We’re cutting it close this June, but the monthly quota will be met tonight!
Before I dive into the main focus of this post, I promised commentary on Olivia Rodrigo’s latest album. Released on the 12th of this wonderful month, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love stands as Liv Rod’s third studio album, following SOUR and GUTS. Coming from someone who stubbornly doesn’t identify with 2020s pop music, this album is exactly what this summer—and pretty much this world—needed right about now. Since Harry Styles gave us Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally. in March and Taylor Swift gave us The Life of a Showgirl last October, there seems to be a consistent theme of these pop singers heading in a more electro-pop direction. While the two albums cited above came from some spectacular artists, the albums felt lesser than they could have been and didn’t accomplish the goals I believe they set out to achieve. Nevertheless, thank goodness for Liv Rod and her ability to give us everything Harry and Taylor missed. So much so that, after the first listen, I pretty much just had the album on repeat for like a week or so.
Wikipedia has described the record as “new wave, dream pop, and ‘80s alternative,” and I couldn’t agree more. From the dreaminess of “honeybee” to the way the intro of “maggots for brains” sounds straight off an A Flock of Seagulls album, she’s curated a sound I’ve been longing for. She somehow even continues to make you feel things you never want to feel on “less” while also getting The Cure’s Robert Smith on “what’s wrong with me.” It’s like she knows about my love for The Cure’s song “Just Like Heaven” (top 5 songs ever) and their album Wish (highly recommend).
While critics claim that this is her most mature production, I think I’d back that statement. The album can get a little too energetic for me here and there, but maybe it’s what I need sometimes. We can sum this all up with a statement given by a loyal Iz FM fan:
She’s just better than Taylor at this point.
Like I know she’s the blueprint,
but Liv is legit a rockstar.
Now, the for the next album—the sole focus of the post, and what actually pushed me to get writing tonight—is Bobby “Blue” Bland’s ninth studio album, Dreamer. Released in 1974, Mr. Bobby Blue (as I like to call him) gave this world what is, in my opinion, one of the best A-sides of an album ever. Before Dreamer, I’d never even heard of Mr. Bobby Blue. A few listens to this album later, and it’s now a name I will never forget.
The internet is quite bare of reviews of Mr. Bobby Blue’s album, so I’m excited to make this dent. Let’s start at the beginning, with track 1, aka “Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City.”
And now that you’re gone
Oh, the sun don’t shine
From the city hall
To the county line
You basically know all the lyrics of the song now. They’re quite repetitive, but that’s soul & blues, isn’t it? It’s the inflections in his voice that truly deliver his pain and sorrow to anyone listening. The next song, just as heartbreaking and passion-filled, is called “I Wouldn’t Treat A Dog (The Way You Treated Me).” It’s got a great guitar riff, a nice classic organ, and his addicting voice carrying you three minutes of heartache.
We shift the vibe a little moving into track 3, “Lovin’ On Borrowed Time.” Again, he follows that pretty devastating and sad theme, but this time with more of a soft rock and groovy melody behind it. Give it 10 seconds and you’re sold. That, a bottle of wine, and the beach at sunset would be a detrimental combination.
The last song I really want to highlight is track 5, the closer of side A, “I Ain’t Gonna Be The First To Cry.”
I ain’t gonna be the lonely one
Someone will chase the clouds away
He’s moved past sad to spiteful in the most audibly beautiful way. What a great blues song. I’d say this transition into more blues-heavy rock music is a recent phenomenon for me. I started with Atlanta Rhythm Section a few years ago, moved into Dusty Springfield, got obsessed with Ace’s Five-A-Side album, fell in love with Marvin Gaye, and then somehow landed on Mr. Bobby Blue only recently. It’s been quite a ride. But there’s just something so beautiful and enticing about this passion-filled music. You can hear the emotion in every instrument and every beat.
So, give this album—that one Reddit commenter described as “my favorite blues album of all time”—a listen, and then send a nice little recommendation for my next exploration.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Seem_Pretty_Sad_for_a_Girl_So_in_Love
Iz FM 
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