Cerulean (The Ocean Blue album)

Cerulean
Studio album by
the Ocean Blue
Released1991
GenreAlternative rock, pop[1]
LabelSire
ProducerPat McCarthy, David Schelzel, Rob Minnig
The Ocean Blue chronology
The Ocean Blue
(1989) 		Cerulean
(1991) 		Beneath the Rhythm and Sound
(1993)

Cerulean is the second album by the American band the Ocean Blue, released in 1991.[2][3] They supported it by opening for the Psychedelic Furs on a North American tour.[4] "Ballerina Out of Control" peaked at No. 3 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart.[5]

Production

The album was produced by Pat McCarthy and bandmembers David Schelzel and Rob Minnig.[6] The Ocean Blue were more interested in producing an album that sounded of a piece rather than worrying about how well singles would do.[7] The majority of the keyboard parts were played by Minnig.[8] "The Planetarium Scene" alludes to a passage from the Book of Psalms.[9] "Falling Through the Ice" is an instrumental.[10]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Daily Illini[11]
The Macon Telegraph[12]
The Philadelphia Inquirer[13]
St. Petersburg Times[14]
Syracuse Herald-Journal[15]
York Daily Record[16]

The St. Petersburg Times opined, "Although it may be a botched attempt at moving in a more acoustic direction, Cerulean is a complete disaster, and unravels all the promise that the Ocean Blue originally showed."[14] The Washington Post noted that "the quartet's cocktail-lounge rhythms and its interest in colors, flowers and mutability ... suggest a strong kinship with its trans-Atlantic peers... Like the products of most of those bands, Cerulean is pleasant but a bit too wispy for its own good."[17] Dave Eggers, in The Daily Illini, said that the lyrics "are delicate, poetic and small-scaled."[11] The York Daily Record concluded that, "as with a lot of alternative bands these days ... the Ocean Blue [have] tapped the sound of alternative rock without tapping any of the depth or sense of experimentation that made this music just that—an alternative."[16] The Morning Call listed Cerulean as one of the worst albums of 1991.[18]

In 1999, the Portland Press Herald included the album on its list of the 90 "best CDs of the '90s that no one heard".[19] In 2024, the Star Tribune noted that the music "fell in with the more mopey, lusher, prettier brand of pre-Nirvana alternative rock led by groups like the Cure, New Order, the Church and fellow Sire label mates Echo & the Bunnymen."[20]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Breezing Up" 
2."Cerulean" 
3."Marigold" 
4."A Separate Reality" 
5."Mercury" 
6."Questions of Travel" 
7."When Life Was Easy" 
8."The Planetarium Scene" 
9."Falling Through the Ice" 
10."Ballerina Out of Control" 
11."Hurricane Amore" 
12."I've Sung One Too Many Songs for a Crowd That Didn't Want to Hear" 

References

  1. ^ a b "Cerulean Review by Nitsuh Abebe". AllMusic. Retrieved November 23, 2025.
  2. ^ Abbott, Jim (October 25, 1991). "On Nov. 23...". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 2.
  3. ^ McBreen, Linda (June 13, 1993). "The Ocean Blue Is Playing at the Ocean Front Tonight". Carolina Coast. The Virginian-Pilot. p. 9.
  4. ^ Aparicio, Nestor (October 17, 1991). "The Ocean Blue can't shake the British-band comparisons". The Evening Sun. p. C7.
  5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Joel Whitburn's Rock Tracks: Mainstream Rock 1981-2002: Modern Rock, 1988-2002. Record Research. p. 230.
  6. ^ George, Jim (October 28, 1991). "Group Open-Minded with Second Album". The Latrobe Bulletin. Vol. 89, no. 263. Reading Eagle. p. 20.
  7. ^ Kim, Jae-Ha (November 10, 1991). "Don't let the Ocean Blue accents fool you". Show. Chicago Sun-Times. p. 2.
  8. ^ Ferguson, Jon (June 9, 1995). "The Ocean Blue is back from the buzz". Happenings. Intelligencer Journal. p. 7.
  9. ^ Powell, Mark Allan (2002). Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music. Hendrickson Publishers. p. 645.
  10. ^ Welch, Norman (January 15, 1992). "Sound Alternatives". Break. The Charlotte Observer. p. 12.
  11. ^ a b Eggers, Dave (September 20, 1991). "Tunes". Diversions. The Daily Illini. p. 7.
  12. ^ Mueller, Paul (December 20, 1991). "Music reviews". The Macon Telegraph. p. 8D.
  13. ^ Macklin, William R. (October 24, 1991). "Pop". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 10D.
  14. ^ a b Riccio, Richard (December 20, 1991). "Seasick by the Ocean". Weekend. St. Petersburg Times. p. 20.
  15. ^ Kane, Dan (October 13, 1991). "Ocean Blue sounds great". Stars. Syracuse Herald-Journal. p. 26.
  16. ^ a b Maher, Timothy J. (October 11, 1991). "Record Review". Magazine. York Daily Record. p. 2.
  17. ^ Jenkins, Mark (January 17, 1992). "The Ocean Blue: Beautiful, Not Deep". Weekend. The Washington Post. p. 12.
  18. ^ "Worst". The Morning Call. December 27, 1991. p. D2.
  19. ^ "CDs: By unpopular demand, here are 90 (or so) of the best you may not have heard". Portland Press Herald. December 26, 1999. p. 1E.
  20. ^ Riemenschneider, Chris (January 24, 2024). "Ocean Blue is back: Frontman David Schelzel found a new rhythm after moving to Minnesota". Star Tribune. p. E1.
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