Mirror Blue

Artist: Richard Thompson
Label: EMI Int'l
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 077778149224
EAN: 0077778149224
ASIN: B000002URF

Release Date: 1994-02-08

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Listmania:

Alt-country, Folk and More
NEVERMIND THE RADIO ... FREE YOUR MIND 6
Eclectic Toonz, In Technicolor
Oh, so THAT'S how you write a song ...
my 20 for a deserted island from the past 30 years
Essential Albums from the 1990's (Vol. II)

Tracks:

For The Sake Of Mary
I Can't Wake Up To Save My Life
MGB-GT
The Way That It Shows
Easy There, Steady Now
King Of Bohemia
Shane And Dixie
Mingus Eyes
I Ride In Your Slipstream
Beeswing
Fast Food
Mascara Tears
Taking My Business Elsewhere

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Rumor and Sigh
Amnesia
Mock Tudor
Hand of Kindness
Small Town Romance

Customer Reviews:

Why?.......2005-12-19

Why is this performer so little known and gets so little attention? For the life of me, I don't understand how Clapton, McCartney (who I dislike), Springsteen (who I love), Dylan, get so much attention and this man barely registered a blip (if that at all.

And
i Beeswing
never fails to bring tears to my eyes. The pain in his voice is so palpable!

Love this man!

And I agree with the poster who said Shoot Out the Lights is not that great. For one thing, it's very short and another the songs are not as good as his others. But even with that, I'll take Richard Thompson over almost anybody, including Clapton, who I admit is a great blues singer but not that varied in his songs.

my favorite RT album.......2005-05-02

Mitchell Froom's inventive production (surely a personal best) gives each of these songs a delightfully individual feel. Mr. Thompson matches it with his best collection of songs ever, nearly every one a classic. How could anyone give this marvelous CD less than five stars? One of the all time great disks.

Yet another underrated Thompson effort..........2004-10-15

Richard Thompson's voluminous output for Capitol (from roughly 1988-1999) deserves a rebirth. Most of it suffers from an unjustified out of print status (were sales that bad?). "Mirror Blue" from 1994 was by no means the best from this bag, but it contains many notable songs.

Why does this album have such a retched reputation? It really only pales in comparison to its predecessor "Rumor and Sigh" (one of Thompson's best Capitol albums). Maybe the general public wanted another "I Feel So Good" and didn't get it? Thompson rarely if ever repeats himself and this album didn't carbon copy "Rumor and Sigh" whatsoever. Whatever the reason this album doesn't deserve to be spat at. "I Can't Wake Up To Save My Life" almost pays for admission alone, but add to that at least two more incredible songs, the medieval madrigal "King of Bohemia" and folksy "Beeswing", and something undeniably great emerges. Of course these songs appear on Capitol's compacted compliation "Action Packed". But that collection leaves out other greats such as Thompson's ode to his "MGB-GT"; the heavy and unforgettable "The Way That it Shows"; the rousing tale of fame and immortality "Shane and Dixie"; and the laid back defiance of "Taking My Business Elsewhere". All great stuff and all out of print at the time of this typing.

Thompson survived his Capitol woes and still tours and releases great albums. An all-acoustic album is apparently planned for late 2004 early 2005, and right now he's on a scaled down "1000 Years of Popular Music" tour. Everyone should see this show (I saw the October 13th show in St. Paul). Thompson continues to age gracefully, and "Mirror Blue" represents one step along the way. An underrated and underappreciated step, but a good one nonetheless.

No Rest for the Ones God Blessed.......2004-05-07

This album has such a pervasive rep as a dud that I stayed away from it for a good long while -- took me 10 years to give it a listen. It has quickly become one of my favorite Thompson albums. The big knock on it has been Mitch Froom's production, which many find heavy-handed. As for me, I think it's high time Thompson's fans stopped pining away for old Joe Boyd and acquainted themselves with the 21st, or even 20th, century. Many will have to be dragged kicking and screaming, but it'll be good for them.

As usual, Thompson throws himself into his songs, never content to settle for pretty or clever, always asking more from each song, asking it to do something no other song has ever quite done. Fate is playing strange tricks on Thompson, blessing him with a nearly unrivaled talent but keeping him in obscurity. What can I say, it's his cross to bear. The way he deals with it is what will define him.

Recommended.......2003-02-03

For all its faults, it's still a very good record. Some songs are so brilliant I can't even explain it (the gorgeous folk acoustic Beeswing ; King of Bohemia - which on general admission he wrote for his eldest daughter ; Mascara tears ; Taking my business elsewhere ; The way that it shows - wonder why the latter escaped his 2001 Best of Action packed ?!)
As to the other ones .. it's true, as another reviewer stated, that Mirror Blue contains some of his dumbest efforts to date (Fast food or Shane & Dixie). That said, they are not really bad. I mean, if you listened to them as if they were somebody else's, I am not sure you wouldn't find them good.
As to the production, I can't see what's flawed with it. It's certainly very different from, let's say, Mock Tudor, but I find it good, insofar as it doesn't give the songs a mainstream treatment, you have to make an effort to get into them (sure, Mirror Blue isn't for everybody !)
If you're looking for ill-produced RT albums, then go for First light or even Shoot out the lights (I am sure many people would kill me for saying that, but I'm ready to argue the point)
If I was asked to introduce somebody to RT solo work, I would probably choose Mirror Blue, after I grabbed Action packed and Mock Tudor.

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