A history of the band Blue October. Reviews of their past work and why it should be your collection.
Blue October
This hard rocking band from Houston, Texas is a staple in the Austin music scene. Their concerts in Texas sellout within a day. And their fan base, fiercely loyal. This isn’t your head-banging mosh pit punk band. And it isn’t a sappy Dave Matthews college band wanna be. Blue October stands on it’s own with its own style and music.
Blue October is
Justin Furstenfeld – Vocals, Guitar
Ryan Delahoussaye – Violin
C.B. Hudson – Guitar
Matt Noveskey – Bass
Jeremy Furstenfeld – Drums
http://www.blueoctober.com
The Answers
Their first album hints of greatness. Though rough around the edges the collection of material is broad and eclectic. A lot of hardcore Blue October fans feel this is the group’s best work. Not to be missed are the songs ‘Italian radio’ and ‘Breakfast after ten’. Overall, the work from this album is best heard live where the heart of the music can be felt.
Consent to treatment
Arguably their best album. The arrangement is excellent and the music crisp and vibrant. A revamped version of Breakfast after ten leaves behind the twangy country version from the first album and brings the song into its own. From the jamming HRSA, to the hard rocking of James, and back to the hit single the melodic Balance Beam, this album carries itself well. It’s a shame it wasn’t recognized for the masterpiece it is.
History for sale
Polished and but not so poppy. Referred to by Justin as his angry album, it shines by showcasing the talents honed from the first two albums. ‘Calling you’ is the group’s first music video. It gains air-time on MTV and VH1. The biggest regret from this album was its lack of advertising. History takes off from where Consent left off. The music is crisp and the album is well rounded with catchy tunes, hard rock and softer introspective songs. Air time for the album was dominated by poppy ‘Calling you’ with snippets of the rocking ‘Razorblade’ showing up now and again. Denied was ‘Inner Glow’, a crowd favorite, and possibly could have catapulted the group into favor with critics if it had been released as a single. Missing is the bassist Matt Noveskey. On tour he was replaced with a tall blonde named Piper Dagnino .
Argue with a tree
This is the classic tour dvd/cd. This dvd/cd gives you a well rounded view of Blue October. Filmed in Dallas and Houston, the show highlights the ‘History for sale’ album. The dvd offers views into the band and the lead man Justin It also allows the fans to confess their transgressions. If you have never seen or heard Blue October before this is the one for you. It does well to present the current material as well as bring forth the songs from their two previous albums. If you look close you can see the splint on Justin’s fingers that he broke the night before during the concert in Houston.
Foiled
This album stands strong showing that the band is here to stay. Jay Leno showcased them on the Tonight show on Valentines Day. They sang the song ‘Hate me’, their first single from the album which is often misinterpreted. They were also featured on the TV show ‘Ghost whisperer’ with the song ‘Congratulations’. This album is more introspective than the past three. It also brings the return of Matt Noveskey to the band. The songs on this album have influences from all the members as well as Piper Dagnino from the ‘History for sale’ tour. This is truly a fan’s album. Though it has been criticized, the album is a master work of song writing and instrumentation.
What the fuck?!
Rolling stone/Hard rock cafe just now discovers Blue October. WTF?! Stated in a Hard Rock Cafe insert in Rolling Stone magazine, after discovering this band ‘the best gift is the eight years of music in their library’. Hollywood says, “Wow, who is this new band?” How out of touch are they? This is an indication of why the band doesn’t get the respect they deserve. The establishment is truly blind to their work and refuse to advertise it. Yet, they sell out concerts in multiple cities and are fan favorites among the college communities.
UPDATE!
After many ‘Foiled’ cd’s (Foiled Again, Foiled for the last time) and a re-release of ‘Calling You’ with a new video; the band has completed production on a new CD ‘Approaching Normal’ to be released on March 24 of 2009. The first single ‘Dirt Room’ has been released on i-Tunes and Amazon. The video has been released on Yahoo Music.
‘Dirt Room’ beckons back to an angrier side of Justin’s music simular to ‘James’ from ‘Consent to Treatment’. It bears the experience and elements from all their previous work, most notably ‘Foiled’.
Update
Approaching Normal is a natural progression from Blue October’s previous release Foiled. Approaching Normal contains elements of style that showcase why Blue October has such a large following. The first single ‘Dirt Room’ brings back to the grittier hard rock from their earlier albums like ‘The Answers’ or ‘Consent to Treatment’. Other songs contain elements from ‘History for Sale’ and ‘Foiled’. The first song on the CD ‘Weight of the World’ first appeared on their live CD/DVD ‘Argue with a Tree’ and brings the song into the context for which it was meant to be. Along with the flavors from the previous work there are many new sounds and arrangements that make ‘Approaching Normal’ a unique CD in it’s own right. It remains in my rotation and I can listen to the whole CD without disliking or getting bored with any of the music. I rate this CD better than ‘Foiled’ from the Blue October library. It is a must for a fan or a new listener alike.