Background

By the time the Blue Nile: - Paul Buchanan, Robert Bell and P.J. Moore had finished touring and promoting the previous album “Hats” they all felt burned out, Paul Buchanan remembers the early 90’s as a difficult time and so as to try and change things a bit the band decided to buy some equipment and travel to different cities rent a room and write some songs.
This is what they did going to France, Italy, Holland and New York all the while writing and recording a few things.

After the frantic time of the Hats album Paul said, “It felt very claustrophobic and we kept moving, in the process writing and throwing a lot of songs away we discarded most of the stuff we wrote till we finally got the 10 tracks that appear on “Peace at Last” by 1995.

By the summer of 1996 the third installment of their musical vision “Peace at Last” was released to universal acclaim with magazines like “Q” saying “What do the Blue Nile do all day? And what do we care as long as roughly every 2 World cups they bring us something this special” this album even made the Top 50 albums list of the year in “Q” that year, not bad for a band most people haven’t heard of and for a group that has yet to have a top 10 hit single.

The album became another top 20 hit in the UK, this album is seen by fans of the band as a bit of a departure from their usual sound which was built around the possibilities of the fairlight keyboard, this time the chosen musical palette included more guitars and even a gospel choir to bring a more soulful bluesy feel to the songs making the album more assessable and commercial sounding in the process.

At the time Paul Buchanan said,” I was trying to throw off the shackles of being over-produced, I think, to try and get back to that analogue stuff of the early 80’s”.

To get the gospel choir the band looked at many places, with Paul finally finding one after talking to one of the secretaries at the L.A. offices of Warner brothers and she had a friend who worked in the post office who was in a choir, the band went to see them and where really moved by their singing and they appear on the albums opening track.
As with their previous work the album is produced by the band with Calum Malcolm providing his recording skills again, and for this album Craig Armstrong has done the string arrangements (he has worked in the past with the likes of Massive attack) and Nigel Thomas again plays the drums, the lyrics of Mr Buchanan again deal with ordinary events in his and other peoples lives and he makes them sound magnificent and noble in the process.

The Album

The collection begins with “Happiness” (4.40) this song might be familiar to some of you as it was used for many years on the Scottish tourist board T.V. adverts, open beautiful scenery and ancient buildings with “The Blue Nile” playing in the background, picture postcard perfect.

The song begins with an opening refrain on a keyboard and if you listen really closely you can hear Paul counting 2, 3, 4 and the tapping of his foot on the floor of the recording studio (a trick used by John Lee Hooker on his recordings) and the strumming of an acoustic guitar the vocals begin with the lines “Now that I’ve found Peace at Last, tell me Jesus, will it last? Now that I’ve found Peace at Last, tell me Jesus, will it last? , birds are laughing in the trees, it’s only make believe, its only love” as the lyrics are sung the sound of the playing of the acoustic becomes more frantic from the gentle strumming of the opening chords, “It’s only Love” line is repeated with a slight howl in the voice of Paul after the repeated line he whispers “listen dear” “I wanna hold you, and treat you right, the cigarettes the morning light, can do wrong, I will do right, I’ll see you later, be alright, Yea” on the last two words of the line have a hint of reverb used to punch home the sentiment.

The acoustic guitar and a single repeating note on the keyboard provide a bridge to the next lines, “Now that I’ve found Peace at Last, tell me Jesus, is it right, the birds are laughing, and in the empty breeze, It’s only love” the guitar playing again becomes frantic to bring the message home and on the repeat of the end part of the line Paul’s voice barks forth another howl, the words are repeated from earlier in the song but this time at the end a glorious gospel choir fills the track with the word “Happiness” with tambourines sounding at the end of the repeated word leading to the repeat of the opening line to the title of the track ending with a gentle guitar strum.
This song appears to me to be about the start of a relationship between people where one of them has to reassure the other that they will treat the other with respect, something all relationship should have on both sides.

“Tomorrow Morning” (4.15) the beginning of this song is again dominated by the sound of an acoustic guitar giving it a country blues feel “This may not last until tomorrow, so look at all the love we borrow, and then he will tell us all, we could be laughing, we could be married, tomorrow morning” repeat of guitar intro that now has a snare drum at the back of it building to the line “and love won’t be your savior, and pretty soon you’ll find it’s over, and then he has left you there” at the word “there” a piano starts to play the same chords as the guitar, the words continue with “could be singing, could be together, tomorrow morning” the acoustic then goes back to the jolly sounding intro again with an added string section along with the added piano sound playing a 3 note refrain which adds more sweetness to an already assessable sounding track.
The string section gives a counterpoint of melancholy to the pop sounding love song, which is in essence a few lines of lyrics repeated given more depth by the strings and the simple motif’s played on the guitar and piano, for me this is what this band do best ask questions of your feelings and tell you how they feel and the this track builds on the previous song’s agenda.

