The Blue Jukebox

The Blue Jukebox is the twentieth studio album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 2004 by his independent record label Jazzee Blue.[1] The cover artwork is inspired by Edward Hopper's Nighthawks painting.[2] Compared to the Dancing Down the Stony Road (2002) has a smoother and jazzier take on the blues.[5]

The Blue Jukebox
Studio album by
Chris Rea
Released22 March 2004
StudioSol Studios, Berkshire
Studio Guillaume Tell, Paris[1]
GenreBlues, jazz
Length66:13
LabelJazzee Blue/Edel
ProducerKiadan Quinn
Chris Rea chronology
Hofner Blue Notes
(2003)		 The Blue Jukebox
(2004)		 Blue Guitars
(2005)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
laut.de[2]
The Press[3]
Rolling Stone[4]

Summary

It is Rea's fourth studio album released since the founding of his independent record label Jazzee Blue in 2002 and release of Dancing Down the Stony Road, with which changed his music style from rock to blues oriented after his life-saving medic operation in the early 2000s.[6][7][8] It was released with cardboard packaging, matt paper, reproduction of illustrations, and 20-page booklet.[5][1]

Reception

In The Press joint review with Eric Clapton's Me and Mr. Johnson, the album was given 5/5 stars considering it as "superb fusion of jazz and blues" in which guitar and piano are blended with saxophone among other instruments, highlighting the songs "Steel River Blues", "Restless Soul", "Long Is The Time", and "Hard Is The Road", and it is a "tribute to the influence Ry Cooder's style of guitar work" on his early career.[3] Giuliano Benassi in a 4/5 star review for laut.de considered that "the result is a mix of blues and jazz that goes well with the cover: in fact, it gives the impression of listening to an endless loop in a rainy night of a jukebox. There is no gap filler or inferior material here".[2] Music in Belgium also gave it the same score and concluded "it is an excellent CD with very dark climate. A special mention to the saxophonist who distills his masterful play throughout this album, but all the musicians are excellent".[9] Jörn Schlüter for German edition of Rolling Stone gave it 2/5 stars.[4] A reviewer of The Times commented, "The Blue Jukebox never matches, or tries to match, the raw intensity of Rea's Dancing Down the Stony Road. Instead, we get a smoother, jazzier take on the blues, although still with plenty of grit supplied by Rea's voice and his vibrant slide guitar, which slithers through."[10]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Chris Rea

  1. "The Beat Goes On" – 4:31
  2. "Long Is the Time, Hard Is the Road" – 5:27
  3. "Let's Do It" – 5:01
  4. "Let It Roll" – 4:49
  5. "Steel River Blues" – 4:34
  6. "Somebody Say Amen" – 6:22
  7. "Blue Street" – 4:48
  8. "Monday Morning" – 4:14
  9. "Restless Soul" – 5:51
  10. "What Kind of Love Is This" – 6:37
  11. "Paint My Jukebox Blue" – 4:01
  12. "Baby Don't Cry" – 5:23
  13. "Speed" – 5:05

Personnel

Musicians
  • Chris Rea – vocals, acoustic piano, slide guitar, bottleneck guitar, harmonica, electric bass
  • Robert Ahwai – rhythm guitars
  • Sylvin Marc – double bass
  • Thierry Chauvet-Peillux – drums
  • Eric Seva – saxophone

Production
  • Kiadan Quinn – producer
  • Edward McDonald – engineer, mastering
  • Richard Welland – design
  • Paul Slater – cover illustration
  • Chris Rea – inside painting
  • Juan Carlos Ferrigno – inside painting
  • Mastered at The Soundmasters (London, UK)

Charts
Chart performance for The Blue Jukebox
Chart (2004) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[11] 41
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[12] 40
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[13] 26
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[14] 32
French Albums (SNEP)[15] 133
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16] 30
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[17] 49
UK Albums (OCC)[18] 27

References
  1. "Chris Rea - The Blue Jukebox". Discogs. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  2. Giuliano Benassi (29 March 2004). "Jenseits der typischen Bluesmelancholie". laut.de (in German). LAUT AG. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  3. "Chris Rea, The Blue Jukebox (Jazzee Blue) *****; Eric Clapton, Me And Mr Johnson (Duck/Reprise) ****". The Press. 25 March 2004. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  4. Jörn Schlüter (3 April 2004). "Chris Rea – The Blue Jukebox". Rolling Stone (in German). Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  5. "Chris Rea: The Blue Jukebox". The Times. 4 April 2004. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  6. Colm O'Hare (6 April 2004). "Music Review: The Blue Jukebox". Hot Press. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  7. "Chris Rea: the road to recovery". BBC. 18 March 2004. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  8. Keith Shadwick (26 March 2004). "Chris Rea: Confessions of a blues survivor". The Independent. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  9. "Rea, Chris - The Blue Jukebox". Music in Belgium (in French). 7 July 2004. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  10. "Chris Rea: The Blue Jukebox". The Times. 4 April 2004. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  11. "Austriancharts.at – Chris Rea – The Blue Jukebox" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  12. "Ultratop.be – Chris Rea – The Blue Jukebox" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  13. "Ultratop.be – Chris Rea – The Blue Jukebox" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  14. "Dutchcharts.nl – Chris Rea – The Blue Jukebox" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  15. "Lescharts.com – Chris Rea – The Blue Jukebox". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  16. "Offiziellecharts.de – Chris Rea – The Blue Jukebox" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  17. "Swisscharts.com – Chris Rea – The Blue Jukebox". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  18. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
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