Blue RoomGreat To Be Alive

Blue Room - Great To Be Alive

Written by John Taylor

Employ the term "blue-eyed soul" and chances are most music fans will know what you're talking about. Listening to Blue Room's Great To Be Alive, the phrase "blue-eyed blues" springs to mind. There's a certain familiarity, a recognizable style and approach here that's easily categorized.

I don't mean to be unfair to Blue Room, a fine ensemble from the Toronto area. But there's a pattern here I've seen again and again… middle-aged white guys with day jobs who've always been fond of the blues, and who finally decide to get together and form a blues band. (Hey, how can I pass judgment? I'm one of 'em!).

As far as musical competence goes, the members of Blue Room are definitely a cut above the norm. Instrumental contributions here are absolutely top-notch. Guitarist Paul Sanderson plays cleanly and economically, providing excellent rhythm support and some truly surprising leads that avoid cliché. Bassist Fraser Lawrason exhibits a supple ease, locking effortlessly into slippery grooves with either Pat Quinn or Frank Watt on drums.

Norm Ryan contributes alto and tenor sax, giving the project an uptown feel that, thankfully, never seems too slick. But it's vocalist Brian Neller who's utterly remarkable. He's got a naturally-soulful voice with just enough grit to lend gravity to every word he sings, and his phrasing has the relaxed assurance of someone who's been fronting bands for many a year.

Production, too, is exceptional for an indie release; recorded at Chalet Studios, it's clean and clear with a broad soundstage that gives each instrument lots of room.

Sanderson and Neller wrote all the songs, either on their own or as a team (bassist Lawrason gets co-writing credit on one). Musically most of the material is quite strong. Both composers show a sure hand at a variety of rhythms, from the New Orleans-inspired Red Beans And Rice to the poppy Next Exit, from the contemporary urban blues of Sometimes (not too far from Otis Rush territory) to the jazzy, minor-key compositions Spare Change and Who's On The Telephone.

Lyrically, the concerns are strictly contemporary, and perhaps that more than anything will determine one's appreciation of this outing. Womanly Man details a bizarre encounter with someone not quite what he/she appears to be; Get Outta The House is a light-hearted look at the domestic perils presented by a musician's working hours, while When The Money Runs Dry examines the pervasive power of money in our society. Topics, in short, for the middle-aged and middle class.

Now, it's always been an artistic axiom that artists should write/paint/sing what they know. But somehow, Blue Room's themes seem rather inconsequential. In short, the impression is blues-lite, and one almost expects the next song to bemoan a dent in the ol' SUV. Is this what we've come to?

Blues doesn't always have to be dark and dangerous; it is, after all, ultimately about forgetting, and not wallowing in, one's troubles. And if these are the kinds of issues that keep you awake at night, Great To Be Alive is as good as it gets.

Likeable, but a little too nice, a little too polite, to leave much of a lasting impression.

Copyright 2004. Review by John Taylor.

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