In the world of independent alternative music the man known only as BLUE (yes it is his real ‘legal’ name and yes he insists on the capitalization) has to be considered a veteran. He started his own company in 1989 called Sanity Check Musec, Inc. which acted as a record label, publishing company and recording studio for BLUE, his assorted side-projects and various other miscellaneous artists over the years.
In 1990 he released ‘Welcome To The Nineties’, an experimental album that stood proud at the start of the first wave of the ‘alternative’ music that was to revolutionize an industry. The following year he released ‘The Lion’s Den’, a further exploration of what exactly independent music was in the early nineties, it was nominated in the first ever ‘Alternative’ category at the INDIE awards, although ‘The Smashing Pumpkins’ beat him to the honor.
During the rest of the decade he moved around musically and creatively, dabbaling in various other musical projects, both his own and other peoples as well as beginning to use computers as a creative force. He also refocused Sanity Check, turning it into a pure vanity label, devoted to showcasing his material in all its forms. He even began to channel his energies into the world of movie making, much of which can be viewed on his innovative website www.sanitycheck.net.
In many ways BLUE can be seen as a poster boy for the growth of true independent music in the nineties, from the starting of his own inclusive musical womb, from where he and others could have total control of their music, to the rejection of major labels and the embracing of the Internet and MP3s. We no longer live in the nineties though, that decade has slipped from our grasp as quickly as all its predeccesors, and suddenly the new and innovative has become the mundane and expected.
So standing at the dawn of a new decade, century and millennium what is a ground-breaking artist to do? Well along with working to build upon the independent spirit of his past, he also looks further back to release a new album, an album that is not content to merely be a concept album, but goes all out to define itself as a Gothic Drama in four Acts. In other words a ‘Rock Opera’, a genre as dead as the Western.
When you see an artist so unashamedly releasing such a product, ‘A Murder. A Love. A Death. A Haunting’ reads the back cover; your first thought has to be pretentious wanker (at least if you have a decidedly British lexicon). Of course there is one single thing that can save any potential landmine when it comes to music, and that is talent. Talent is something BLUE has no problem with, he crafts a frankly astonishing journey through thirteen varied tracks that walk a musical path from hope to despair, from love to hate, from lows to highs.
To even bother to explain the concept being explored here would be kind of pointless, I mean if I tried to describe ‘Tommy’ you would look at me like I was insane, or at least you would if you could look at a reviewer while you read his work. Lets leave it with the simple fact that ‘Holly’s Song’ works through an intellectual journey of a depressed artist’s mind.
BLUE plays all off the instrumentation as well providing vocals and production so it is a solo project in the very purest sense. What is most impressive about this is that he manages to produces an array of sounds and styles, along with some virtuoso guitar playing. He is as capable of straying into Pink Floyd territory as he is dabbling with modern electronic music, and quite a few places in between. Opener ‘Glimpse’ is an instrumental piece that lays the groundwork excellently, lulling us into a laid-back state from which we can best enjoy the rest of the album.
The next track ‘Chrissy’ is a simple acoustic love song that allows us to hear BLUE’s voice for the first time, he leaves it pretty far back in the mix, he hardly has an exceptional voice but I still feel an album built on such strong emotions would benefit from the voice being front and center, still that is a small, if valid, complaint.
As well as the guitar work, which is exceptional pulling genuine emotions and feelings from the air, he also provides some dreamlike piano playing and innovative percussion. He uses these, and the myriad of other real and electronic sounds, to pave the path of a disturbing yellow brick road that leads us through the mental journey of one man. A journey that takes in experimental tracks like ‘Fallen Angel’, which plays like a stoned industrial tune, and the more traditional sounds of ‘Pieces’, the final track which brings everything to an end with an essentially positive note.
‘Holly’s Song’ is an album that BLUE should be proud of, it is an experiment in musical storytelling that offers up enough treats, from enough styles, to give it a truly broad appeal. It is a well conceived and executed project of the type very few artists could pull off, for that he should be loudly applauded. Check it out.

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