“Sentimental Man” (5.06) a lead electric guitar plays a simple run followed by a rumbling bass sound with a rhythm guitar picking out harmonics as well as playing a funky chopped-up rhythm, this makes a wall of sound that is broken up the 4/4 beat played on the drums.
Paul’s singing begins with the lines “What a difference does it make baby, we all make some mistakes baby, hold my hand, I, I think I’m your, sentimental man” he has chosen to harmonize with himself singing a two-part vocal section for an answer vocal to the lead vocal part this begins on the repeat of the song title, the vocals bounce from speaker to speaker repeating the two words of the title along with the funky sounding guitar parts.
The lyrics continue with “It’s not about money, it’s not about Love, it’s not about staa-rs above, only love night and day yea, yea, yea, yea, yea, yea, whooooo, sentimental man” the two-part harmony vocal section begins again after the line “do the best I can, holy, holy, holy, holy, yea, yea, sentimental man, it’s not about money, it’s not about love, it’s not about staa-rs above, only love night and day, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, sentimental man” the harmonizing vocals return for 3 repeats and then the words “here I come girl” the guitar plays the opening notes again and some bass notes can be heard “here I come girl” this creates the middle 8 section which also has the opening lines repeated over and over as well as vocal adlibs and a keyboard makes whirring noise until he fade-out.
This song is a masterful example of less is more when it comes to wordplay within a song getting across how desperate a fool love can make us all along the way.

“Love came Down” (3.34) a bight and up-beat sounding acoustic plays the opening chords that along with the locking sound of the hi-hat and the crack of the snare drum played on the off-beat.
“Angels walking in the starlight, people gather at the roadside, I am willing to be with you tonight, nothing ever leaves you, love come down, I watched it fall from the sky, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I’m laughing the world upon my shoulders” as that line is sung a mandolin sound has started giving the singing an extra ethereal quality.
“Somehow we gather and march together; a poet sighed at his typewriter, he sighed all night, he cried all night, love came down, I watched it fall from the sky, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, are you almost ready?, To come here with me, that’s my lucky day, I was always ready, to be here with you, to going the same way, and the radio plays out in the alleyway, it’s a love song, yeah, it’s soul tonight, lovers walking down the highway” for the closing part of the track the acoustic goes back to the intro and a mandolin plays the same giving the end section a wonderful positive quality that continues to the close. A signature love song of love and being in love.

“Body and Soul” (5.17) this is another track where a simple acoustic guitar run that is filled out by the sound of a keyboard sets up a simple but effective backdrop for the 4/4 drum and bass rhythm section to follow along with the electric guitar which adds colour with harmonic runs on the neck of the guitar. Paul sings, “It’s sweet and easy, a train coming right, its God’s country, love will be in love, then on a Sunday we’ll go walking out, stay out and love will be in love, I’m with you now and here together, I’m with you through the stormy weather, let your heart begin right here, open up your life to me yeah” a louder strum on the guitar to announce the chorus of “Body and Soul” on the word “Soul” Paul uses a howling vocal device to give the word a sense of pleading desperation along with the sound of an attacking string section, the chorus repeated twice then a statement of intent is made with the line “I’m hoping for a Spring wedding, we will raise the children, and hold them to the sky, please believe me the past is nothing, God willing we will live here till we die, I love your past and we’re forever, hold me it’s warm in the river, open up your life to me yeah, yeah” then it’s back to the howled chorus followed by, “I want a love but never find the time, I want a love to be there in your night, I want a love will you make me be alright, aw woman please” then again back to the howled chorus.

For me this is the centerpiece of the whole album within the contents of the words is a mid-life romance where the man is courting a woman who has children from the earlier part of her life and he tells her that he if he says he loves her that he loves all of her including her past in other words he loves her children as well, this love song is a spin on modern relationships told in an elegant poetic way.

Holy Love (2.42) for the keyboard intro the band have used a choir sample to give the atmosphere of a church-like chorus which plays at odds with the rest of the music which at the start has deep bass notes followed by the sound of fingers sliding down a fret board then a drum machine along with real drums create the percussive elements which includes a deeply satisfying boom sound.

The sampled choir goes up the scale 3 times along with Paul’s voice that is delivered in a whispered falsetto croon goes I-I-I, yeah, then lyrics begin with “I still will watch, don’t know what’s right, flowers weep, I still love you, holy love, holy love, yeah, stocking tops, coffee cups, when morning comes up, I’ll know cuddle, yeah, yeah” all these lines are sung over a bass synthesizer sound that creates a counterpoint to the whispered vocals, this takes the song to the high-pitched guitar middle 8 section that along with Paul’s vocal adlibs and sweeping string sound that brings the track to an end.
This sounds like an unfinished track to me with its nonsense-like lyrics and half-realized arrangement it’s a wonderful sounding experiment.

