While the Bluetone Roses moniker that was hoisted on them did an enormous disservice to the much superior Manchester band with King Monkey at the helm, this Mark Morris led project had initially, at least, some worth. Their first 3 singles ‘Are You Blue Or Are You Blind’, ‘Bluetonic’ and ‘Slight Return’ were fabulous examples of jangling pop, but sadly the bands albums were lumpen affairs that illustrated a remarkably limited potential. Funny then that one of their greatest tunes, ‘Castle Rock’, should be a b-side on the ‘Cut Some Rug’ single. Things don’t start out too promising as the guitars plod along aimlessly but out of the blue some dandy riffs fly about and Morris sends a shudderingly melodic vocal to the base of your spine. It’s all over in a blink of an eye but then spontaneous joy generally is. While the Bluetones are unlikely to fill little more than a footnote in the annals of indie history they have several recordings that they can be proud of. KD
The Bluetones – Castle Rock
Album: Cut Some Rug EP
Year: 1996
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