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[CD review] The Blue Nile – Hats
Group: THE BLUE NILE
Title: Hats
Year: 1989
Genre: Alt-Pop Rock
Musicians:
Paul Buchanan – Vocals, guitars, synthesizers
Robert Bell – Bass, synthesizers
Paul Joseph Moore – Keyboards, synthesizers
Tracklist:
1. Over the Hillside
2. The Downtown Lights
3. Let's Go Out Tonight
4. Headlights on the Parade
5. From a Late Night Train
6. Seven A.M.
7. Saturday Night
CD reference: Linn Records # LKHCD2
Led by charismatic vocalist and songwriter Paul Buchanan, THE BLUE NILE has only four albums released to date, despite their longtime career: A Walk Across the Rooftops (1983), Hats (1989), Peace at Last (1996) and High (2004). All them, though, are excellent releases IMO, being this Hats my personal favorite.
This is slow, introspective, mellow rock music at the best. Paul Buchanan's highly emotive, soulful voice, combined with lush arrangements of keyboards, bass, drums and sparse solos of trumpet, plunges you immediately into the mood and, as you can easily infer from the titles of the seven tracks from Hats, the mood of this album is nighttime city life, evoking themes such as melancholy, loneliness, disillusion and hope of love. It sounds like a cinematic urban soundtrack, evoking immediately in your mind romantic landscapes of crowded streets in the night, of empty bars, of lonely lovers, of trains passing by, of coloured neon lights shining all around.
As you may infer from the above description, this is sort of a perfect album to listen to when you want to be alone, maybe watching the city life outside in a raining night, by the window. Just turn your lights off and relax, this is great music to be immersed in.
When I first listened to Hats I was also amazed by the great technical quality of the recording itself. Looking at the technical information of the recording I just discovered why: this album was recorded at Linn Records, a part of Linn Products (a Glasgow-based industry of hi-fi audio & home theater equipments), which makes it recommended for the more exigent listeners as well.
Favorite tracks: "The Downtown Lights", "Headlights on the Parade" and "Let's Go Out Tonight".
Demetrio.
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Originally Posted by console_predator