Family Life (5.21) the sound of a piano begins Paul sings the opening lines “Starlight do you know me, please don’t look at me know, I’m falling apart, silver on the window, like the bike I once had, at home in the yard”, the piano plays the same phrase as the beginning but this time in a descending manner along with angst-filled strings, this sets the emotional tone for this piece of nostalgia, which Paul says was him recalling his childhood sitting around a small table with his parents waiting for “Morecambe & Wise to come on T.V. and the fond memories of family and Christmas.
This is another standout track with its stripped back sound and emotive lyrics that recall past times for people of a certain age with eloquence and truth.
For me this was the most difficult song to listen to while writing this as it brings to life memories of my late Mother and Grandmother this is surly the mark of a great song.
When listening to this album I usually skip this track for this reason.

“War is Love” (3.53) after the emotional rollercoaster of the previous track this song returns with a familiar sounding keyboard refrain followed by a programmed 4/4 timing of a drum machine with hi-hat sounds for the first few lines Paul uses his falsetto whispered vocal delivery for the first lines this makes hearing what the words are until the chorus of “War is Love” impossible to hear, after the chorus the words continue “when love, when love breaks down, what is a love? , when love, when love wears down” the singing of Mr. Buchanan returns to the falsetto of the first lines all the while a pretty piano refrain plays.
Without hearing the words properly I think this song is about the break down and messy end that sometimes happens when love goes wrong, something we all can relate too I think.

“God bless you Kid” (4.57) this the penultimate track of the collection kicks into life with a volley of rhythm on the drums along with metallic sounding percussion and the signature string sound creates an up-tempo back-drop for Paul’s vocals, “I drive all over town, to the bars without me, it feels like Memphis after Elvis, there’s nothin’ going on, when you get to the top, does it all work out?, you wanna start again, you’ve only one life” as he sings the title of the track the strings get louder “the boys all dressed in blue, and the girl get dressed in white, a fire engines, a T.V. stations, still tumble through the night, go to bed, go to sleep, with our ordinary lives, it’s the same old, same old scene, god bless you kid, and everything I did” a rhythm guitar begins to play the same pattern as the percussion but higher up the scale and creates colour and texture to a track that is nearly all percussive in nature, the guitar squeals out a 3 note repeated sequence for a middle 8 section , “God bless you kid, and everything you did” to build to the climax of the track Paul sings adlibs until the crescendo of the song which is a wack-a-wacka guitar solo Paul’s vocal improvisations continue throughout the lead guitar solo giving the fade-out the impression of battle of sounds.

Soon (5.28) the album closes out with a piece that starts with a simple rhythm played on the hi-hat with the sound Hammond pounding away this makes the atmosphere sound quite religious to me just before the vocals begin a rumble from the bass guitar and a 4/4 drum pattern played at a funeral-like pace can be heard, “Soon, come on soon, show me some love soon, come on soon” at the end of that line another keyboard plays a brighter run on the keys to announce the lines “ When you call my name, I’ll be standing there in love, will come soon, yeah love will come soon, yeah soon, come on soon” the keyboards and drums plod along until the string section brings some brightness and hope and joy. With the positive sounding line “Love will come soon” the track closes with more impromptu vocalizations from Paul.
I feel this is a song for everyone looking for love to let them know it maybe hasn’t happened yet but don’t lose hope, a real up-beat closing message for a wonderfully executed collection of love songs.

As a matter of interest the band released the track “Happiness” as a single at the same time as their opening tour dates that year, the track was put out in 2 parts with different tracks on both.
(Part 1 red sleeve) matrix number WO373CD1 “Happiness” edit, “O Lolita” “War is Love” different version to the album track and the other is an outtake from the session.

(Part 2 white sleeve) “Happiness” matrix number WO373CD2 “Happiness” “New York Man” “Wish me well” both tracks are rare outtakes from the album session, both of these singles are pretty hard to find now and I have seen copies for both go for really serious money on E-bay (£30.00 each) and yes I have copies of both bought at the time of release for £2.99 each.

The sleeve for this album is just a 4 part fold-out cover with the cover picture on one part with band portraits on the other parts along with pictures of the places the album was recorded with info such as musicians, production and song writing credits again there are no lyrics, so if I have got any of the words wrong sorry it was a case of doing the laborious task of stopping and starting the album over and over again and trying to work out the words.
This album is available on the Amazon site for £11.99 plus P+P or from the market place on the same site for about a fiver plus P+P.
All the back ground information came from the official Blue Nile website and I again used as my main source an article from the site called “Songs of Love & transport”.