Send "Bleu " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Popmatters |
 When the venerable Boston radio station WBCN went off the air in 2009, the city lost a vital piece of its rock n’ roll history and a powerful supporter of local music. For several decades, no local event got more ink than the annual WBCN Rock N’ Roll Rumble—a battle of the bands where the city’s finest dueled it out for a healthy dose of local press, cash money, free studio time, and, purportedly, a free pass into the big leagues. As the years went by, however, most Rumble champions seemed to flame-out in spectacular fashion. Before the Dresden Dolls eradicated the supposed Curse of the Rumble in 2003, a Rumble title to was to a Boston band as an Academy Award was to Cuba Gooding Jr. 2001s Rumble champion was a mutton-chopped Berklee graduate by the name of William McCauley III, better known to the recording world as Bleu. Though still largely known only to a select handful, Bleu has in many ways defied the Curse of the Rumble. Columbia Records picked up his second LP, 2003s Redhead, and made him a label priority, securing him face time on late night television and licensing his music for several major motion pictures. The pendulum swung the other way almost as quickly. Predictable label drama insured that a follow up to Redhead would languish on the shelf for years. Despite some positive notices in Entertainment Weekly, Bleu’s brilliant ELO homage Alpaca’s Orgling (billed to the one-off power pop supergroup L.E.O.) was doomed to “best album you’ve never heard” status without major label muscle behind it....full text |
| Elbo |
| Power pop songwriter/producer leaves label woes behind on his fan-funded fourth album. When the venerable Boston radio station WBCN went off the air in 2009, the city lost a vital piece of its rock n' roll history and a powerful supporter of local music. For several decades, no local event got more ink than the annual WBCN Rock N' Roll Rumble -- a battle of the bands where the city's finest dueled it out for a healthy dose of local press, cash money, free studio time...full text |
| Uberrock |
| Only 13 months ago I was loving and recommending Bleu's third album 'A Watched Pot' and now this heir to the power-pop throne has another new album out and he's got a label over here in the UK to release it too. Furthermore it's scheduled for release earlier here than in his native America. In last year's review for 'A Watched Pot' I was lamenting that some of the tracks on Bleu's 'Four/AWP' EP should have been included on 'The Watched Pot' album - 'Dead In The Mornin'' for one. As it turns out these tracks were always meant as an appetiser of things to come with half of the six destined for 'Four'. A further 2 tracks that made the cut could be heard via Bleu's sneak peek preview to the 'Four' album which the faithful could listen to online as early as November last year. I say 2 tracks but there is a third - 'My Own Personal Jesus' which is a bonus track. So with half of the album already known to me how will the 5 'new' tracks fit around those? And can Bleu keep up his already high standards? Just like his 'Four/AWP' EP Bleu's new album kicks off with 'Singin' In Tongues' - nice move - it's a highly infectious singalong with a Dylanesque delivery in the verses and very much packed with Dylanesque stream of consciousness lyrics full of unusual word substitutions that convey the feelings of madness, drunkeness and shows lyrical experimentation on Bleu's part. Second track is one of the new-uns. 'B.O.S.T.O.N.' is a proud love song of sorts to the place that Bleu has chosen to call home - the place where he's been for much of his musical career up until he recently moved to L.A. It's in the spirit of Catatonia's 'International Velvet' where they sing "Thank The Lord I'm Welsh". It's the kind of anthem that you could imagine the Boston Red Sox playing at home games to get the crowd going. On a more surreal note can you imagine the band Boston either covering this tune or using it as their intro song when they next play live? This song could even be regarded as a sequel or response to 'I Won't Go Hollywood' - from Bleu's 'Redhead' album - as it gives the message that he may be gone 'Hollywood' but he's not going to ever forget Boston. And maybe this is another song that will be playing at Bleu's funeral. Within this song he name-checks another song from this album - 'Dead In The Mornin'' thereby recording his last will and testament. What a novel way of making funeral arrangements!...full text |
Bleu lyrics
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