Customer Reviews

Blue Guitars

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4 star:		(2)
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I have heard this album a few times and all the songs are at the very least pleasing. But the one gem is 'italian rain', one of the best songs I have ever heard, period. Featuring an amazing vocal delivery, beautiful instrumentation with the help of the brilliantly talented Andrew Gold and some beautiful lyrics, without appearing preachy. Get the album for this outstanding track alone.

How did I miss this CD and why am I not hearing it on the radio? Just hear "Blue Guitars" once and you'll be humming the catchy tunes and singing the choruses all day. Great lyrics, truly beautiful songs. Bish has always been an original. If you wondered where he went after the 70s, he grew up and became the remarkable artist he truely is.

"Blues Guitars" is a success and it will appeal to all of Bishop's fans and its bound to create some new ones. His sweet voice and sensitive and melodic style permeates this offering. He receives some support on this album from an impressive list of artists including David Crosby, Carnie and Wendy Wilson and Michael McDonald who adds his usual stirring backing vocals to "Let Your Heart Remember". "Blues Guitars" is punctuated by a stunning version of "Separate Lives" which features Bishop singing only against his own acoustic guitar.

Italian Rain, Bish claims, is his first political song. It's sung from the point of view of an Eastern European victim of war who stares across the sea and longs to feel the rain (and the freedom) in Italy that's so close yet out of reach. it's a very affecting song. But done so deftly that it never sticks out as "The Political One" even though Bish himself draws attention to it.
It fits right in with the folk-pop-jazz-rock that Stephen Bishop has been sporadically producing for years. This latest one is pleasingly acoustic in feel unlike the previous "Bowling in Paris". Presumably that was why he felt it was time to include "Separate Lives" (again). The definitive version perhaps.
How does Bish still sound so good after all these years? His voice has an incredible purity and he hits some remarkable high notes.
It's all beautifully put together, very dense, meticulous. And yet frivolous at times (King of Tonga...) with moments of pure and perfect pop. Tracks like "I Go Numb" and "When You Love Somebody" show that Stephen has lost none of his ability to craft the kind of song most artists would be deeply jealous of.
There's nothing quite like a Bish album. This ranks highly with his masterpieces from the seventies.