Blue Guitars

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Chris Rea chronology
Blue Guitars

Studio album by Chris Rea
Released	October 14, 2005
Genre	Blues
Label	Jazzee Blue
Heartbeats - Chris Rea's Greatest Hits (2005)	Blue Guitars (2005)	The Road to Hell and Back (2006)

Blue Guitars is a Blues album released by Chris Rea on October 14th 2005 consisting of eleven CDs, one DVD and a full colour book, including paintings by the artist, liner notes and song lyrics. The album is an ambitious project with the 137 songs recorded over the course of 1 1/2 years with a work schedule - according to Chris Rea himself - of twelve hours a day, seven days a week. Initially the project was inspired by Bill Wyman's "Blues Odyssey" and can be called an "odyssey" in its own right, for depicting a journey through the various epochs of Blues Music, starting at its African origins and finishing with modern-time Blues from the 60s and 70s. Subsequently the eleven CDs are titled the following: "Beginnings", "Country Blues", "Lousiana & New Orleans", "Electric Memphis Blues", "Texas Blues", "Chicago Blues", "Blues Ballads", "Gospel Soul Blues & Motown", "Celtic & Irish Blues", "Latin Blues" and "60s & 70s".

The album is the fifth and last record in a line of Blues records Chris Rea has made since recovering from a serious disease at the turn of the millennium and promising himself a return to his Bluesy roots in the event that he survived. According to Rea "Blue Guitars" will be his last solo effort; however, he will continue to release albums as a member of the band "Memphis Fireflies".

[edit] Albums

The eleven separate records which comprise "Blue Guitars" could as well stand on their own; in combination, however, they provide a journey through the different epochs of the Blues, showing the various components that have been added to the original African Blues over time, the changes in instrumentation, style, lyrical expression and thematic implications. Thereby Chris Rea and his band imitate the various styles and lyrical topics, creating an instantly recognisable atmosphere on each record, with the first few songs usually setting up the direction in which the record is going and then developing to various styles within the field of each record.