Blue Boy (album)

Last updated

Blue Boy
BlueBoyAlbum.png
Studio album by
Ron Sexsmith
ReleasedJune 5, 2001
Recorded Nashville, Tennessee
Genre Rock
Label spinART, Cooking Vinyl [1]
Producer Steve Earle, Ray Kennedy
Ron Sexsmith chronology
Whereabouts
(1999)		Blue Boy
(2001)		 Cobblestone Runway
(2002)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Entertainment Weekly A [3]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Spin 8/10 [6]

Blue Boy is a studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith, released in 2001. [7] [8] Sexsmith's former label, Interscope, refused to release the album; Sexsmith eventually was able to license and shop it. [9]

Contents

Production

The album was recorded in Nashville, over the course of six days, and was produced by Steve Earle and his partner Ray Kennedy. [10] Earle encouraged Sexsmith to record the stylistically diverse songs that Sexsmith normally omitted from albums. [11] It includes a cover of the Kyp Harness song "Thumbelina Farewell."

Critical reception

No Depression wrote that Sexsmith "bonds his thoughtful, elegant wordplay, indelible sense of melody, and demure voice to a myriad of styles." [12] The Washington Post wrote that the album is "shot through with crafty and engaging pop tunes that incorporate everything from backward loops and string arrangements to jazz coloring and reggae beats." [13] Trouser Press wrote that the producers "picked up the tempo, pushed [Sexsmith] to sing more forcefully, got the Hammond organ Leslie cabinet twirling and plugged in the electric guitars — all of which moved Sexsmith to a safe and happy musical place that supports, rather than competes with, his songwriting." [14]

Track listing

All songs by Ronald Eldon Sexsmith except where noted.

  1. "This Song" – 3:43
  2. "Cheap Hotel" – 2:17
  3. "Don't Ask Why" – 2:58
  4. "Foolproof" – 3:45
  5. "Tell Me Again" – 2:35
  6. "Just My Heart Talkin'" – 2:21
  7. "Not Too Big" – 3:20
  8. "Miracle in Itself" – 2:47
  9. "Thirsty Love" – 3:15
  10. "Never Been Done" – 2:52
  11. "Thumbelina Farewell" (Kyp Harness) – 4:14
  12. "Parable" – 3:17
  13. "Keep It in Mind" – 3:09
  14. "Fallen" – 3:07
  15. "Before We Ever Met" (Japanese Bonus Track)

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References

  1. 1 2 Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 7. MUZE. pp. 361–362.
  2. ↑ "Blue Boy - Ron Sexsmith | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  3. ↑ "Blue Boy". EW.com.
  4. ↑ "Pop CD releases". the Guardian. June 1, 2001.
  5. ↑ "Ron Sexsmith: Blue Boy : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". November 14, 2007. Archived from the original on November 14, 2007.
  6. ↑ "Reviews". SPIN. SPIN Media LLC. August 25, 2001 – via Google Books.
  7. ↑ "Ron Sexsmith | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  8. ↑ Jones, J. R. (June 14, 2001). "Ron Sexsmith". Chicago Reader.
  9. ↑ "He Writes The Songs / Ron Sexsmith finds comfort in songcraft, Gordon Lightfoot". SFGATE. June 14, 2001.
  10. ↑ "Ron Sexsmith Rocks Out On 'Blue Boy'". Billboard. June 7, 2001.
  11. ↑ "Ron Sexsmith Aims To Undo Singer/Songwriter Stereotype". MTV News.[ dead link ]
  12. ↑ "Ron Sexsmith – Blue Boy". No Depression. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  13. ↑ "RON SEXSMITH" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  14. ↑ "Ron Sexsmith". Trouser Press. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
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