| 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" |
Alison Maria Krauss is an American bluegrass-country singer, fiddler and music producer. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of eight and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in 1987. She was invited to join Union Station, releasing her first album with them as a group in 1989 and performing with them ever since.
Shawn Colvin is an American singer-songwriter. While she has been a solo recording artist for decades, she is best known for her 1997 Grammy Award-winning song "Sunny Came Home".
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This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1992.
Play Me Backwards is an album by the American musician Joan Baez, released in 1992. The album was nominated for a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Recording. Baez supported it with an international tour.
Maura O'Connell is an Irish singer. She is known for her contemporary interpretations of Irish folk songs, strongly influenced by American country music.
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History is an album by the American musician Loudon Wainwright III, released in 1992 on Charisma Records. Wainwright supported the album with North American and European tours.
Social Studies is a studio album by Loudon Wainwright III, released in 1999. The album comprises various topical and satirical songs, originally produced for National Public Radio and based upon then-current issues and events, such as the Tonya Harding scandal, the O. J. Simpson murder trial, the lead-up to Y2K, and controversies surrounding comments made by former Republican U.S. Senator Jesse Helms.
Final Exam is an album by the American musician Loudon Wainwright III, released in 1978. He supported it with a North American tour. The album was re-released on Telarc in 2007, coupled with his 1976 album, T Shirt. In 1995, Wainwright acknowledged that it was his least favorite of his albums.
Come On Come On is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter, released by Columbia Records on June 30, 1992. It rose to No. 11 on the Billboard's Country Albums chart and No. 31 on the Billboard 200, with seven of its tracks reaching the Hot Country Songs chart: "I Feel Lucky", "Not Too Much to Ask", "Passionate Kisses", "The Hard Way", "The Bug", "He Thinks He'll Keep Her", and "I Take My Chances". "Passionate Kisses" also reached No. 57 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Lucy Wainwright Roche is an American singer-songwriter. Preceded by two EPs, 8 Songs and 8 More, Roche released her debut album, Lucy in October 2010. In 2013, she starred as Jeri in the Stuff You Should Know television show.
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Slide Rule is the sixth solo album by dobro player Jerry Douglas, released in 1992. It was his first release on the Sugar Hill label.
Twilight Motel is an album by the American banjoist Alison Brown, released in 1992. Brown used a 1938 Gibson banjo.
Two Highways is the first album by American band Alison Krauss & Union Station, released in 1989. It was nominated for a Grammy Award, in the "Best Bluegrass Album" category. Krauss and the album also received several International Bluegrass Music Association nominations. "Midnight Rider" is a cover of the Allman Brothers Band song.
Transatlantic Sessions is the collective title for a series of musical productions by Glasgow-based Pelicula Films Ltd, funded by- and produced for BBC Scotland, BBC Four and RTÉ of Ireland. The productions comprise collaborative live performances by various leading folk, bluegrass and country musicians from both sides of the North Atlantic, playing music from Scotland, Ireland, England and North America, who congregate under the musical direction of Aly Bain and Jerry Douglas to record and film a set of half-hour TV episodes. The Television director is Mike Alexander and the producer is Douglas Eadie.
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