Blue Boy (album) explained

Blue Boy
Type:Album
Artist:Ron Sexsmith
Cover:BlueBoyAlbum.png
Released:June 5, 2001
Recorded:Nashville, Tennessee
Genre:Rock
Label:spinART, Cooking Vinyl
Producer:Steve Earle, Ray Kennedy
Prev Title:Whereabouts
Prev Year:1999
Next Title:Cobblestone Runway
Next Year:2002

Blue Boy is a studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith, released in 2001.[1] [2] Sexsmith's former label, Interscope, refused to release the album; Sexsmith eventually was able to license and shop it.[3]

Production

The album was recorded in Nashville, over the course of six days, and was produced by Steve Earle and his partner Ray Kennedy.[4] Earle encouraged Sexsmith to record the stylistically diverse songs that Sexsmith normally omitted from albums.[5] It includes a cover of the Kyp Harness song "Thumbelina Farewell."

Critical reception

No Depression wrote that Sexsmith "bonds his thoughtful, elegant wordplay, indelible sense of melody, and demure voice to a myriad of styles."[6] The Washington Post wrote that the album is "shot through with crafty and engaging pop tunes that incorporate everything from backward loops and string arrangements to jazz coloring and reggae beats."[7] Trouser Press wrote that the producers "picked up the tempo, pushed [Sexsmith] to sing more forcefully, got the Hammond organ Leslie cabinet twirling and plugged in the electric guitars — all of which moved Sexsmith to a safe and happy musical place that supports, rather than competes with, his songwriting."[8]

Track listing

All songs by Ronald Eldon Sexsmith except where noted.

  1. "This Song" – 3:43
  2. "Cheap Hotel" – 2:17
  3. "Don't Ask Why" – 2:58
  4. "Foolproof" – 3:45
  5. "Tell Me Again" – 2:35
  6. "Just My Heart Talkin'" – 2:21
  7. "Not Too Big" – 3:20
  8. "Miracle in Itself" – 2:47
  9. "Thirsty Love" – 3:15
  10. "Never Been Done" – 2:52
  11. "Thumbelina Farewell" (Kyp Harness) – 4:14
  12. "Parable" – 3:17
  13. "Keep It in Mind" – 3:09
  14. "Fallen" – 3:07
  15. "Before We Ever Met" (Japanese Bonus Track)

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ron Sexsmith | Biography & History. AllMusic.
  2. Web site: Ron Sexsmith. J. R.. Jones. Chicago Reader. June 14, 2001.
  3. Web site: He Writes The Songs / Ron Sexsmith finds comfort in songcraft, Gordon Lightfoot. June 14, 2001. SFGATE.
  4. Ron Sexsmith Rocks Out On 'Blue Boy'. Billboard. June 7, 2001.
  5. Web site: Ron Sexsmith Aims To Undo Singer/Songwriter Stereotype. MTV News.
  6. Web site: Ron Sexsmith – Blue Boy . No Depression . 25 January 2021.
  7. Web site: RON SEXSMITH. www.washingtonpost.com.
  8. Web site: Ron Sexsmith . Trouser Press . 25 January 2021.