Such a poignantly bittersweet and yearning song ... the perfect accompaniment to aimless maunderings and romantic daydreams. I envision myself slowly strolling along a colourfully-illuminated boardwalk, watching the endless procession of people from all walks of life come to enjoy the crisp night air and the incomparable allure of the ocean... so evocative and so, _SO_ well-crafted and imaginatively arranged; those effusive piano parts are particularly gorgeous, shimmering brightly over the track 💙 "Hats" is a work of beguiling artistry that you cannot help but surrender to. Simply perfect 💙
The blue Nile capture that sweet sweet melancholia, the neon lighted rain soaked streets. No one did it this well. Deathless music. I'm forever grateful
I went to school in Glasgow in the late 80s and this record is the soundtrack to those days. It truly is one of the greatest recordings of all time full of memories, heartache, early morning train rides, the neon jungle that is Glasgow, melancholy of lost time and sweet sweet reminiscing. If I could only listen to ONE record for the rest of all time it would be "HATS", no question,
This is the song that helped me understand what cathartic meant. It taught me that when sorrow & sadness come along in your life, you have to find a way to embrace it, understand that what you are going through is temporary & that you'll emerge a stronger, better person with a greater empathy to others around you. Hats got me through my divorce & I thank TBN for it...
The entire album is stunningly beautiful. It elevates downbeat to stratospheric levels. It would have been wonderful if they had done a live orchestral concert of the entire LP. I can only imagine the grandeur.
Caveat: the REAL 80s - not the candy pink and bubblegum of the mainstream, Stock Aitken and Waterman toon factory. There's a good reason The Blue Nile weren't chart toppers - it boils down to sophistication. Like today with the Swifties, most people lack sophistication and are happy to take all the gruel they can eat.
I bought this album in 1989 when I was only 14. Used to play it almost every morning on my walks to school. Love Downtown Lights and the other tracks. But when this came on I get a boost of beautiful energy tingling all over. Even now at 43, the feeling remains. Such a beautiful song. 😍
Absolutely stunning. The best Scottish group ever used to take Shrooms and imagine flying across Glasgow on rainy night. Getting goosebumps thinking about it." Only love is alive, only love will survive."
I used to stress out because music nowadays will never hit like this, but now I’m just grateful that we have TBN to listen to whenever we feel like it. That alone is good enough for me to enjoy life!
The Scots have punched WELL above their weight in contemporary music for the last 50 years. Wish I was more than about 20% Scottish - I'd have it all. For a country that produced the horror of bagpipes, the Scots are next level in soul. And yes, this is SOUL.
I bought this album because Chris Roberts from Melody Maker gave it a knock out review. He raved. It was quite contrary to a lot of the stuff he was in to at the time, so it was intriguing. I bought it blind (not having heard a not of music), on cassette. It was quite a leap at the time, because I had some very bad tinnitus. The music was soothing enough for me to be able to play it, to lull me to sleep. I remember the odd snare jarring. But my other 'tapes' would just wreck my head. 'Hats' was a remedy for my ailment. Slowly I got better. Listening to this album almost every night. It was almost like a drug. I mean something that makes you better. It was. I did get better. And I ended up seeing them in London performing live. It blew my mind that they played live but gave such a perfect rendition of the record. No mean feat. I then bought their other album "A Walk across the Rooftops". Sublime. No wonder Peter Gabriel championed them. What is there to say? Songs for births of your children. Songs for the deaths of your parents. And dare I say it, songs for the deaths of your children and your siblings. They go to places where very few musical artists go. They do deeper without being intrusive. I'll stop there. Chris Roberts' words have obviously rubbed off on me in a big way. Thanks for introducing me to the band, anyway. They weren't a disappointment. I also saw them on that Scottish show 'Halfway to Paradise' with them playing with the Revox on the stage with them. I think. Bit of a blur now. But the music is stronger and better than ever. Calum Malcolm is a genius.
Chris Roberts has always been my favourite music journalist. His use of the English language to put into words what , frankly, no other music writer could, was beyond compare.
