AoW 3: A Walk Across the Rooftops - The Blue Nile

15 Jul 07 01:56 pm Filed in: Raves
I was about 15 or 16 when I first heard this album, and it was completely by mistake. I'd come home from a camp and discovered a friend's tape was still in my radio cassette (remember them?) On side A was the previous AoW, Soul Mining by The The, but on side B was this gem. I was entranced.

rooftops


This isn't so much an album that you put on when you're doing other stuff, it's an album you immerse yourself in. It's immaculately crafted - Paul Buchanan is a very talented chap. It's difficult to describe The Blue Nile's style. Eclectic doesn't really fit since they're not doing anything just for the sake of being different. But different it is. Soul food is as best as I can describe it. If you take the time to really listen to it, it evokes a wonderful calm and clarity; if for nothing else because you're focussing on the craft and shutting out the mental clutter of day to day life.

For a sample and bonus points, listen to a really good segment a US radio station, KCRW, did on The Blue Nile a while back. The host of the Sounds Eclectic segment, Nic Harcourt, sounds like one of those rarities that researches and really understands his guests. The video is no longer available unfortunately, but the audio is still available here, it's a really good listen.

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