With it's rather budget constrained, Apple McIntosh-generated graphic (which truthfully, I love) adorning it's light silver sleeve, it's kind of tough to go into this one with any firm prejudices in mind. If the cover strikes you as random, you'll be happy to learn that Kalamazoo, Michigan's
Blue Spots didn't have much of a fixed modus operandi either - except perhaps to score a record contract. Per an archived 1983 article in the
Kalamazoo News, the trio essentially regarded what would be their lone LP as a glorified demo to field to prospective labels. In the same article, the band indicates they were definitely
not angling for the Top 40 market. To their advantage, virtually nothing here remotely resembles a hit, rather the Spots run through a pastiche of styles and tempos yielding a dozen spartan, homegrown tunes with nods to new wave/art rock to more conventional fare. Never quite seizing on a definitive sound, coupled with a charming, amateurish aptitude, not everything they flung onto the canvass made an impression, but the overarching impression I'm left with is that these chaps functioned most effectively in relatively concise confines. The punky "Two Fools" is a nervy and appealing 85-second delight, as are other short 'n sweet morsels "Don't" and "Time Out." Blue Spots' modest chops were a work in progress to say the least, and probably more by sheer coincidence than intention, they would have slotted in appropriately with the late '70s Cleveland and Akron, OH art/proto-punk circuits. I wouldn't expect anything visionary from this record, but I can't help but wonder what they would have come up with had they stuck it out for another album or two, and more importantly, developed a stronger sonic acumen. There's little info to be had on Blue Spots, so you're more than welcome to enlighten me.
01. See Her in the Sun
02. Don't
03. I Always Miss
04. Experiment That Failed
05. I Wanna Be With You
06. Life in the City
07. Girl
08. Two Fools
09. Rock 'n Roll's Ok
10. Industrial Waste
11. This Girl is Mine
12. Time Out
Hear
8 comments:
Thanks for this rare and very expensive LP. Josef, Austria
Yeah, it took a couple years of hunting to to find a reasonably priced copy of this one.
This is a much more favorable review than the LP got in the local zine 'Free Beer Press'. Blue Spots opened for The Shoes, went through a few more bass and guitar players, and spent the rest of their days playing small venues and parties in the area.
I lived in the same house as Mine Rooke my senior year in college at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo Michigan. Mike at that time was with the band Skin with Scott Pike from
Plainwell currently known as Nitrostar on SoundCloud recording all origionals. Mike was from the Detroit area. Mike was a very talented musician. Mike was kind & funny! We were “family” that year. The girls upstairs & the band downstairs. I understand he lost his life in a house fire in Clearwater Florida. I never saw him again after I graduated, left the house & moved out of state. I do have the Blue Spot album & many wonderful memories of our year at The Skin House!!
Did you know them in Kalamazoo?
How did you hear about them?
How did you find out about them?
I joined the band on guitar a few months after the record was released. Sorry to hear about Mike. He was a talented songwriter.
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