"...I Know A Place...Where Everything's Alright..."
It won't have escaped BN fans that these 2019
versions on Confetti Records for The Blue Nile's magisterial "Hats"
album (originally issued October 1989 on Linn Records in the UK) are actually
'remastered reissues'.
Released March 2019, the 2CD variant is an
exact re-run of the November 2012 reissue on Virgin/Linn Records – the one that
came with six rarities on Disc 2 (see listings below). But the big news for
Audiophiles and Vinyl Buffs in general is a November 2019 straightforward LP
Repress on 180 Grams Vinyl - unfortunately minus the six Bonus Tracks that come
with the second CD. The last LPs issued in 2013 and 2014 sold out in minutes,
the original 1989 pressing on Linn can pass hands for up to a hundred quid – so this
2019 LP repress is mightily welcome – especially on an album that is so
exquisite, it regularly tops people’s all-time fave lists everywhere.
For the purposes of location (on Amazon/elsewhere) – here are the Confetti 2019 details...
For the purposes of location (on Amazon/elsewhere) – here are the Confetti 2019 details...
The March 2019 UK 2CD variant of "Hats" by THE BLUE NILE issued on Confetti Records BLUECD2 is Barcode 5052442014942 - available for
about £14 using the Barcode number provided above. The LP variant for
"Hats" was issued 29 November 2019 and is a worldwide limited edition
of 1000 copies on Confetti BLUELP002 - Barcode 5052442016205.
29 Nov 2019 has
also seen Confetti reissue Vinyl copies of the 1984 debut "A Walk Across
The Rooftops" and the "Hats" follow up on Warner Brothers from 1996 "Peace At
Last" – they are on BLUELP001 and BLUELP003 respectively – Barcodes 5052442016199
and 5052442016212. All three titles are straightforward LP transfers on 180
Grams Heavy Vinyl with no extras or inners.
Now to the music of "Hats" (I’ve used
my 2012 review)...
Little will prepare fans for this beautifully remastered
reissue - sonically up there with the very best 2012 has to offer. Here are the
finite details...
Released Monday 19 November 2012 in the UK -
"Hats" by THE BLUE NILE on Virgin/Linn Records LKHCDR 2
(5099901730029) is a 2CD Remaster/Reissue and plays out as follows:
Disc 1 (38:48 minutes):
1. Over The Hillside
2. The Downtown Lights
3. Let's Go Out Tonight
4. Headlights On The Parade [Side 2]
5. From A Late Night Train
6. Seven A.M.
7. Saturday Night
Tracks 1 to 7 are their second album
"Hats" - released October 1989 on LP, MC and CD in the UK on Linn
Records LKH 2. The first CD issue carried with it a single page inlay with
virtually no details and sound quality that was good rather than great. This is
the first remaster of the album - handled by Calum Malcolm (a member of the
original line-up and long-time Producer for the group) along with Band members
Paul Buchanan and Robert Bell (US customers should use the barcode number
provided above to get the right issue when searching on Amazon.com).
Like the other title in this reissue campaign
(their debut "A Walk Across The Rooftops" from 1984) - the remaster
is again breathtaking. The danger would have been to amp everything up - but
it's not like that. It's subtle, clean and beautifully realized.
"Hats" was put out initially on Linn Records - Linn were (and still
are) a high-end turntable manufacturer - and audio quality is their 'thing'.
Well those initial production values have served this subtle remaster well -
because the detail now is fantastic.
As the echoed drums of "Over The
Hillside" fade in with that synth and drums - the smack is immediate -
'so' sweet. It continues with the album's first hit "The Downtown
Lights" (later covered by Rod Stewart and Annie Lennox) - when the guitars
begin to crescendo towards its six and half minute end - it's so much more
powerful. But then comes the album's first real moment of magic - the hurting
yet gorgeously romantic "Let's Go Out Tonight" - a song I've seen
people cry to when I was at their live gigs. The slow trumpet and acoustic
sounds swirl around the room - "...why don't you say...what's so wrong
tonight..." - beautifully done - a song that was old now made new again
(lyrics from it title this review).
The kick out of the bopping "Headlights On
The Parade" is again amplified - especially the bass and walls of
synth-counter-melodies that arrive when Buchanan sings the chorus. But then
comes the two album sleepers which in my opinion benefit the most from this
sonic upgrade - "From A Late Night Train" and "Seven A.M."
