Liking The Blue Nile is a matter of taste. A first listen to one of their albums would usually bore some people specially the so-called "New Wave" listeners. I have seen several times, people who bought the album "Hats" would later on sell their copies. But like wine, The Blue Nile sounds better with age and repeated listening. It's an acquired taste.
Item #1 : The Blue Nile - A Walk Across The Rooftops
The photo on the album cover fits the music on the debut. "Automobile Noise" sounds good while driving in the middle of the night. "Tinseltown In The Rain" was a favorite of radio station BM105 in the mid 80's. This in my opinion is the strongest song in this album. "Stay" another song on the play list of BM105 is okay. I just find the repeated bass loop annoying at times :). "Heatwave" another favorite of mind sounds so soothing after a tiring day: "Are we rich or are we poor? Does it matter anymore"?
Item #2 : The Blue Nile - Hats
"Hats" would be the masterpiece album of The Blue Nile. Perfect music for going around the town at night. "Over The Hillside" is a great opening tune for the masterpiece "The Downtown Lights". The snare drum accompaniment to the bass is quite hypnotic. Best heard in solitude. "Let's Go Out Tonight" is so hurting and sweet at the same time. "Headlights On The Parade" was an NU107 favorite in 1989. Another great song about nigh time and watching the headlights. "Saturday Night" must have inspired the techno/rave club scene of the late 90's to make chill down music after a night of partying. "From A Late Night Train'" is best for tucking in at bed time.
Item #3 : The Blue Nile - Peace At Last
"Now that I have found peace at last, tell me Jesus will it last?" opens the first line of this album, from the song "Happiness". The unique voice of Paul Buchanan is once more highlighted on this album. This time around, more guitars are added on this album, maybe to fit in the mid 90's acoustic craze. Fans were wondering why they took 7 years to make a follow up to Hats.
Item #4 : The Blue Nile - High
"High" is a return to form for The Blue Nile. Again guitars were used to accompany the keyboards and synths that were present in "Hats". "Because Of Toledo", "She Saw The World", "Soul Boy" and "Stay Close" are some of my favorites from this album. But nothing beats the masterpiece "High". Waiting almost 10 years in between albums seems not to bad after all.
Lyrics for "High":
I don't wanna wake ya
When ya sleeping so quiet
The motorcycle going by outside
Are we the same?
Caught at the lights
Why are we going home with our lies?
In the bowling alleys
In the easy living
Something good got lost along the way
We could be high
We could be higher
We could be high
Yeah yeah
I wanna make you understand
We could be high
Look at the morning people
Going to work and fading away
Look at the morning people
Going to work and fading away
Why don't we stop the traffic?
Why don't we stop the traffic?
Look at the morning people
Going to work each day
We could be high
We could be high
Yeah yeah yeah
We could be high
Yeah yeah
We could be high
Yeah yeah yeah
To complete the collection. My vintage cassette tapes :-)
To complete the collection. My vintage cassette tapes :-)
