Mike Blue is someone who reminds me of a musical comet, in that he regularly drops into our conscious and then seemingly disappears again, having left traces of universal musical magic for us to feast on. And with Battles We Have Won, he again blazes his creativity across the cultural firmament for all to see.
And what a vision! I have always considered the mercurial Mr Blue as being somewhat of a song-writing talent, but with this release, he as seriously dialled it up a couple of notches. After a slow atmospheric opening, Mike Blue’s rich baritone enters and dominates the sound stage.
To be fair, the arrangement of the song is excellent, with a lovely insistent riff played by guitar and violin in tandem. It also helps when you have a highly talented ensemble of musicians helping to put musical meat on the creative bone. The way the arrangement shifts at various points manages you to be engaged at the very first listen. Subsequent listens only endorse this initial conclusion.
Battles We Have Won was written shortly after the release of Blue’s last solo album, Dark Daze, and oozes a positivity of spirit and we all need to share right now. Mike Blue is quietly carving out a niche as a major song-writing talent in the region – and under the radar. Maybe he likes it like that – just let the music do the talking. And it does. It’s superb.
Stream Battles We Have Won now.
Steve Kinrade
