Blue were signed to Elton John's Rocket Record for this astonishing 1973 debut pop rock album full of downbeat ballads and deceptive, middle of the road folk rockers.
While there are some genre exercises better left alone such as mild country rocker Let Me Know and cornball blue eyed reggae attempt that is the imaginatively titled Skye Banana Boat Song, this album is built on solid deeper songs such as Red Light Song and the vastly underrated classic I Wish I Could Fly (which I explore in the following blog post;) The Way Things Are is full of misty eyed organ work and wearied, distant vocals, feeling genuinely like something from yesteryear. There is a strong air of disappointment and jadedness in this debut album form 1973, where the Glaswegian band excel at their namesake; blue melancholy tinged pop rock balladry like downbeat version of Blue Mink. Sunset Regret is another good example with it's choral vibe, Dylanesque vocals and more drained emotion running through out the dull wash of an arrangement; it's like a more beat oriented version of Stealer's Wheel, The Tremeloes or Marmalade (no surprise Marmalade guitarist Hugh Nicholson is the lead singer of Blue).
Throughout young Jimmy McCullough's lead guitar fuses fuzz drenched blues licks in to add a further weight to the record' strong dose of sadness.
Timi's Black Arrow is the gem however with it's perfect simple folk rock verses where the singer makes a harmony assisted plea to a lover in a winsome voice before the gentle chorus strides in a hopeful tone. McCullough's guitar pierces through in another well crafted solo that never overstays it's welcome, Thanks Jimmy!
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