Looking At Life Through Coloured Glasses
Bluey Maunick returns with ‘Tinted Sky’
by Kahlil Crawford
Acid jazz pioneer, ‘Bluey’ Maunick of Britfunk band Light of The World and Incognito, returns with ‘Tinted Sky’ – his third solo outing on Splash Blue. In collaboration with co-writer Richard Bull, the album is thematically constructed around “coping mechanisms” in the current era; hence spawning unchained expressions of Bluey’s creative quest to help “feed the souls of many”.
Crazy ‘Bout You starts off with a keyboard introduction that segues into punctuated high hats cascading down deep into and through the mellow funk you expect from the Incognito frontman. Simple well-crafted lyrics complement the crisp arrangements that draw you in and beg you to:
Pour into me, stay into me
Pour into me and shine
You Are The One’s disco-style guitar licks carry the listener along an agile baseline that careens through the number’s melodious chorus. Off-kilter jazz vocals narrate Bluey’s heart-filled trip through a musical courtship, pursuit of love, and freewheeling adventure:
Dance with me to Afro Blue
I’m head over heels in love with you
Had To Make You Mine continues the love theme with a groove reminiscent of the Sound of Los Angeles Records (SOLAR) – synth-laden with plucking guitar riffs, heavyweight percussion, and intricate basslines:
And the tunes kept coming
The bass lines were rolling
Vocally, Bluey sounds as if he is not only serenading a new love interest but the music as well. Either way, Bluey is clearly being ushered into a state of artistic ecstasy.
Happiness I’d never known before
Each melody would set me free…
Nobody Knows takes you back to the heyday of acid jazz with an uptempo groove, tighter-than-tight arrangements, crisp changes, uplifting lyrics, and clean harmonies shepherded to the conclusion by a sweet guitar:
Through fire, through rain, through joy and pain
We came through all the same
The lyrics could very well summarize Bluey’s long career in music, spanning well over 40 years. I’m sure he has lived the full spectrum of musical experience, yet always comes through with quality productions to appease his listeners. ‘Tinted Sky‘s’ finished arrangements and accessible lyrics provide an acoustic space for listeners to hearken the wider possibilities of love and relationships, if not broader themes surrounding human fate and existence.
