“New Shade of Blue”
Southern Pacific
Written by John McFee and Andre Pessis
Radio & Records
#1 (1 week)
October 21, 1988
Alan Jackson did a killer job delivering Bob McDill’s “Gone Country” in 1994, but if this feature is any indication, that song came along a few years too late.
Today we cover yet another act with roots in seventies soft rock that went country for a spell. Southern Pacific’s rotating lineup was initially drawn from members of the Doobie Brothers, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Elvis Presley’s TCB band. They released four albums for Warner Bros. Nashville, and were joined by luminaries like Emmylou Harris and the Beach Boys across those sets. They even put Carlene Carter on the map, as their last top thirty single, “Time’s Up,” was Carter’s first, preceding her own hitmaking run on Warner Bros. in the early nineties.
And the band did fairly well at country radio overall, with all four albums producing at least one top twenty hit. Their only No. 1 was “New Shade of Blue,” which showcases their tasteful musicianship and professional harmonies. It’s easy to understand why this was the one that went all the way, as radio listeners who adored the Eagles’ “Lyin’ Eyes” had an obvious homage to embrace.
But it also captures why they never broke through on a wider scale. Everything is done well but there’s no spark. They lack the X factor needed to sound like more than the quite competent band that they are. So we get a new Eagles record without the memorable lyrics or top tier harmonies. It’s the kind of record that sounds fine on the radio or in the background of a seventies period film that didn’t have the licensing budget to get a big hit from that era.
“New Shade of Blue” gets a B-.
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If I’ve ever in my life heard this song, I don’t recall it! The only Southern Pacific songs I can recall off the top of my head are “Anyway the Wind Blows” and “Reno Bound”. Of all the groups with some measure of sustained radio success in the second half of the 80s, Southern Pacific has to be the group whose legacy has most comprehensively disappeared into the ether. Even on the radio station I grew up with that gave recurrent airplay to 80s songs through the mid-2000s, I never once heard them play Southern Pacific beyond their initial radio run.
And it’s easy to see why for many of the reasons you cited. Their sound was pleasant, as it is here, but uninspired and derivative. They’re leaning on the Eagles’ sound about as heavily as any group I’ve come across. You mentioned “Lyin’ Eyes” but I got a big-time “Peaceful Easy Feeling” vibe. And from a sound standpoint, it all works for a pleasing record, but there just isn’t a lot there to sink your teeth in. The weak chorus really stands out for underscoring the track’s fundamental emptiness. I won’t be too critical as there’s always been a place on radio for pleasantly executed cotton candy, but I don’t think it’s worthy of a #1.
Grade: B-
…gimme the old one back, please.
Isn’t this song called “New Shade of Blue”? Shows how forgetable it really is?
I barely remember this song and local radio barely played it – the follow up “Honey I Dare You” was their only other top ten song and was far more interesting – it received a lot of air play around Central Florida and, if I recall correctly, several DJs were giving the song airplay before its official release
Country music performer and write Barry McCloud wrote in “Definitive Country”, “If they [Southern Pacific] had come along seven years later, it is almost certain that they could have become a major force. Listened to from the perspective of the middle 1990’s, they become a musical revelation.”
As a young teen, I hadn’t grown up on the music of the Doobie Brothers or Creedence Clearwater Revival. I had no connection to, or nostalgia, for that era of music.
Whereas I was seduced by the sounds of The Desert Rose Band to explore the music of west coast/California country music, I was never similarly motivated to explore the musical roots of Southern Pacific.
Despite all the musical pieces and important players being in place – despite the critical acclaim – the band just never had much of an impact on me.
“New Shade of Blue” still sounds pretty and professional today, but It does does not excite me any more now than it did back then.
Perhaps, I owe the band a closer listen to learn what all the fuss was about.