Customer Reviews

I Am the Portuguese Blues

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Starflyer 59 is one of the most innovative bands in existance today. Over the last 10 years, bandleader Jason Martin and his revolving door of musicians have created alternative rock masterpieces that all vary in sound and texture.
The band's latest "I Am The Portuguese Blues" is no exception. The material on this album was originally intended to be recorded and released in 1997 after the band's "Americana" album but before 1998's "Fashion Focus". Now, seven years after these songs were written, they are finally recorded and released on this album.
With this album, Starflyer has stripped down their sound to its basic elements of guitar, bass, drums and vocals with absolutely no studio tricks or special effects. Yes folks, this is a barebones Rock and Roll album. Tracks such as "Wake Up Early", "UnLucky", "Teens In Love" and "I Need Some Help" have a style similar to 70s glam-rock acts like T-Rex, Queen and David Bowie. "No Revolution" sounds like a pure Black Sabbath track with Jason Martin filling in for Ozzy. The instrumental "Sound On Sound" has a definite Led Zeppelin/jam-band quality to it. The remaining tracks are loaded with ear-crunching guitar riffs that rank among Jason Martin's very best. On previous Starflyer albums, his guitar work is more fluid and restrained. On "Portuguese Blues", he lets it all come loose as if something he'd been keeping inside just erupted.
This is Starflyer 59's greatest album yet. A small complaint would be the fact that this album only runs for 27-minutes total. However, considering the high musical quality of this album, its short length hardly seems to matter. Jason Martin and friends have undboubtedly created another modern rock classic with "I Am The Portuguese Blues".
Highly recommended.

What has gotten into Jason Martin? Martin, singer and songwriter behind shoegazer veterans Starflyer 59, could always be counted on for waves of earsplitting guitar feedback. Fans of the band's mid-90's output were understandably thrown by 1998's The Fashion Focus, a release that heralded a shift toward shimmering, polished pop songs. Hardcore fans complained, but Martin's change took the band to new heights in songcraft and melody.

Just when Starflyer fans have wrapped their minds around the new sound, Martin records I Am the Portuguese Blues. On this album, a collection of songs written during his mid-90's period, Martin returns to the noisier sound he was once known for. So has Martin's experience in the pop arena enhanced or undermined this album?

Whatever Starflyer purists may say, Blues tops even Martin's best work from his early period. Martin has ruthlessly cut out all unecessary sounds on this album, leaving the sound of a lean rock band who seems hungry again. The guitars on the album are reminiscent of Starflyer's early work, but they are stripped down and move with a bluesy swagger. Similarly, the songs themselves are leaner; the album runs only 27 minutes. Martin is finally comfortable enough to put his vocals higher in the mix, and his voice has a new cocksure attitude that threatens to outsleaze even the guitars. And how about those guitars? They come in with the force of a freight train on opening track "Wake Up Early," and they propel the album through all 10 songs.

Martin has never been known for his lyrical genius; he once stole a lyric from a FedEx slogan, and his lyrics on this album range from the obtuse to the awkward. It's hard to sound cool when intoning lines like "I wake up early / just like a birdie," and it's a tribute to Martin's new vocal confidence that he manages so well.

Critics have complained about the record's length, but Blues has the perfect run time for such a relentless album. If you're new to Starflyer 59, pick up the Easy Come, Easy Go box set and get educated, but when you're ready to hear the band at their most explosive, come back for I Am the Portuguese Blues.

Jason Martin can write these albums in his sleep. After the majestic pop release "Old" last year, Starflyer 59 returns with a bluesy rock masterpiece "I am the Portguese blues". This album was written around the time of their "Americana" album in 1997. The emphasis is on crunchy guitar hooks that build stellar songs like "I need help" and "No revolution". These songs really have a clean rock sound and that is good news for fans of Starflyer 59. With each album, Starflyer keeps getting better and "I am the Portguese Blues" is no exception. Why this band hasn't gotten the recognition they deserve is beyond me; oh yeah most people are clueless to good music even when it slaps them in the face.

