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The Blue Nile...................

Oh I've always loved the 7" single goes back to when I was a nipper and couldn't afford LP's!
I've got a Really Useful box of 600 under my glass coffee table in my living room...Drives my missus nuts.
 
Love this band, have been patiently waiting for High to finally get a record release after all these years so I can complete the set. Seems to be no sign of it anytime soon. Their first two albums are quite experiemental with an eye to melody whereas that latter two lean more towards brooding melodys. All are fantastic but quite different in style.
 
My favourites are the first two by far, though I’d struggle to chose between them as they are so different.
 
mondie said:
Love this band, have been patiently waiting for High to finally get a record release after all these years so I can complete the set. Seems to be no sign of it anytime soon.
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Imminent, according to Paul Buchanan’s manager on Facebook, along with vinyl reissues of the other three albums. Pre-order links for the first three should be appearing before the end of the month, by when the mastering of “High” should also be underway.
 
MotelBlues said:
Imminent, according to Paul Buchanan’s manager on Facebook, along with vinyl reissues of the other three albums. Pre-order links for the first three should be appearing before the end of the month, by when the mastering of “High” should also be underway.
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That is fantastic news thanks MB. I will be on the lookout for the PO.

Cheers
 
Just given Peace At Last a spin. Its better than I remember, but still not making a huge impression. I’ll keep with it and see if its a grower, though I’m not hearing that real uniqueness that makes Walk and Hats so strong. Sounds like a ‘third album’!
 
Tony L said:
It’s pulled and in the ‘listen to next’ pile!
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The title track is a nice illustration of why it's good to listen to music on a 'proper hi-fi' IMHO.

You can hear Buchanan’s feet tapping, his breathing and that he's playing the guitar and singing.
Lovely synthesisers too.

On the Isobariks, it feels like he's here in the room with me.

His singing throughout is wonderful. casual, throwaway, perfect.

Stephen
 
Paul Buchanan occasionally sang with the (smooth) jazz trumpeter Chris Botti, I saw them together years ago. Here’s a couple of tracks on YouTube, there may well be others. Not sure he quite hits the right note every time ..


 
Tony L said:
Just given Peace At Last a spin. Its better than I remember, but still not making a huge impression. I’ll keep with it and see if its a grower, though I’m not hearing that real uniqueness that makes Walk and Hats so strong. Sounds like a ‘third album’!
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I'd agree that it's not as technically innovative as the first two. But the raw emotion in Buchanan’s voice is just, just, perfect throughout.

The minimal arrangements are just right too. Acoustic guitar, drums, bass and a few choice synthesisers.

Evocative and beautiful!

Stephen
 
Family life on peace at last is pure naked quivering emotion.

Listen to that track if nothing else.

However, the rest is very fine also , if not reaching the Olympian creative heights of the first two.

Never quite got High, diminishing returns? Maybe rushed, after 8 years !

However, the solo Mid Air, is mostly exquisite melancholy, if a tad one dimensional.

Ah those rain washed streets and downtown lights.
 
My God - just looked at Discogs "Hats" the original vinyl release (nothing cheaper than £50).

Hope the new vinyl releases don't knock the value of my Blue Nile vinyl collection too much!

BTW there are a couple of decent books about The Blue Nile. The book by Allan Brown is particularly good.

There was also a nice BBC Radio Scotland documentary "In Search Of The Blue Nile" broadcast in 2017 (I have copy on my hard drive).

....and FWIW I always felt it was a shame that the film "Flags and Fences" was not offered as a DVD bonus on the Deluxe editions.
 
Love the 12" version of Downtown Lights - the relentless guitar does it every time. One of those bands that's a bit hot & cold for me.
 
Stunning material. I’ve been lucky enough to see The Blue Nile around a dozen times in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Paul Buchanan has such incredible emotion in his voice.
 
Amazing band. I remember the first time someone put on their album and I was transfixed. Everyone else carried on chatting but I was away with the music and that voice.
 
Agreed what a voice.

Paul could sing "puff the magic dragon" and turn it into a tortured epic of passion.

Hopefully, that will be on a Blue Nile boxset of outtakes sometime in the future.
 
rod ayling said:
Family life on peace at last is pure naked quivering emotion.
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Couldn't agree more. I remember it shattering me to the very core when I first heard it (when the album was first released). It hasn't lost its power over the years...

I need PAL on vinyl so I do hope these reissues come about. I must admit, I've never heard the fourth album...
 
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