Blue Man Group CD

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Blue Man Group CD Review: Real Rock for Hardcore and Casual Fans

When Blue Man Group announced that they would be releasing their act on CD, a lot of people weren’t really sure what to expect. After all, the music isn’t exactly what you notice most when you go to a show. It’s there, and you may notice during certain parts of the performance, but the highlight is always the things taking place on the main stage, the visual projections, and the thought-provoking sketches. Sure, more recent shows have been highlighting the music more and more, but I never would have thought that it would warrant a Blue Man Group CD.

I was wrong. Just like on their debut album Audio, with The Complex, the Blue Man Group find creative and interesting ways to re-make the rock CD format. The CD is full of fun ideas, and the music is good, too. In fact, to enjoy this Blue Man Group CD, you don’t even have to know much about the group or their performances. It’s just good rock music, pure and simple.

What makes this album work? The answer is simple: guest vocalists. While Audio was pretty good, it played a little too much to hardcore fans. The group didn’t feel that they had to spruce things up to make the Blue Man Group CD work. They just put the music from a typical show onto an album, and released it as is. The result was good, but, for casual fans, nothing to get excited about.

Complex has guest vocals from singers as wide-ranging as Dave Matthews, Rob Swift, Gavin Rossdale of ‘90s alternative rock band Bush, Tracy Bonham, and Annette Stream. All of them are accomplished singers who have proven in their own work that they have the chops to sell muscular rock and pop songs through their singing, and that’s what they do here.

For instance, Annette Stream’s take on Donna Summers’s “I Feel Love” is one of the more brilliant songs on the Blue Man Group CD, elevated with driving percussion, guitars, and a vocal that brings out all of the emotion of the song. And then there’s “Sing Along,” the Dave Matthews-sung song that is the first single off the album. The song is proof that Blue Man Group’s very own tubulum and air pole instruments are perfect as rock instruments on their own. The lyrics are well-written but simple, and the tune will stay in your head.

Personally, my favorite song on the Blue Man Group CD review is “The Current,” the Gavin Rossdale-sung throwback to ‘90s rock. And it does rock, in a real way. It’s no gimmick. The lyrics are interesting, full of deep meaning, and Rossdale clearly has feeling for the song, which comes across in his vocal.

And if you’re a hardcore BMG fan, you’ll probably also dig the instrumental numbers. “Exhibit 13” and “Hidden Mandelbrot,” the last two tracks on the album, are both touching and well-played, perfect for anyone who loves quirky rock music with hints of the avant-garde.