The Blue Nile - Hats (2CD Deluxe Edition) (1986 Remaster) (2012)

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The Blue Nile - Hats (2CD Deluxe Edition) (1986 Remaster) (2012)

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This sublime album by an elusive bunch of Scottish Minstrels is one of the best British albums of any decade and a very rare gem. What it is not is "anthemic like U2" and neither does it "compare to Simply Red and Deacon Blue". Let us for the sake of goodwill extend the milk of human kindess and hope that the author of this heinous claptrap was successful in his or her GSCE Music exam since these comparisons are laughable and "Hats" deserves a whole better than these shoddy musical "bedmates". All Blue Nile albums are essentially markers in time and the yawning gaps between their production seems to grow ever longer. Yet the sparsity of their output over the years and a host of great albums cannot hide the fact that "Hats" is the masterpiece. Granted many will feel a warm glow when passing mention is made of "Tinseltown in the rain" and especially the summer atmospherics of Heat-wave. Equally when it comes to " Peace at last" amongst its vinyl grooves are to be found superb melodrama of "Family Life" and the exhilaration of "Body and Soul" but also if truth be told a couple of duffers. The same also true of "High" although "Stay close" should be the Scottish national anthem.
On "Hats" every song is perfect in every way. No real point in singling any out. What you should do is listen to them in key settings. Memories flood back of a cold frosty evening when the "Downtown lights" was playing on the headphones on top of the Empire State building in New York as your reviewer surveyed this remarkable expanse and the world suddenly made sense. Five minutes of wonderful memory remain firmly locked down never to be displaced. "From a late night train" is that song when your on your own, the darkness has descended and you want to be alone locked away with the music. The beauty of it is a rare delicacy, with the Buchanan vocal completely heart wrenching and the mood set by an achingly lonesome piano and synths. The opener "Over the Hillside" creeps up on you and then explodes while "Lets go out tonight" more than any song captures the reality of our ordinary love affairs and heartbreak. There is only one person this reviewer knows who dislikes this album and he drives a Subaru, supports Man U and thinks James Blunt is brilliant. What greater recommendation could you have to get "Hats"?
Paul Buchanan has one of the most fragile and beautiful voices. Some will recall a live Radio 1 concert from the Blue Nile broadcast many years ago when in silence before a song an audience member shouted to him on stage "don't be nervous". Buchanan laughed quietly and with shy modesty retorted that he had State Registered Nurses waiting in the wings. Blue Nile are that type of band; you want them to succeed but not too much in case everyone likes them. And yes it is all a bit selfish and precarious and it is true that they deserve success as big as a continent but its not going to happen which is part of their tragedy and also their appeal. One day the truth will out and we will recognise what we missed but until then stop what your doing and immediately download it. That is an order.

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The Blue Nile - Hats (2CD Deluxe Edition) (1986 Remaster) (2012)

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