Blue Is the Colour of Hope | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1992 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Producer | Jerry Douglas | |||
Maura O'Connell chronology | ||||
|
Blue Is the Colour of Hope is an album by the Irish musician Maura O'Connell, released in 1992. [1] [2] She supported the album with a North American tour that included shows with Loudon Wainwright III. [3] [4] The album title comes from a line by J. D. Salinger. [5]
The album was produced by Jerry Douglas, who also played dobro and lap steel. [6] [7] O'Connell considered herself a folk singer, regardless of the instrumentation on a track. [8] Most of the songs are ballads; O'Connell picked songs she liked without worrying about stylistic or thematic flow. [9] [10] "It Don't Bring You" is a cover of the Mary Chapin Carpenter song. [11] "Bad News (At the Best of Times)" was written by Paul Carrack and John Wesley Harding. [12] "I Would Be Stronger Than That" is about domestic abuse. [12] Jennifer Kimball cowrote "The Blue Train". [13] Rosanne Cash, Webb Wilder, and Alison Krauss were among the backing vocalists on Blue Is the Colour of Hope. [14] [15]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [16] |
Chicago Tribune | [12] |
The Indianapolis Star | [17] |
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [18] |
The Republican | [13] |
The Virginian-Pilot | [9] |
The Washington Post called the album "an almost unbroken series of meditations on love and longing." [3] The Chicago Tribune stated that it "combines an easy, bluesy groove with polished production." [12] The Indianapolis Star determined that "the songs are unremittingly sad but beautiful through O'Connell's voice and sparse arrangements featuring the cream of Nashville's session players." [17]
The Los Angeles Times concluded that "O'Connell's sturdy, dignified delivery allows her to probe the hurt unstintingly and hit thrilling emotive peaks without ever sounding overwrought." [19] Rolling Stone opined that "the subtle refinements in her full-bodied vocals make her seem like cabernet in a shot-and-beer world." [20] The Advocate stated that O'Connell "ranks among the finer song stylists of her generation." [21]
AllMusic wrote that "this charmingly eclectic album may be O'Connell's best." [16]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Still Hurts Sometimes" | |
2. | "The Blue Train" | |
3. | "To Be the One" | |
4. | "It Don't Bring You" | |
5. | "I Would Be Stronger Than That" | |
6. | "So Soft Your Goodbye" | |
7. | "Love to Learn" | |
8. | "First You Cry" | |
9. | "Bad News (At the Best of Times)" | |
10. | "Sunnyshine Day" |
Blue Is the Colour of Hope | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1992 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Producer | Jerry Douglas | |||
Maura O'Connell chronology | ||||
|
Blue Is the Colour of Hope is an album by the Irish musician Maura O'Connell, released in 1992. [1] [2] She supported the album with a North American tour that included shows with Loudon Wainwright III. [3] [4] The album title comes from a line by J. D. Salinger. [5]
The album was produced by Jerry Douglas, who also played dobro and lap steel. [6] [7] O'Connell considered herself a folk singer, regardless of the instrumentation on a track. [8] Most of the songs are ballads; O'Connell picked songs she liked without worrying about stylistic or thematic flow. [9] [10] "It Don't Bring You" is a cover of the Mary Chapin Carpenter song. [11] "Bad News (At the Best of Times)" was written by Paul Carrack and John Wesley Harding. [12] "I Would Be Stronger Than That" is about domestic abuse. [12] Jennifer Kimball cowrote "The Blue Train". [13] Rosanne Cash, Webb Wilder, and Alison Krauss were among the backing vocalists on Blue Is the Colour of Hope. [14] [15]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [16] |
Chicago Tribune | [12] |
The Indianapolis Star | [17] |
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [18] |
The Republican | [13] |
The Virginian-Pilot | [9] |
The Washington Post called the album "an almost unbroken series of meditations on love and longing." [3] The Chicago Tribune stated that it "combines an easy, bluesy groove with polished production." [12] The Indianapolis Star determined that "the songs are unremittingly sad but beautiful through O'Connell's voice and sparse arrangements featuring the cream of Nashville's session players." [17]
The Los Angeles Times concluded that "O'Connell's sturdy, dignified delivery allows her to probe the hurt unstintingly and hit thrilling emotive peaks without ever sounding overwrought." [19] Rolling Stone opined that "the subtle refinements in her full-bodied vocals make her seem like cabernet in a shot-and-beer world." [20] The Advocate stated that O'Connell "ranks among the finer song stylists of her generation." [21]
AllMusic wrote that "this charmingly eclectic album may be O'Connell's best." [16]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Still Hurts Sometimes" | |
2. | "The Blue Train" | |
3. | "To Be the One" | |
4. | "It Don't Bring You" | |
5. | "I Would Be Stronger Than That" | |
6. | "So Soft Your Goodbye" | |
7. | "Love to Learn" | |
8. | "First You Cry" | |
9. | "Bad News (At the Best of Times)" | |
10. | "Sunnyshine Day" |