A wonderful review of Blue Nile,a band from my home town,they have been criminally neglected by the main stream music industry,I still champion their music wherever I go and to whomever I meet.💙💙💙
Because I hated the cover I avoided the album for years. For years. Eventually, the 5* reviews, and after discovering Roxy Music's More Than This and Talk Talk, I thought I'd give it a go. It's one of the best albums I've ever heard. It's everything I wanted. Neon lighted, rain drenched sweet sweet melancholia. Thank you for making and sharing this music. You can't possibly know what it means to us. Me. Hope. This is hope.
@d Exactly how this whole album feels to me. "your beloved leaning on your shoulder and breathing softly." A lovely friend introduced me to this song and in turn album/band. Its just gorgeous!! The whole album just covers me in comfort, even though I'm single it brings that feeling (and in a good way!) of having your loved ones warmth. Love that its not just me feeling that :) Gorgeous album and one I'll never stop listening to.
The Blue Nile is so good at building momentum in their songs towards some kind of catharsis. That is extremely hard to do. All bands strive for it but this succeeds in spades!!!
Have you heard of The Boxer Rebellion? Their build ups to the majority of their tracks are 😍😍😍😍 Search up their album Union for starters and just take a listen.... gorgeous band! Or if you want a corker, listen to Diamonds first! You're very welcome :) :)
You've expressed the essential meaning of The Blue Nile in 10 words - tremendous analogy. Age, distillation and rarity in 4 bottles if you want to extend the analogy to how many albums they produced. And I'm happy they did things that way. It all makes sense now, but didn't at the time. On the other hand, bands like the Rolling Stones produced crates of stuff but apart from the early years.. it's just stuff.
Don't know how Paul does it but every song is just pure magic! 🥰 Eternally grateful to the gorgeous Jim for recommending this track and there my love bloomed for this band 🥰
Have you tried eBay my friend? I recently found a Deluxe format of the Peace at Last album just for the song "There was a girl." Fantastic price in mint condition...felt as if had won the lottery! Good luck with your mission 😉
0:04 that short bit always tricks me into thinking a samsung phone is ringing nearby because a few of the notes sound somewhat similar to "over the horizon"
Just listened to 3 tracks, sounds like one ongoing song, good textures though, liked them back in the late 90s it was a good comment on the times, full of anxiety and chronic perplexity, great stuff lads.
I think some people will reject them because its too earnest, too heartfelt and many have buried that part of themselves to survive this cruel and callous world. I think most of the people here leaving comments share a quality... an appreciation for undying romance, a love of love and pain and we cling to these things ferociously. Thats why we come back after decades... to listen and appreciate this aspect in others and ourselves.
I'm 70 years old and I never found my life's great love but somehow this song makes it all okay. Thank you Blue Nile.
Good Luck
❤ Again
Así es!!. Saludos. Gracias: The Blue Nile!
@@Cafe-nw6ct Saludos!
Cheers. Squaddie.
Such a poignantly bittersweet and yearning song ... the perfect accompaniment to aimless maunderings and romantic daydreams. I envision myself slowly strolling along a colourfully-illuminated boardwalk, watching the endless procession of people from all walks of life come to enjoy the crisp night air and the incomparable allure of the ocean... so evocative and so, _SO_ well-crafted and imaginatively arranged; those effusive piano parts are particularly gorgeous, shimmering brightly over the track 💙
"Hats" is a work of beguiling artistry that you cannot help but surrender to. Simply perfect 💙
The blue Nile capture that sweet sweet melancholia, the neon lighted rain soaked streets. No one did it this well. Deathless music. I'm forever grateful
Absolutely beautiful. ❤️
Right. This is in a class by itself. Nothing else like it. Amazing.
Yes. Indeed.
@Household A pair of rain-soaked wellingtons next to an melting ice cream cone. yeah i get it
😂
I went to school in Glasgow in the late 80s and this record is the soundtrack to those days. It truly is one of the greatest recordings of all time full of memories, heartache, early morning train rides, the neon jungle that is Glasgow, melancholy of lost time and sweet sweet reminiscing. If I could only listen to ONE record for the rest of all time it would be "HATS", no question,
Lucozade sodium streetlights reflected on tarmac at night. A wee cigarette at the bus stop.