- their ethereal and aching nature suddenly feel more poignant than ever - so
deftly handled. And last - probably everyone's favourite - the impossibly
gorgeous "Saturday Night". By now my stroke-addled eyes are bloodied
and the cheeks puffy - I'm mush for this song. I fell in love with my wife and
partner of 23 years to this melody - walking down streets with my Sony Discman
singing "...an ordinary girl...can make the world alright...meet me outside
the cherry lights...you and I walk away..." I defy the hardest of hearts
not to be moved by it.
But again (like "A Walk Across The
Rooftops") the packaging and bonus disc are a combination of missed
opportunities and genuine discoveries. The minimalist gatefold card digipak is
pretty for sure (the internal flaps are the plain blue colour of the sleeve
too) - but the 16-page booklet is fluffy and vague rather than being
informative. There's a series of colour photos from the time - but with no history
- no liner notes - no lyrics - no input from the band - not even any real info
on the 'bonus' stuff (the last page literally). Frankly - an acknowledged
masterpiece like "Hats" deserved a little more effort than this. But
things improve a lot with some shocking new discoveries on the 'bonus disc'...
Disc 2 - Bonus Disc (33:19 minutes):
Exclusions first - the 'Bob Clearmountain
Remix' of "Headlights On The Parade" and the beautiful duet with
Rickie Lee Jones on "Easter Parade" (both tracks on the 12's and CD
singles of 1990) are missing. The non-album track "Halfway To
Paradise" and the Edit of "Saturday Night" that were on varying
CD singles are both AWOL too. But what is on here is surprisingly good...
Track 2 is "Christmas" - a Previously
Unreleased five-minute studio song. There's no annotation as to where it came
from and its hissy - but its also pretty - lyrically festive as the title
suggests. But if I'm to be honest - I don't think it's as good as the
previously unreleased track "St. Catherine's Day" on the
"Walk" reissue (which sounds suspiciously like an outtake from the
"Hats" period - perhaps put on there to bolster up proceedings).
Having said that - and having lived with it a day or two now - it's gently
growing on me. Fans will make up their own mind of course...
Track 6 is "The Wires Are Down" - a
six-minute non-album song that turned on the 12" and 3" CD single of
"The Downtown Lights" in 1989. The sound quality on that was always
weedy - here its remastered form is an absolute revelation. Suddenly sounding
all grown up - "The Wires Are Down" is a genuine bonus track now -
and one of the highlights on Disc 2. But there's even better...
Although not stated as 'new' - Tracks 1, 3, 4
and 5 are previously unreleased versions. First up is "Seven A.M. - Live
In The Studio". Fans will know that there was a non-album version on the
1990 "Saturday Night" CD single called "Seven A.M. (Live
U.S.A.)" - this is NOT that track. "Live In The Studio" is a
fully-fledged new version with fabulous sound quality. Track 5 is a "Live
In Tennessee" version of "Headlights On The Parade" recorded
with Larry Saltzman, Steve Gaboury and Nigel Thomas on some unknown date. Again
- it is well recorded - and a good version with crowd appreciation at the end.
But then comes the real prizes - two new versions of people's favourites -
"Let's Go Out Tonight" and "Saturday Night". They're called
"Vocal 2" in each case and offer early versions of the songs - the
"Saturday Night" take in particular hears Buchanan go off into lyric
rapping at the end and accentuates the strings throughout - it's properly
gorgeous. Joyful surprises...
To sum up - the remaster of the original album
is an absolute triumph - 10 out of 10. Ok - the side is let down somewhat by
the bare-knuckles packaging and those sloppy omissions on Disc 2 - and it
doesn't take a Mensa membership card to work out that the playing times of both
discs could have been amalgamated into one (with more added on too) - and the
second disc could have been a DVD featuring those rare videos - but - and I
must reiterate this - what's on offer is superb - and worth the upgrade.
"Hats" has been name-checked by
influential music-industry-types and world-famous musicians for decades now as
their 'what to grab when the bomb drops' album - and I'm thrilled to say that
this 2CD reissue of it does that affection genuinely proud. Melodious, sad and
life affirming - "Hats" is a beautiful thing. And it's just been made
better.
Now if we could just get those stroppy Scottish
buggers to tour again...
PS: there is also a 2CD Virgin/Linn DELUXE
EDITION of "A Walk Across The Rooftops" - their debut album from 1984
- and "Peace At Last" from 1996 (originally on Warner Brothers) - see
separate reviews. These are also part of Confetti's 2019 Reissue campaign..