I read somewhere that this album is actually a collection of songs written around the time Americana was recorded, which makes sense. These songs are dripping with more of the sort of retro brooding that was more common in Starflyer's earlier years. As a Starflyer diehard, I like it, but as someone who occaisionally needs music to help boost my mood, I'd recommend Leave Here a Stranger, or Jason Martin's side-project with his wife, The Right Amount by Bon Voyage.

It's nice to have SF59 return to their roots of putting ROCK into space-rock. I was a senior in high school when I bought SF59 Silver in a Christian book store back in 1992. That album changed my impression of Born-Again rockers as much as Low changed my opinion of Mormons. Until then, I figured that rock music and religion were forever destined to be at odds with one another. At the time, I was a DJ at a small pirate-radio station (KRAP) with a frequency range of about 3.5 miles off of school campus. Yeah, I was big time. I would spin SF59 Silver alongside such unknown Christian bands as Magnified Plaid (now called MxPx) and Poor Old Lu.

Going through college, Silver, Gold and Americana were always near my stereo. They were great driving albums. Even better make-out records. When I finally met the girl I was going to marry, I was not surprised to find SF59 Silver in her record collection...next to Low.

The next four records had been too far of a departure from the qualities that I had fallen in love with. While all remarkable productions, they were dissapointing to me in some way or another. They seemed all style and no substance. I bought Old used for $6 and re-sold it to the same record store for $2.

Portugese Blues...I was skeptical. Very skeptical. I would have completely ignored it, but the return to monochromatic cd packinging made me curious. I'm glad I took the chance. This is the follow-up to Americana that I have waited over six year for. It feels like the SF59 from 1998-2003 were imposters and that somebody found the real Jason Martin locked up in some dark closet and handed him back his distortion pedals...praise be to God!

I love this album.

I thought Old was excellent, and their other recent records as well. But this was sort of a fun aside, a revisiting of songs written after Americana. The production quality is a little messier, the diversity of songs is a little lower (it's almost all up-tempo), and it absolutely rocks.

It revisits some of the retro-metal sounds from Americana, with a collection of songs that is stronger overall. Frank Lenz' drumming is fantastic. I can't stop listening to it over and over. In my opinion, this is the direction I wish they'd gone instead of The Fashion Focus. Overall, it's my favorite SF59 record.

I picked up a used copy of this album not long ago and was surprised how much I dug it. I remember hearing a lot of negativity at the time it came out. I think all of that negativity was not justified. This release is not Starflyer's best overall album, but who cares? Taken on it's own terms it can be considered a minor classic. I would describe this as a good mix of Jason Martin's droning singing and songwriting style with some classic 70's influences.
This album does take a few spins to digest... Overall a good addition to my Starflyer collection.

This is a continuation of quality sondtracks produced by starflyer 59. Although in a Christian context it is no spiritual heavy weight . It is a good selection of music that is enjoyable, and acceptable to listen to .In this new mellenium straem of todays christian music which is either poorly produced stock footage soundtracks plus a vocalist . Or the ; We sound like the mainstaem , what the kids like today carbon copy stuff. Older or newer . Starflyer produces original material that sounds as good as it is unique . Good work

staflyer plays the missing places in music & concepts from
their mind and not just too please .

This album rocks! I want you to understand that this comment is coming from someone who owns Starflyer59's Gold record on 3 formats (tape,CD,and vinyl). If you like any of the old stuff that was disgustingly compared to The Smashing Pumpkins, then you'll probably dig this release. For the folks who thought that Silver and Gold albums were "noise", here's some advice: Relax, toss aside your misgivings about anything that isn't Coldplay or Radiohead, drop your head... that's right, look down... c'mon just do it, look at your shoes, now sway... no no, sway side to side, there ya go, now you're shoegazing. And that's what it's all about. Oops, sorry about that. What? No, I didn't mean to knock you over while you were swaying. :-P