You are blessed to have those associations.
Exactly My Thoughts Too.
Thank you for sharing this. Amazing imagery.
Annie Lennox inspirated, Famoulous Choice ❤
This is the song that helped me understand what cathartic meant. It taught me that when sorrow & sadness come along in your life, you have to find a way to embrace it, understand that what you are going through is temporary & that you'll emerge a stronger, better person with a greater empathy to others around you. Hats got me through my divorce & I thank TBN for it...
❤
Ladies and gentlemen, you've found it. It's a long lost thing called MUSIC!
"Gimmebackmyalcohol!"
The entire album is stunningly beautiful.
It elevates downbeat to stratospheric levels.
It would have been wonderful if they had done a live orchestral concert of the entire LP.
I can only imagine the grandeur.
Good Night
Once you lived the 80s you stay there forever. 💓
Caveat: the REAL 80s - not the candy pink and bubblegum of the mainstream, Stock Aitken and Waterman toon factory. There's a good reason The Blue Nile weren't chart toppers - it boils down to sophistication. Like today with the Swifties, most people lack sophistication and are happy to take all the gruel they can eat.
EVEN BETTER, if you had the 70's to introduce you to the 80's & did'nt chew chewing gum ? .
I bought this album in 1989 when I was only 14. Used to play it almost every morning on my walks to school. Love Downtown Lights and the other tracks. But when this came on I get a boost of beautiful energy tingling all over. Even now at 43, the feeling remains. Such a beautiful song. 😍
Where in the you world were you at 14?
Just a warm glow through my body everytime I hear this tune!
First listen to it, so heartfelt and sincere. Agreed!
@@maremagnus Haha! Just a kid in Westchester County( Mount Vernon), NY at that time. 🥰
@@davidpaterson778 Agreed! Still get the tingles! 🥰
Kind of a melancholy Sinatra with synths, Saw them in Manchester in 1990 and grown men were in tears.
Recently got this album for my car - long, late night drives are surreal. Excellent band!
They are so sophisticated!
Absolutely stunning. The best Scottish group ever used to take Shrooms and imagine flying across Glasgow on rainy night. Getting goosebumps thinking about it." Only love is alive, only love will survive."
Scotland.. Cocteau twins..Aztec camera.. altered images..I had wonderful time.. Glasgow!!!!!
Nearly 30 years old - absolute magic - to be treasured forever
Do we miss the 80's?
@@diegoharkenbusch5904 Hell, I wasn't even alive in the 80s and I miss them!
@@3ZX8Ball nice post..made me smile..I was 13 in 1980 so I had a great time..
@@blacksaltire6954 :))
Well said.
No matter when I listen to this cd, it’s as brilliant as the day it was released, I absolutely love it. ❤️
Que sonido tan fino y delicado 🥹
One of the greatest bands of all time.
Melancholic and gloriously uplifting at the same time. Tranforming and life affirming LP.
I used to stress out because music nowadays will never hit like this, but now I’m just grateful that we have TBN to listen to whenever we feel like it. That alone is good enough for me to enjoy life!
No band comes close to the emotional highs this band gives, so proud of my fellow Scots. Wha's like us!! 🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴💙💙💙💙
You don't hate be Scottish to love this band, I'm Scouse but had a Scottish Grandad, love it all the same
Top band. Love em❤
The Scots have punched WELL above their weight in contemporary music for the last 50 years. Wish I was more than about 20% Scottish - I'd have it all. For a country that produced the horror of bagpipes, the Scots are next level in soul. And yes, this is SOUL.
Who else deserve to be in this company? Prefub Sproud, Roxy Music, New Order, Steely Dan, The Blue Nile, The Divine Comedy...
I'd add Talk Talk to that club
Elbow
Byrds
Cocteau twins for sure
Hasn't lost any of it's beauty. Truly stunning
I bought this album because Chris Roberts from Melody Maker gave it a knock out review. He raved. It was quite contrary to a lot of the stuff he was in to at the time, so it was intriguing.
I bought it blind (not having heard a not of music), on cassette.
