Chris Rea - Blue Guitars (+DVD/+Book) (CD 2005)

Being a long time Chris Rea fan I eagerly awaited the release of the much talked about piece of work. Seeing it on ebay (haven't seen it in the record stores) I successfully bid on the BLue Guitars boxed set. It is a beautifully produced collection of Chris Rea's slant on the blues in different parts of the world. The music is comprehensive and quite unique - some of the tracks/Cds take abit of getting used to though! The accompanying book is areal treasure and Chris Reas paintings are really enjoyable! It has made me want to acquire some of the paintings as posters for framing and display. My only criticism of the box set is to do with the CD presentation/storage. The disks (11 of them) slip into pockets in the front and back of the book. They all too easily slip out when the book is opened - quite annoying!

Bought the Hoffner Bluenotes first after hearing Chris on the radio talking about it, absolutely sublime music and very tactile and engaging package - an inspired decision to produce a book/cd/lp package, really good to be able to 'touch' the music. On the back of this I tracked down the earlier issue - Blue Guitars - a quite amazing acheivement and I have listened to nowt else for the last 3/4 weeks. Can't recommend these releases enough if you are a Rea fan or just keen on the blues/jazz. Really looking forward to the next instalment.