The Blue Nile:
Peace At Last:
Virgin/Universal:
2xCD:
Out Now:
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Scotland's most atmospheric sons were some twelve years into their existence when album number three finally appeared, seven years after the triumphant Hats which in turn arrived five years after the grittier debut, A Walk Across The Rooftops. Both of those short but sweet albums have proven to be pivotal long-players both for the band and their loyal fan-base. Ask most Nileys which album from the band's esteemed catalogue they still get the most pleasure from and most would plump for the first pair, hands down.
In 1996, it was somewhat unfair to expect anything more from Peace At Last, other than business as usual - except that it wasn't. Gone were the chilly glacial electronic ballads of yore and in their place a more (ahem) organic, acoustic, soulful and, in the case of lead-off (and only) single Happiness, neo-gospel feel to proceedings, albeit with a retained drum-machine in attendance, a machine that in places sounds like it had a mind of its own - I do hope they got a refund for it. Listen to the otherwise faultless Tomorrow Morning and you may see what I mean. Check out the clumsy Holy Love and you may find yourself hitting eject and whipping out your copy of Hats again.
But there are plenty of high-points to be had on this third Virgin-branded Blue Nile reissue. It's a decent enough remaster, plus there's the attendant bonus disc of, once again, just six outtakes and unreleased nuggets. Plus you also get two or three more gems aside from Happiness and Tomorrow Morning - Family Life is all swoonsome strings and melancholic Festive homecomings par excellence, Soon broods edgily with typically bold Buchanan trademarks and God Bless You Kid might have been a challenger for one of the first two albums. Sentimental Man reached radio-friendly status in the U.S. (a promo CD did the rounds), but the remainder hasn't dated as well - I won't bore you with details.
And so to those bonuses. Three songs are completely unreleased, a state of affairs that usually means unreleased for a reason. Not so in the case of Turn Yourself Around which is one of Paul Buchanan's best buried treasures and worthy of replacing any one of four lesser album-tracks on Peace At Last. A Certain Kind Of Angel is also a redeeming feature, There Was a Girl sadly isn't. There are also subtle alternate variations of three album tracks that were presumably mixed by the band for possible inclusions as singles or b-sides - the Laurel Canyon mix of Soon is rather pleasing and the pick of the bunch.
As with Virgin's re-releases of the band's first pair of albums, the bonuses aren't decisive. None of the Happiness CD single extras are here, a telling omission being the superior Wish Me Well. But even without these glaring gaps, the completists should find enough to satisfy their hunger until Buchanan turns his hand to newer projects (we live in hope). Or perhaps a reissue of 2004's superior High.
Peace At Last:
Virgin/Universal:
2xCD:
Out Now:
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
In 1996, it was somewhat unfair to expect anything more from Peace At Last, other than business as usual - except that it wasn't. Gone were the chilly glacial electronic ballads of yore and in their place a more (ahem) organic, acoustic, soulful and, in the case of lead-off (and only) single Happiness, neo-gospel feel to proceedings, albeit with a retained drum-machine in attendance, a machine that in places sounds like it had a mind of its own - I do hope they got a refund for it. Listen to the otherwise faultless Tomorrow Morning and you may see what I mean. Check out the clumsy Holy Love and you may find yourself hitting eject and whipping out your copy of Hats again.
But there are plenty of high-points to be had on this third Virgin-branded Blue Nile reissue. It's a decent enough remaster, plus there's the attendant bonus disc of, once again, just six outtakes and unreleased nuggets. Plus you also get two or three more gems aside from Happiness and Tomorrow Morning - Family Life is all swoonsome strings and melancholic Festive homecomings par excellence, Soon broods edgily with typically bold Buchanan trademarks and God Bless You Kid might have been a challenger for one of the first two albums. Sentimental Man reached radio-friendly status in the U.S. (a promo CD did the rounds), but the remainder hasn't dated as well - I won't bore you with details.
And so to those bonuses. Three songs are completely unreleased, a state of affairs that usually means unreleased for a reason. Not so in the case of Turn Yourself Around which is one of Paul Buchanan's best buried treasures and worthy of replacing any one of four lesser album-tracks on Peace At Last. A Certain Kind Of Angel is also a redeeming feature, There Was a Girl sadly isn't. There are also subtle alternate variations of three album tracks that were presumably mixed by the band for possible inclusions as singles or b-sides - the Laurel Canyon mix of Soon is rather pleasing and the pick of the bunch.
As with Virgin's re-releases of the band's first pair of albums, the bonuses aren't decisive. None of the Happiness CD single extras are here, a telling omission being the superior Wish Me Well. But even without these glaring gaps, the completists should find enough to satisfy their hunger until Buchanan turns his hand to newer projects (we live in hope). Or perhaps a reissue of 2004's superior High.