Search - No-Man :: All the Blue Changes: An Anthology

Almost Perfect!

Anthony Morelli | Montreal, Canada | 04/22/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I would've rated "All the Blue Changes" 5 stars, given they put more upbeat songs on it. Instead, it appears to me like a demo compilation (which is not bad...but not what I expected). Most of the songs are slow. What happened to "Only Baby" and "Taking it like a man"? These are 2 songs I really expected to find on this CD. Also, I expected something different with "Simple". There is an alternate version (mix) of "Simple" out there, only released on a free CD (given with a magazine) back in '95, I believe. If Steven Wilson & Tim Bowness wanted to make more $$$, they could've released it commercially on this compilation. What a disappointment! Those who don't own these 2 particular No-Man titles ("Loveblows & Lovecries - A Confession" and "Lovesighs - An Entertainment") will agree there are some songs from there, which should've been included. I do like "Dry Cleaning Ray" very much...but "Only Baby" and "Taking it like a man" are "The" songs for me. Sorry, but it's how i feel. I only tell it like it is...and if those 2 songs were included, the package would've been complete.



This is what's missing:

- Housewives Hooked On Heroine

- Taste My Dream

- Teardrop Fall

- You Grow More Beautiful

- All that You are

- Heartcheat Pop

- Only Baby

- Painting Paradise

- Taking it like a man

- Simple (whatever remix there is available of this particular song)



If these songs were on the CD, a lot more people would be getting into No-Man's music...for these songs are upbeat and fun. "All the blue changes" is not a bad compilation, but slightly boring for me...considering the wait since discovering the first news about the release. What makes me laugh is the amount of people whom have no idea how "available" this item is on all amazon stores world-wide. We got ours directly from here...and i also ordered one directly through the Burningshed site. Both arrived in a timely manner.



The recording sound quality on this compilation is excellent. There are a lot of songs I've never heard before...which remind me more of demos. I wouldn't recommend this item as a "first" for any new No-Man fan. My recommendation is "Flowermouth" remastered digi-pack. At least that one has some beautiful songs on it, + 2 bonus songs "Angeldust" and "Born Simple" not found on the original recording. And, if you shop around on Amazon, you'll find lots of earlier CDs of No-Man, such as "Wild Opera", "Dry CLeaning Ray", "Speak", "Returning Jesus", as well as "Flowermouth" and "Flowermix" and "Heaven Taste". Once you've got all these, it's easy to understand why "All the blue changes" just doesn't cut it as a genius compilation.



Disc One Tracklist (1988-1993)

01- Pink Moon - 3:33

02- Colours - 4:09

03- Days in the trees - 7:11

04- Reich - 2:34

05- Walker - 3:24

06- Back to the Burning Shed - 2:47

07- Road - 3:18

08- Housekeeping - 5:32

09- Heaven Taste (Edit) - 10:31

10- Watching Over Me - 4:43

11- Simple - 7:04

12- Things Change - 7:31



Disc Two (1994-2003)

01- Pretty Genius - 3:51

02- My Revenge on Seattle - 4:46

03- Dry Cleaning Ray - 3:28

04- Sicknote - 8:10

05- Carolina Skeletons - 5:08

06- Something Falls - 3:27

07- Only Rain - 7:25

08- Returning Jesus - 5:19

09- Chelsea Cap - 5:23

10- Photographs in black and white - 10:03

11- The break up for real (drum mix) - 3:58

12- (bluecoda) - 2:36



Packaging & Features:

- Record Label: Hidden Art

- 4-fold digipack (matte print)

- album credits on inner front & back flaps

- Photography/Design: Carl Glover for Aleph

- No-Man rarities/merchandise available from www.burningshed.com

- [...]

- white sticker on top-right corner of digipack

- very light packaging & light-weight item

- discs are silver with white ridge around perimeter"

Love hate relationship with compilations

Music fan | California United States | 05/20/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To me, there are three types of compilations. 1)Best of 2)Greatest Hits and 3)Compilation. All three (with the possible exception of Greatest Hits) can be difficult to review since they are bound to omit favorites of the reviewer. I try not to be biased by this when reviewing. So, what makes this release 5 starts instead of 4? Simple....song selection. There are releases from every major release of No-Man along with some previously unreleased songs and versions of existing songs. Are some of my favorites missing? Defintitely. I really miss Love Among the White Trash. However, I already own that song on Lost Songs. When I buy a compilation like this, I want there to be songs that I might have but don't normally listen to. Best example, when I play the Carolina Skeletons EP, I usually play just that song. Now I am reminded that Something Falls is also on that disc and it is a wonderful track. Back When You Were Beautiful is also missing but instead we get a drum mix of The Break Up For Real from Together We're Stranger. I actually think this is the perfect starter disk for someone who has nothing by No-Man and it is a great addition to your collection even for those who have almost everything. By the way, the No-Man website [...] has samples of just about every song released by the group. Also not a bad way to check things out.

In closing, I will say this....there definitely needs to be a volume 2 of some of the other rare songs. Maybe we can take off 0.5 stars for that"

A Decent Overview

Kurt Harding | Boerne TX | 05/28/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I would wager that with the possible exception of a few avant-garde music Nazis, most fans of No-Man have come on board relatively recently and probably through their love of Porcupine Tree and the music of Steven Wilson. For despite the best efforts of the mainstream music industry to keep him a secret, the sheer quality of the songs of the prolific Wilson have made him an irresistable rising force.

For those who are new to No-Man, the question for many is the question of where to start. The answer is to start with All The Blue Changes. Although I tend to agree with an earlier reviewer on the subject of compilations which are usually some hack's idea of a "greatest hits" album, you can be assured that with this CD you will get a very decent representation of what Steven Wilson and Tim Bowness are capable of as a team. That is chiefly because there were no "hits" to compile! You will also find that No-Man is completely divorced from other Wilson projects like Porcupine Tree and Blackfield, so this collaboration becomes an altogether new adventure.

No-Man is for the listener who has time to pay attention to what's being played. That is to say the listener must actually listen! No-Man is subtle, nuanced, and often hypnotic. I own several other No-Man CDs but have come to really enjoy this one as well. Here's what I like best.

Disc 1) Colours, an interesting take on that Donovan classic; the expansive, driving Days In the Trees with its Michael Franksian vocals; Housekeeping; and Heaven Taste, a jazzy piece redolent of Jean-Luc Ponty.

Disc 2) Michael Franks comes to mind again on Pretty Genius; Dry Cleaning Ray; Only Rain which is so evocative of the style of the Mark-Almond Band, and Photographs in Black and White with its mesmerizing finish.

Long time fans may lament what wasn't included but obviously everything can't be. For the benefit of new or casual fans, I reiterate that All the Blue Changes is a very decent overview of No-Man's music and one you'll reach for time and again when you can't decide which of their other albums to play."