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Stephen Bishop : Blue Guitars
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This album was Produced by Andrew Gold and features guest artists Michael McDonald, David Crosby, Carnie and Wendy Wilson and Pia Zadora..A wide variety of styles and unique types of songs..ranging from the Islandish, "King of Tonga" to the somber, "Ita
Genre: Pop: California Pop
Release Date: 1996
Blue Guitars
Stephen Bishop
Record Label: STEPHEN BISHOP
  • Buy CD - $19.99

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Preview Song Name Time Buy
1. I Go Numb 4:12 Album Only
2. Dive Into the Pool of Love 4:14 Album Only
3. On Blonde Street 5:02 Album Only
4. When You Love Somebody 4:33 Album Only
5. (just Like) Romeo and Juliet 3:24 Album Only
6. Wall Around Your Heart 5:44 Album Only
7. The King of Tonga 3:58 Album Only
8. Picasso Played a Blue Guitar 4:33 Album Only
9. Italian Rain 4:29 Album Only
10. Let Your Heart Remember 4:19 Album Only
11. When Love Was Grand 3:37 Album Only
12. Separate Lives 4:24 Album Only
13. R's Theme 1:58 Album Only
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Album Notes

At the age of thirteen, Stephen Bishop found himself at a crossroads. A
clarinetist with hopes of becoming a History teacher, he was forever changed after watching the Beatles one night on "The Ed Sullivan Show." He convinced his brother to buy him an electric guitar. He bought a "Mel Bay" chordbook and began to learn to play guitar and make up chords as well, writing his first song,"Surf's Turf.." a pathetic sounding intrumental. He formed a band called, "The Weeds" and began to play at local faternity parties incorporating his own original songs with various songs from top 40...

The Weeds won 2nd place at the Claremont Battle of the Bands, prompting one of the judges to explaim that "Stephen Bishop is going to be a big songwriter someday!" Determined to fullfill that prophesy, Stephen made the trip to Los Angeles. He walked the streets with his $12 acoustic guitar, playing songs for various publishers in Hollywood... eventually landing a publishing deal at $50 a week for E.H.Morris Publishing. One of his songs was recorded only to be followed by a long wait...many years went by. At one point, Stephen considered leaving L.A. to return home and work for his Dad's Insurance company. Through a good friend, Art Garfunkel heard some of his new songs and recorded two of them on his Gold recording, "Breakaway."

He started playing around town singing his songs in person for artists like,
"Barbra Streisand...Bette Midler..Diana Ross...Michelle Phillips..."
Shortly thereafter, he was signed to ABC Records who released his first album, "Careless." His two hits from that album were,"Save It For a Rainy Day," and "On and On.." Soon the album went gold, as well as his next album, Bish.

He sang the hit theme, "It Might Be You," from the movie, "Tootsie," as well as writing and/or singing 13 other films including, "Animal House," and "Separate Lives.." from "White Nights." His songs have been sung by artists such as: Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, Barbra Streisand, Art Garfunkel, Steve Perry, Stephanie Mills, Kenny Loggins, Johnny Mathis, Phoebe Snow, David Crosby, The Four Tops, Aswad and Pavarotti.

Stephen was nominated for two Grammy's and awarded an Oscar nomination for his song, "Separate Lives". His last CD was entitled, "Blue Guitars.." His newest album is an acoustic guitar and vocal solo album called, "YARDWORK." MCA recently released a hit compilation in the Millenium series that is currently out in the stores...Soon he will be releasing his third "best of album," entitled, "MAKE IT LAST...THE HITS OF STEPHEN BISHOP," containing three new songs produced by Peter Bunetta including many movie themes Bishop has performed. He recently
landed a song of his in the new Jack Nicholson film, "Anger Management,"...

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REVIEWS

author: Thomas Lehn
                            
I tried in vain to get hold of this cd, CD Baby made  it possible for me to have it in my hands and listen to it. Thank you. I hope that his early recordings which I am proud to possess as lp's, will get a cd release through CD Baby.

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I absolutely love this CD!!! Awesome!
author: debbie
                            
I don't know how I could have possibly missed purchasing Blue Guitars 10 years ago, but I did.  And thanks to CD Baby I was still able to purchase it and at a reasonable price.  I absolutely love it and can't stop listening to it!!!  Besides Careless and Bish this is my favorite Stephen Bishop CD.  Thank you!!!

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One Of The Best Of Stephens Career!
author: Frank Lahey - Record Production Weekly #23
                            
I first heard this version as an export from Japan, and later he put out a slightly different version, though it wasn't quite as good as the original. If you try and get the now hard to find Japanese version, you won't be let down. Produced by Singer Songwriter Producer Player, Engineer Andrew Gold, this album is just about my favorite record of that year (I think 1996). The production and imagination highlights Stephen's songs and voice in such a way that only another great and undersung hero of the 70's, Mr. Gold, could. It is nothing short of magnificent, musically and lyrically,, and is one of the great "unheard" masterpieces of recent memory, up there with the late great Kevin Gilbert, and some of Andrew gold's own recent great works. This is the kind of record that makes one mad at today's music scene with it's monotonous talking and lame writing. This is the CRAFT at it's finest, and is right up there with my favorite of Mr. Bishop's albums, "Careless" . Has to be the full 5 stars from me. The only other artists doing such great work THESE days would be Imogene Heap, Andrew Gold, as mentioned, and Bjork. Don't let his 70's soggy soft pop rep put you off - this is beautiful album making, and my only misgiving is how few have heard this or Mr. Gold's post 70's work. They are both great and deserve a world that appreciates them more than it does. Keep it goin, Bish, indeed. Having heard a recent new and further collaboration between these two (Fiddlers Green - Fear Of Massage) it is confirmed. We are in the presence of the real thing here, not heard for way too long. Man, if I was ruler of the universe....these guys would be considered right up with Brian Wilson, and John and Paul, talent wise. Buy the record. Just do it. It's worth the price if only for the haunting "Picasso Played A Blue Guitar", the achingly tragic "Italian Rain", and the stunning "I Go Numb".

F. Lahey. R.P. Weekly (issue #23, July 06)

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The old boy ain't lost it!
author: R. Payatt
                            
Bish is back in the saddle with his usual mix of the romantic and the wacky.  Not a let down at all.  Keep it coming, dude.

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