Blue Is the Colour of Hope
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| Blue Is the Colour of Hope | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1992 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | Jerry Douglas | |||
| Maura O'Connell chronology | ||||
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Blue Is the Colour of Hope is an album by the Irish musician Maura O'Connell, released in 1992.[1][2] She supported the album with a North American tour that included shows with Loudon Wainwright III.[3][4] The album title comes from a line by J. D. Salinger.[5]
The album was produced by Jerry Douglas, who also played dobro and lap steel.[6][7] O'Connell considered herself a folk singer, regardless of the instrumentation on a track.[8] Most of the songs are ballads; O'Connell picked songs she liked without worrying about stylistic or thematic flow.[9][10] "It Don't Bring You" is a cover of the Mary Chapin Carpenter song.[11] "Bad News (At the Best of Times)" was written by Paul Carrack and John Wesley Harding.[12] "I Would Be Stronger Than That" is about domestic abuse.[12] Jennifer Kimball cowrote "The Blue Train".[13] Rosanne Cash, Webb Wilder, and Alison Krauss were among the backing vocalists on Blue Is the Colour of Hope.[14][15]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [16] |
| Chicago Tribune |  [12] |
| The Indianapolis Star | [17] |
| MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [18] |
| The Republican | [13] |
| The Virginian-Pilot | [9] |
The Washington Post called the album "an almost unbroken series of meditations on love and longing."[3] The Chicago Tribune stated that it "combines an easy, bluesy groove with polished production."[12] The Indianapolis Star determined that "the songs are unremittingly sad but beautiful through O'Connell's voice and sparse arrangements featuring the cream of Nashville's session players."[17]
The Los Angeles Times concluded that "O'Connell's sturdy, dignified delivery allows her to probe the hurt unstintingly and hit thrilling emotive peaks without ever sounding overwrought."[19] Rolling Stone opined that "the subtle refinements in her full-bodied vocals make her seem like cabernet in a shot-and-beer world."[20] The Advocate stated that O'Connell "ranks among the finer song stylists of her generation."[21]
AllMusic wrote that "this charmingly eclectic album may be O'Connell's best."[16]