, the recording sounds pretty amazing. Close your eyes and he could definitely be sitting right in front of you (and you don't have to be choking on the cigarette smoke while enjoying it).
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.
regiolanthe OP
75 posts
 
Ben -

Ah well - the fickle British musical public strikes again! I must say that I'm sorry to hear that the Blue Nile are imbroiled in yet another red tape mess (that's what happened to Peace At Last, right?). With any luck, they'll take charge of their own musical destiny to release the "new" one before they become completely disenchanted with the industry.

Anyway - why don't you put a work up for AOW consideration! No Bob Dylan, 'cos you've got quite a thread going on about his remastered ones anyway!

BTW - an RIP for Matthew Jay, one of those up-and-coming sensitive troubadours from your shores (Welshman, I believe). Only one release, but it showed promise.
jax2
3,031 posts
 
Clueless - I enjoyed the little snippets I could hear on Amazon. Thanks for the recommendation, I'm going to pick that one up. If you like a guy with a guitar, then you may appreciate Richard Buckner. A friend of mine introduced me to him recently and I can't stop playing his two acoustic offerings:

Bloomed

and

Devotion and Doubt

He's got a bit of a country twang to his music and vocals, but the lyrics are intelligent and insightful, and the songs are just beautiful...somewhat soft and meloncholy but with an edge somehow. I believe he's from Vancouver, BC.

Marco
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