It was quite a leap at the time, because I had some very bad tinnitus. The music was soothing enough for me to be able to play it, to lull me to sleep. I remember the odd snare jarring. But my other 'tapes' would just wreck my head. 'Hats' was a remedy for my ailment.
Slowly I got better. Listening to this album almost every night. It was almost like a drug. I mean something that makes you better. It was.
I did get better. And I ended up seeing them in London performing live. It blew my mind that they played live but gave such a perfect rendition of the record. No mean feat.
I then bought their other album "A Walk across the Rooftops". Sublime. No wonder Peter Gabriel championed them.
What is there to say?
Songs for births of your children. Songs for the deaths of your parents. And dare I say it, songs for the deaths of your children and your siblings. They go to places where very few musical artists go. They do deeper without being intrusive.
I'll stop there.
Chris Roberts' words have obviously rubbed off on me in a big way. Thanks for introducing me to the band, anyway. They weren't a disappointment.
I also saw them on that Scottish show 'Halfway to Paradise' with them playing with the Revox on the stage with them. I think. Bit of a blur now.
But the music is stronger and better than ever. Calum Malcolm is a genius.
Chris Roberts has always been my favourite music journalist. His use of the English language to put into words what , frankly, no other music writer could, was beyond compare.
Chris Roberts' and 123ubuntu666 reviews are class in my eyes! :)
A wonderful review of Blue Nile,a band from my home town,they have been criminally neglected by the main stream music industry,I still champion their music wherever I go and to whomever I meet.💙💙💙
Phil Collins a big fan too.
Because I hated the cover I avoided the album for years. For years. Eventually, the 5* reviews, and after discovering Roxy Music's More Than This and Talk Talk, I thought I'd give it a go. It's one of the best albums I've ever heard. It's everything I wanted. Neon lighted, rain drenched sweet sweet melancholia. Thank you for making and sharing this music. You can't possibly know what it means to us. Me. Hope. This is hope.
@d Exactly how this whole album feels to me. "your beloved leaning on your shoulder and breathing softly." A lovely friend introduced me to this song and in turn album/band. Its just gorgeous!! The whole album just covers me in comfort, even though I'm single it brings that feeling (and in a good way!) of having your loved ones warmth. Love that its not just me feeling that :) Gorgeous album and one I'll never stop listening to.
Was the cover performed by the wonderful Annie Lennox - I say shes wonderful, shes awful when she covered The Blue Nile - sorry Annie :(
@@zoraz4867 oh, I thought he didn’t like the cool blue Hats album cover. 😂🙄
No I'm talking about the album cover, the artwork 😁
I get it…it reminds me of Freddie Krueger.
Good lord this music is good. Everything the Blue Nile does is like pop perfection. So beautiful.
Close your eyes, can't you see
Only love will survive, yeah
Headlights on the parade
*
Tops
The Blue Nile is so good at building momentum in their songs towards some kind of catharsis. That is extremely hard to do. All bands strive for it but this succeeds in spades!!!
Have you heard of The Boxer Rebellion? Their build ups to the majority of their tracks are 😍😍😍😍 Search up their album Union for starters and just take a listen.... gorgeous band! Or if you want a corker, listen to Diamonds first! You're very welcome :) :)
@@zoraz4867 Thank you! I will :)
@@mattbeasley1311 yay. Please let me know how you get on? 😊 😊
@@zoraz4867 They never did let you know, did they…
Melancholy, yet stately. Bliss...
A continuous flow of rapturous affirmation about this wonderful album.Music of a timeless beauty by the Blue Nile.
So many layers in this masterpiece, but not least of all are the sensuous goth undertones.
First BN song i ever heard. it changed my life
So Good
Sublime.
A Classic.
Solo para conocedores!! Temas del recuerdo cómo no habrá más!!gracias x dejarlo a nuestro alcance!!
My all time favourite track. Just superb.
Tears of joy just well up in my eyes when I hear this track!
This band is like a bottle of your finest wine.
