Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect, timeless, and so undeserving of the moniker, "New Wave", February 28, 2006
I bought this on CD in 1989 at the age of 14, based on a glowing review in Stereo Review magazine. I could not find it in the small town I lived in, and had to wait until a family trip to Portland afforded a visit to Tower Records, where it was on sale for $9.99. I plugged my headphones into my brand new Sony Discman and was astonished at what I heard--the weary hope of Paul Buchanan's voice; the sophisticated but passionate music; the shimmering and contemporary yet untrendy production; string arrangements to make you cry; the evocative lyrical word-paintings depicting love and hope both lost and found and the way rain looks on a city street at night. This album was a revalation for me. I spent many a sleepless night listening to it on headphones growing up. Most of the albums I bought in the 80's slowly drifted out of rotation, but this one has always been a go-to disc, particularly in the nighttime hours. Almost everyone I have played it for loves it, especially my wife, who finds it very relaxing and comforting. This album has stood the test of time--in fact I think it sounds less gimmicky and dated than their 2004 release. Some people have complained of the simplicity of the lyrics and the repetition of similar themes from song to song. I think that this album is the most effective of all Blue Nile releases at creating images in the listener's mind and imparting feelings and memories that are beyond words, much like an impressionistic or expressionistic painting can say so much more emotionally and experientially than a realistic painting or photograph can. This album is for anyone who has been hurt by love but dared to love again; for anyone who stayed up all night thinking about what they were going to say to her tomorrow--or should have said today; for anyone who wants so despirately to believe in something true and beautiful again; for anyone who has ever watched the world go by from a midnight train and felt the ache of every sleeping soul it passed; for anyone willing to think and feel and love.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another outstanding release from an astonishing duo, August 26, 2004
It's not so much that Hats or A Walk Across the Rooftops compete with each other for which is the best that the Blue Nile has released, but that they compliment each other in the richness with which they evoke heartfelt dreams, hope, fear, memory, and the passage of time.
Another must for anyone who longs, aspires, loves, or feels. An astonishing accomplishment I'd compare to the best of Sigur Ros, Roxy Music, or Hooverphonic. An underregarded masterpiece.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Classic that Still Stands Out, October 31, 2004
Fifteen years out, it is the rare piece of popular music that stands the test of time. I've got thousands of CDs in my collection. For me, Hats is indeed one of those very few recordings, if only for the tone of this terrific album.
Tracks like The Downtown Lights, Over the Hillside, and Headlights on the Parade bring out a mellow, urbane, highly emotive sensibility: refined electronica set to sparse, sad, probing beats. Think of a soundtrack for walking along damp and foggy city streets on a late Sunday evening. This record says "Glasgow", even for someone who has never visited.
Can't precisely put my finger on it, but Paul Buchanan's voice cuts through everything. Sad but fulfilling, mellow yet uplifting.
For this listener, Hats is an absolute classic that still very much stands out in my collection. Many years from now, I can't help thinking that some smart music historian will closely listen to this one.
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by The Blue Nile 
