The Blue Moods of Spain

Last updated
The Blue Moods of Spain
The Blues Moods of Spain cover.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 8, 1995 (1995-09-08)
RecordedFebruary 1995
StudioBrilliant Studios (San Francisco, California)
Genre
Length61:21
Label Restless
Producer
Spain chronology
The Blue Moods of Spain
(1995)
She Haunts My Dreams
(1999)
Singles from The Blue Moods of Spain
  1. "I Lied"
    Released: 1994 (1994)
  2. "Dreaming of Love"
    Released: 1995 (1995)

The Blue Moods of Spain is the debut studio album by American rock band Spain, released on September 8, 1995, on Restless Records.

Contents

"Spiritual" was later recorded by Johnny Cash for his album American II: Unchained .

Release

The tracks "I Lied" and "Dreaming of Love" were released as 7-inch singles. [1] A music video was produced for "Untitled #1". [2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Entertainment Weekly B+ [4]
NME 8/10 [5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]

In a contemporary review, Melody Maker praised The Blue Moods of Spain as "the most gorgeous music you'll hear all year", describing Spain as "quiet masters of atmosphere, subtle craftsmen who weave a sumptuous, melodic spell with the lightest of instrumental touches". [7] NME noted "a rich, glorious warmth to their songs that combines the melodic simplicity of... The Velvet Underground... the metronomic precision of Spiritualized... and the heartbroken sentiment of the Tindersticks." [5] Richie Unterberger of AllMusic was more reserved in his praise and felt that Spain succeed at evoking "a brooding, late-night atmosphere" with "seductive drones... and melancholy, pensive songs", while adding that the album is "a bit monotonous all at once" and would have benefited from a more expressive vocalist. [3]

In 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide , critic Allison Stewart wrote that The Blue Moods of Spain "made up in style what it lacked in musical variation." [6] In 2012, Kitty Empire of The Observer described the album as "a gem of opiated heartbreak". [8]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Josh Haden

No.TitleLength
1."It's So True"4:32
2."Ten Nights"6:11
3."Dreaming of Love"5:38
4."Untitled #1"6:40
5."Her Used-to-Been"4:15
6."Ray of Light"7:06
7."World of Blue"14:13
8."I Lied"5:08
9."Spiritual"7:38
Total length:61:21

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes for The Blue Moods of Spain. [9]

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References

  1. Spain discography(Accessed 21 Aug 2008)
  2. Spain Music Videos, Yahoo! Music (Accessed 21 Aug 2008)
  3. 1 2 Unterberger, Richie. "The Blue Moods of Spain – Spain". AllMusic . Retrieved August 21, 2008.
  4. Romero, Michele (September 15, 1995). "The Blue Moods of Spain". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Spain: The Blue Moods of Spain". NME . September 16, 1995. p. 47.
  6. 1 2 Stewart, Allison (2004). "Spain". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p.  764. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
  7. "Spain: The Blue Moods of Spain". Melody Maker . October 7, 1995. p. 37.
  8. Empire, Kitty (June 10, 2012). "Spain: The Soul of Spain – review". The Observer . Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  9. The Blue Moods of Spain (Media notes). Spain. Restless Records. 1995. REST72910.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)