Four | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 2010 | |||
Genre | Indie Rock | |||
Length | 43:06 | |||
Label | The Major Label | |||
Producer | Bleu | |||
Bleu chronology | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Classic Rock | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Four is the 4th studio album by Bleu. The album was part of a crowd funing campaign at kickstarter.com. [3] The campaign funded about 40.000 $, which was far more than Bleu expected.
Bleu said: "It's changed my whole world, I have a completely new outlook on my career and my life. It sounds dramatic, but it's really true."
As a result of fans' contributions, he's been able to launch his own record label and put Four out himself in North America. UK indie label Lojinx acquired the rights to release the "Four" in Europe. Bleu was stunned by the enthusiasm of his loyal fan base, "I was playing a show a couple of weeks ago and told everybody about the whole thing," he recalls. "I started crying onstage."
Bleu recalls that the title for "Dead in the Mornin'" preceded the actual song by a fairly long stretch. "I was thinking about my mortality when I came up with the title, but I didn't want to write this melancholy dirge," he points out. "Then I thought, 'What if it's a big gospel rave-up?' When I think about my death, my funeral – which we all do – my great desire is that it'll be a celebration, a party. Everybody wants that New Orleans-style funeral. It IS the best way to send somebody off. It's personal, but tongue-in-cheek."
The story-song "Singin' in Tongues" also contains what Bleu admits is a religious subtext: "It's not really about me," he relates, "but it does address the way music has saved me from total destruction. There's a lot of God in it."
He acknowledges putting what he calls "a lot of weirdly morbid, upbeat stuff" on Four, noting various references to death (albeit mostly in high-energy rock settings) throughout. "Needless to say," he adds, "my mom's not too happy about it."
"Like everyone else, I'm always grappling with these issues of death, God, the afterlife, my legacy – all the real things," Bleu adds of the album's themes. "That's reflected on this record; it's not just a bunch of love songs." Of course, the love songs it does include are choice, notably the exquisitely tender "In Love with My Lover" and the Lennon-esque, orchestral torch number "How Blue." As always, he insists, "I'm trying to find new angles on classic subjects." [4]
Official release of Four was on September 5, 2010 on the label "The Major Label".
Friends is the 14th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on June 24, 1968, through Capitol Records. The album is characterized by its calm and peaceful atmosphere, which contrasted the prevailing music trends of the time, and for its brevity, with five of its 12 tracks running less than two minutes long. It sold poorly, peaking at number 126 on the US Billboard charts, the group's lowest US chart performance to date, although it reached number 13 in the UK. Fans generally came to regard the album as one of the band's finest.
John Weldon "J. J." Cale was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and music engineer. Though he avoided the limelight, his influence as a musical artist has been widely acknowledged by figures such as Mark Knopfler, Neil Young and Eric Clapton, who described him as "one of the most important artists in the history of rock". He is considered to be one of the originators of the Tulsa sound, a loose genre drawing on blues, rockabilly, country, and jazz.
Awake is the third studio album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater, released on October 4, 1994, through East West Records. It is the final Dream Theater album to feature original keyboardist Kevin Moore, who announced his decision to leave the band during the mixing process of the album.
Murry Gage Wilson was an American songwriter, talent manager, record producer, and music publisher best known as the father of the Beach Boys' Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson. After the band's formation in 1961, Murry became their first manager, and in 1962, he established their publishing company, Sea of Tunes, with Brian. Later in his life, Wilson was accused of physically and verbally abusing his children, charges which he denied.
Danny Ray Whitten was an American musician and songwriter best known for his work with Neil Young's backing band Crazy Horse, and for the song "I Don't Want To Talk About It", a hit for Rod Stewart and Everything but the Girl.
Graham Keith Gouldman is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He has been the only constant member of the art rock band 10cc.
The Last Hard Men were an alternative music supergroup composed of former Skid Row vocalist Sebastian Bach, The Frogs guitarist Jimmy Flemion, The Breeders guitarist–vocalist Kelley Deal, and The Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin.
The Martins are a Christian music vocal trio composed of three siblings: Joyce Martin Sanders, Jonathan Martin, and Judy Martin Hess.
"I Shot Ya / I Shot Ya (remix)" is a song by American rapper LL Cool J featuring Keith Murray, from his sixth album Mr. Smith. The remix version of the song was released as a B-side to "Hey Lover", but received a video directed by Hype Williams, leading some to believe the track was an actual single from the album. Produced by Trackmasters, the remix was released in 1995 for Def Jam Recordings, and peaked at number 55 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for the Billboard charts.
Let's Build a World Together is the fourth studio album by the country music artists George Jones and Tammy Wynette. The album was released in 1973 on the Epic Records label. It peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Country Albums chart.
We Go Together is the first studio album by American country music artists George Jones and Tammy Wynette. This album was released on October 18, 1971 on the Epic Records label. This is Jones' first album with Epic and his then wife Tammy Wynette. This is also Jones' first album with producer Billy Sherrill.
My Favorites of Hank Williams is an album by American country music artist George Jones. It was released in 1962 on the United Artists record label. It was Jones' second tribute to the music of Hank Williams.
"A Few Questions" is a song written by Ray Scott, Phillip Moore and Adam Wheeler, and recorded by American country music singer Clay Walker. It was released in April 2003 as the lead-off single and title track from his album A Few Questions. It peaked at #9 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts.
Le Chat Bleu is the third album by the rock band Mink DeVille, released in 1980. The album received critical acclaim and elevated lead singer and composer Willy DeVille to star status. The Rolling Stone critics' poll ranked Le Chat Bleu the fifth best album of 1980, and music historian Glenn A. Baker declared it the tenth best rock album of all time. The album cover is a photo of Willy's first wife Toots Deville's tattoo on her shoulder.
To Tulsa and Back is the 13th album by J. J. Cale, released in 2004.
"Everybody's Gotta Pay Some Dues", was a 1961 R&B song by Motown Records group The Miracles released on the label's Tamla Records subsidiary. It was taken from Cookin' with The Miracles, the group's second album, and was written by Miracles members Smokey Robinson and Ronald White. It entered the Billboard Pop and R&B listings that year, and reached #52 and #11 respectively.
A Watched Pot is the third studio album by Bleu, following Redhead.
Agápē is the second mixtape by American pop-R&B singer JoJo. It is of EP length, unlike the previous mixtape. The mixtape was announced in early November 2012. JoJo recorded material specifically intended for the mixtape as she did not want to keep her fans waiting for new music any longer. Released on her 22nd birthday on December 20, 2012, it marked the follow-up to her 2010 mixtape Can't Take That Away from Me, which spawned the single and video for "In the Dark". The mixtape's first single "We Get By" was released for free online on November 15, 2012 on JoJo's official SoundCloud with a limited number of downloads, with JoJo stating that "there's a limit on the download because we want you to download the entire mixtape once it's released". She recorded the song with a group of her friends known as The Backpackkids who all got together to create what they call "genre-less music".
Makonnen Kamali Sheran, better known by his stage name iLoveMakonnen, is an American singer, rapper, and songwriter. His rise to fame began in 2014, after Canadian rapper Drake released a remix to his song "Tuesday".