Um... I don't know why I'm here. So I'm just going to back to the main page now.

Redhead (Even Though I Would Rather Have a Blonde)

Overall Album Score: 6.9 out of 10

And, here we have a perfect example of pretty ordinary, modern-day alternative pop-rock. (A genre, which I am not at all educated in at this point.) It's basically nothing we haven't heard before be it in popular movies or in grocery stores or in commercials ... quite unambitious stuff.

The principle mover behind this album is Bleu McAuley, who as I understand it is based in Boston ... and I also hear that he is a pretty big over there. Well, this McAuley fella was able to cut an album in the year 2000 called Headroom and the same year an eccentric Christmas album called A Bing Bang Holidang. I have heard neither of these albums, nor do I really have any intention of scouting them out and purchasing them. (I'm reviewing Redhead simply because I chose it out of random at "Music Rhapsody.") That is, unless somebody wants to give me these albums! I'm always willing to accept kind gifts!

I'm glad I randomly chose this album out of everything else. (Unlike what I'm always apt of doing during my "random-cises," I would sometimes "randomly" pick something and then decide that I don't like it and "randomly" pick something else. No. This was a genuine "random" pick!) And it's oftentimes entertaining. Bleu basically surprised me with two very strong tracks on here. "We'll Do it Again" is just an inspired track that I'm sure any rocker would be envious of. Also "Searching For Satellites" is one of those songs that actually makes me stop and listen to the lyrics. (Something that doesn't happen too often.)

Well, as I understand it, Bleu originally cut this album sometime in 2002. Apparently, the song "Somebody Else," attracted the attention of whomever was choosing the soundtrack to what would become the ultra-popular blockbuster "Spiderman." (Isn't Spiderman a "redhead?" That's kinda funny!) Well ... I'm sure many losers bought the soundtrack to Spiderman. (It's a very good movie ... I don't remember the soundtrack being anything to die for, however.) And so Columbia let this blue feller give Redhead the mainstream treatment, and released this incarnation in February of 2003. More exactly, some tracks were taken off of the original Redhead and some new ones were added to this one. I have no idea if any of them were re-recorded. I assume not.

Well! I've basically told you that I like the album, and I was glad that I chose to listen to it, but I haven't told you exactly *what* I like about it. Essentially, this Bleu McAuley fella has some talented songwriting abilities. The first five or six songs are very strong. (And, ironically enough, the Spiderman song isn't even among the album's best tracks.) There are a few tracks that aren't too great, most notably that bloated 13-minute album-closer ... and there are a few other iffy tracks. Nevertheless, I've listened to uberly-great selling albums (*cou-TRUEBLUEBYMADONNA-gh*) that are more than 100 times worse than this.

So, if you're one who likes to keep up with the music of current (and I'm tryin'), then I would like to show you THIS way. I think this Bleu character has a lot of potential into growing into a significant figure in the music industry. He's just got to get away from this mainstream mentality! Stop following the trends! Because the trends suck! INNOVATE!

Overall Album Score: 6.9 out of 10 (The album houses two great tracks. However, the overall score is anchored down by the presence of too many feebler efforts and too much trend-following. Just because we're in the third millennium doesn't mean we can't be more creative.)

Average Song Score: 7.1 (There are two excellent songs in here, and there a few more worthwhile numbers. The rest are either too boring or they concentrate too much on being mainstream.)

Album Tilt: 7.0 (There was a lot of good work put into this album. There are a lot of moments that have me going "BLAH," but apart from the final track, there's not one spot that *totally* flops.)

Artist Rating: 6.5 (This isn't artistic. This isn't ambitious. It's isn't particularly innovative. If Bleu continues to crank out albums like this, they're never going to be remembered 10 years from now ... they're pretty obscure as it is today. Then again, Bleu McAuley exhibits some FINE songwriting skills. I hope he'll have a few more chances to cut a few more albums. He's definitely got the talent.)

Track Reviews

Get Up 8/10

The vocals are stirringly passionate, and the melody has enough hooks to keep me interested in the song. It's totally unoriginal. I can tell ya that! But who cares when the song's so decent! A strong album-opener.

I Won't Go Hollywood 9/10

It's kinda interesting that this was written before Bleu sold one of their songs to appear in Spiderman! This time, they prove they know how to incorporate a riff into their music. (That said, it's a very simple riff, and not very good.) Yet the song is fun to listen to. And, McAuley turns in another fine vocal performance.