You've expressed the essential meaning of The Blue Nile in 10 words - tremendous analogy. Age, distillation and rarity in 4 bottles if you want to extend the analogy to how many albums they produced. And I'm happy they did things that way. It all makes sense now, but didn't at the time. On the other hand, bands like the Rolling Stones produced crates of stuff but apart from the early years.. it's just stuff.
@@shaunoakford9272 I'll take a toast on that. Sante!
Wonderful and soulful, takes you to another world, a better one with different people who are warm and have hearts
Now how can you make that sound so busy but yet so chilled. ▪️
I hope being alive for many years just to listen to TBN. Love you Paul. ♥️
MARAVILLA DE CANCIÓN, COMO DECIMOS EN MÉXICO "UNA CHINGONERÍA" 👌👍✌
Es un rolota hermano! Saludos desde México igual!
Damn. This whole album is massively the feeling rn.
Beautiful song...fantastic band!
Perfection for the rain. ❤
a top notch score on this one ...
I love this song. Greetings from México. The live version from Tenessee is just pure magic!
Sublime
painting musical landscapes.
Like a punch in the guts followed by the cuddle you've needed forever.
God i had this CD when it first came out. I had forgotten all about it and here it is!
An absolute awesome track
I'm back with some killer headphones.
Don't know how Paul does it but every song is just pure magic! 🥰 Eternally grateful to the gorgeous Jim for recommending this track and there my love bloomed for this band 🥰
@d R that's true (although he's not"just the singer").
Brilliant
The best
a thing of beauty....
Fantastic song.
Masterpiece
TBN and Paul Buchanan - genius!
A great song - by any standard.
Sublime!!
Die Besten. Für immer
From then to now ❤
Just love it... makes me reminisce
Paul where are you we need some new music we miss this so much
On a beau adorer la musique des 90's et en découvrir tous les jours !
Fantabulous!!!!!
Brilliant album! Looking to buy on vinyl. Fantastic music.
Have you tried eBay my friend? I recently found a Deluxe format of the Peace at Last album just for the song "There was a girl." Fantastic price in mint condition...felt as if had won the lottery!
Good luck with your mission 😉
Forever 💙
Wish had got to know this guy, my favourie band, hey i would have loved this guy so so much so much, with all my heart ♥
Maravilhoso!!
Lindo demais essa canção!
The tune album etc is amazing... but the song writing is away beyond good
Music of ❤ Forever ❤❤
Glorious....❤️❤️❤️👍😎
02:30 💥💥💥 I love you explodes! Gorgeous!
Reminisce is the key word ♡
A great song - Headlights on the Parade
0:04 that short bit always tricks me into thinking a samsung phone is ringing nearby because a few of the notes sound somewhat similar to "over the horizon"
fly little angel
Gorgeous... 😊
Just listened to 3 tracks, sounds like one ongoing song, good textures though, liked them back in the late 90s it was a good comment on the times, full of anxiety and chronic perplexity, great stuff lads.
Greater Song,My Love Kuikyui❤
This is Glasgow !
Paul Buchanan is a great tenor
wish they would play some concerts every once in a while last saw them as paul buchanan and friends
The Beloved did a remix of this - I'm still trying to find it.
I love the House mix on their Sun Rising track...
Os adoro desde siempre ;)
God,My Godness ❤
💖
ouh yeah
And if in love she cried.
I meant The Blue Nile. ORIGINAL!...Xx
Has anyone else notice how similar Kiss of Life by Sade sounds like this? I’ve never seen comparisons to the two and it feels so similar lol
.....💙💎....
Why does no one like the Blue Nile?
I think some people will reject them because its too earnest, too heartfelt and many have buried that part of themselves to survive this cruel and callous world. I think most of the people here leaving comments share a quality... an appreciation for undying romance, a love of love and pain and we cling to these things ferociously. Thats why we come back after decades... to listen and appreciate this aspect in others and ourselves.
@d R uncalled for and not in the spirit of The Blue Nile.
@@scientifico i think they are one of the best bands in the world no bs .
Just Listen 😶
sounds like something on rnag
Ethereal...
iloyu
If you listen to it on 1.5 speed it's not as good 🤦🏼♀️ oops
No it's not a song about head lice, silly.