Search - Blue Nile :: Hats

If you like Radiohead's Weird Fishes/Arpeggi you need this a

Deven Gadula | san francisco, ca, united states | 11/12/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When you hear The Downtown Lights for the first time you won't be able to believe that this music has been around for over 20 years and you where not aware of it. Some of you can actually recognize hearing a version of Let's Go Out Tonight from 1998 Craig Armstrong's release of The Space Between Us (a phenomenal electronica album). Paul sings on Craig's version as well. Blue Nile has been around for close to 30 years. The band was officially started in 1981 by three students of Glasgow University. Their first album Walk Across The Rooftops was finally released in 1983 and got quite some recognition. Hats, their second album and in my view their best by far was not released until 1989. As you can imagine, over 5 years distance makes making it in music quite difficult. Blue Nile was very consistent in their...delay. Their 3rd album Peace At Last was not released until 1996 and their latest 4th album High in 2004. Four albums in 23 years of consistent music making... The reason for such randomness is the fact that making music is one and not the most important field of this band members' life on earth, plus their internal quality control preventing many songs from release. Personally I respect such attitude and process. Regardless, the album I am reviewing, Hats is beautiful throughout, with one exception. No need to listen to it 7 times to get there. You will know it right away. This is rather soft emotional rock music with the beautiful atmospheric mood hanging over it. For some this album could become one of the most beautiful mellow and even albums they will ever hear. For whatever reasons, I guess the charm, depth and emotion of the vocal being one of them and the fullness and tenderness of music being the other, I feel some slight similarities with Talk Talk's - The Colour Of Spring, one of the most amazing albums I know. Music is not as full and developed but the mood left behind is similar. Blue Nile's Hats (unlike Colour Of Spring), because it is so constant in its approach, can get a bit...long after the 4th song, so I don't listen to it from beginning to end very often. It is much better to either listen to first 3 or 4 songs, break it up with something else and then go back to the remaining 3. It is even better to use these songs in your playlists (5 discs of various moods loaded into my cd changer is my usual playlist).

Paul Buchanan's voice is often compared to voice of Peter Gabriel, who by the way belongs to the Blue Nile Fan Club. Another vocalist I would compare him to is Stuart Staples, so any Tindersticks fans should listen to this album as well. My feeling is that even greater respect to Paul Buchanan and the music of Blue Nile than the one by Craig Armstrong, was paid in 2005 by Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead and by their Weird Fishes/Arpeggi first performed by them at that time, and the following release of that song on their In Rainbows album in 2007. This is arguably the most beautiful song of In Rainbows (main 10 song cd, but perhaps not the 18 song entire double album, where Go Down can compete with it). It is a gorgeous song and if you do like the way Thom sings it, please listen carefully to Blue Nile's Hats and especially The Downtown Lights about 5 minutes down the song... There are many beautiful songs here. I guess my least favorite is song #4 Headlights On The Parade, and I wish it was not included because it does lower the quality of this beautiful album. My favorite songs are The Downtown Lights with its amazing ending, Over The Hillside, Let's Go Out Tonight, From A Late Night Train. If these are the only songs you like, of even if you only like the first 3 songs, they are worth your effort adn the price of this album. If you do like this album, definitely head to their earlier one next.

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