Customer Reviews

Blue Moons & Laughing Guitars

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4 star:		(4)
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After a long stretch of instrumental albums, Bill Nelson brings his voice back to the fore.

With "Blue Moons & Laughing Guitars", he's back to a song-based theme. Originally, this was to be recorded with a full band. But upon putting things together, things fell apart and he released his solo version.

Don't think "solo" as a guy sitting with a guitar & singing. Bill has the full-group effect, playing synthesizer, drums, and other instruments getting a rich, full sound.

Highlights are "God Man Slain", "Angel in My System" and "Wings & Everything".

If you're a Nelson fan, this is a must.

If you're not a Nelson fan, this can be a good introduction.

One of my solo faves from BN. This record absolutely cooks with guitar work even though it is almost 10 yrs old. ...And the great guitar band experiment will not happen after all... due to various dark forces. So what. Bill spent 5-6 years with BBD and the past 25 years without them.
I have also waited for years for the magic ride back to the 70's but it ain't gonna happen. Bill has moved on, but can rip a solo as well as any time in the past. He is wandering through various churches of thought and concept today , not just kneeling at the altar of rock.

On this album while writing some of the most romantic songs of the decade, Bill has also sythesized the strongest aspects of his many styles from the guitar heroics of his early days to the electronic aspects of songs like the Real Adventure. Of the 16 songs,I have my favorites: (Ancient Guitars, New Moon Rising, Spinning round) -14 of them I would rate as very good to excellent. Blue Moons is one of those albums that gets better with each listening. Although intended as a Demo the sound quality is quite good, (a couple of spots the vocals could have been a bit louder).... It baffles me the major labels haven't invested the money in one of the most talented and prolific songwriters of the modern era, not to mention great guitarists.... Enjoy!!! GMX

After trying to shed the source of two great sorrows and joys in his life (Be Bop Deluxe and Jan) Bill now attempts to resurrect and deal with these past ghosts. Intended for a new and improved Be Bop Deluxe line-up the songs still addresses his break up with his ex-wife Jan. Jan has been and will remain a constant theme for Bill well into the 90's. The music is a high quality demo intended for the new line-up. Though Be Bop Deluxe and Jan never re-emerge into Bill's life the music is still very good.

After first trying to shed the source of two great sorrows and joys in his life (Be Bop Deluxe and Jan) Bill now attempts to resurrect these two former ghosts. Intended for a new and improved Be Bop Deluxe line-up, the songs still addresses Bill's break up with his ex-wife Jan. Jan has been and will remain a constant theme for Bill, unless he becomes a sailor in a Fassbinder movie. The music is a high quality demo intended for the new line-up. Though Be Bop Deluxe and Jan never re-emerge into Bill's life the music is still very good.

I keep searching through Bill Nelson's more recent releases and I keep trying to find more of the sound that I loved on "The Love That Whirls...", "Chimera", and even the "Vistamix" album, and I keep coming up empty. Those albums contained some amazing works of genious and some beautiful, sublime, pop. On "Blue Moons" only "Ancient Guitars" and "Spinning Around" pique my interest. If you liked "Flaming Desire" and "Acceleration", you'll like those tracks, otherwise, I'd recommend you stay away.

I keep looking for another BeBopDelux album from Bill and he keeps disappointing me. I'll give up on his solo albums at this point.