That's When I Crash 6.5/10

Unfortunately, this song leans a bit too closely to the "mainstream pop radio" camp to me. It relies on an anthemic chorus that doesn't have any good hooks in it. The rest of the song is pretty boring, too. I'm giving it a "6.5" because I still dig Mr. McAuley's vocal performance ... and I guess I never care to notice this track when I'm listening to the album as a whole.

We'll Do it Again 10/10

Now, TOTALLY unlike "That's When I Crash," this song is not reminiscent of the mainstream pop radio. The anthemic chorus does have great hooks in it ... and even when we're not inside the chorus, we are treated with a melody that works perfectly well. The electronic symphony in the back was a perfect touch. (The song reminds me a lot of David Bowie's "Starman.") This is my favorite track in this album. No contest.

Searchin' For Satellites 9.5/10

When I was listening to this album to prepare to write this review, this song would always stick out (that is, after enjoying "We'll Do it Again.") The reason is actually because of the lyrics. (And ... lyrics normally don't stick out at me.) They really make me stop and listen to them. Of course, the musical quality of the song could have been only slightly improved. The hooks aren't as clean as would be ideal. But I don't really care. (Do you know what this song really sounds like it was done by? KLAATU! ... The background music definitely has a strong Beatles influence, and what Klaatu used to do in the late 70's was put this influence behind more modern space rockers. "Searchin' For Satellites" definitely sounds like it would be a space rocker, dunnit?) Another super song!

Could Be Worse 7/10

Not bad. The melody isn't the greatest thing ever. Another good vocal performance, of course. It's solid, but I'm not enthusiastic about it at all. It could be worse.

Watchin' You Sleep 7/10

The sort of mechanical, industrial percussion going off on the background ala Paul McCartney's "Pipes of Peace" is a bit misfired. Nevertheless, the actual melody is fairly strong, and is evident of some good songwriting skills. (He ought to do something with the Paul Meister before it's too late! That would be cool!)

Something's Gotta Give 6/10

Ooooooo... Another one that sounds too mainstream. (And ... as if "mainstream" means it sacrifices any good hooks for a "sound.") It is typical post-grunge ... It's listenable, but it's not interesting whatsoever.

Somebody Else 6/10

I'm sorry ... just because this track might have been the entire reason Columbia decided to release an album by an unknown (outside of Boston), doesn't mean I have to like it! There's TONS of better stuff on here. This is your typical post-Grunge. It's not phenomenally interesting, and the melody is a bit forced. The singing, while skillful, gets ugly ... trying, of course, to get this mainstream "sound" that for some reason current pop artists are supposed to capture.

You Know, I Know, I Know 5/10

It's slow, soulful, but it's very boring! When he sings "That don't mean dick," just gives me a shudder ... I praised the guy for coming up with a good set of lyrics for "Searching For Satellites," but here it's just in bad taste. BLAAAAAAAAAAH!

Trust Me 6.5/10

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... This makes a fairly pleasant listen. The melody doesn't sound bad ... the arranging sounds a bit stale here. A little bit boring. Hm.

3's a Charm 5/10

I'm not sure what the deal is with this song. Apparently this artist had a 21-minute version of this song on their debut. I'm not sure what he sees in it. Even at 13-minutes, it's bloated and boring. The first song can be separated into two parts. There's the explosive, rock part ... and then there's the quiet electronic part. The quiet electronic part is especially obnoxious. He uses a drum machine set to synthesizers that sounds like whale noises, and there's an annoying voice going "Tell me you love me." It's just BLAH. The explosive part is a little bit better, but it's not much more interesting. Then everything just stops. And now we get this boring arena rock crap ... they don't have very good guitar players to make this part interesting enough. Yawn. AND THEN it stops again, and we get this actually interesting retro-pop number with some interesting instrumentation. The only reason this whole song is a five is because of this ending. (It's not great ... if it were an actual separate song, it would get an 8.5.)

Have you even heard of this album? This artist? I guessed not. If you feel particularly like it, then please leave your comments about it here!

jg.sportz@verizon.net (JLG) received April 19, 2005

I actually really like bleu some of there stuff should be known cause it would work for the "pop mainstream" which is (some times unfortunatly) the only thing that is on teh radio

i really like Get Up. its upbeat with cool lyrics

All reviews are copyrighted by the author, Michael Lawrence. He thought about becoming a redhead.