January 25, 2018, marks the 5th anniversary of the release of Blue’s album Roulette, which was their first album in 10 years, in the United Kingdom. The boys of Blue took on an experimental approach to the record.
The music overall of Roulette was fantastic. However, I preferred more the pop music than the “dance” music, which reminded me of the late 90s/early 2000s. Mixing different musical genres is impressive.
The subject matter covered mainly of heartbreak, but also love. The songs about heartbreak are the following: Hurt Lovers, Without You, Black Box, Broken, and Heart on My Sleeve. The song Without You is fantastic. The beat goes from slow to a fast tempo, then back to slow. The voices of each of the boys of the Blue compliment each other nicely, especially towards the end of the song. Antony & Duncan each sing a verse with incredible rhythm, then Lee’s very soft voice leads into the chorus perfectly. Simon’s voice singing the chorus and the third verse is impressive. It’s also like that with the song Broken, with one exception, which is Lee singing the third stanza, instead of Simon. I love the ballads of this album; they’re beautiful.Hurt Lovers and Broken are my favourite ballads.
The song Break My Heart is my favourite song about heartbreak because it’s a mix of emotions, like sadness, anger, end even confusion. Feelings that many people feel following a break-up.
Black Box is another favourite of mine.
The songs about love are Risk it All, Paradise, and All I Need. Risk it All is a song that talks about how one risks everything for love. It expresses how many of us feel when we fall in love. Paradise has Summer beat that many of us enjoy, especially during the cold months of Winter.
The songs with an experimental style of music are Ayo, We’ve Got Tonight, All I Need, Heart on My Sleeve, Break You Down, Give Me A Shot, and Sing for Me. “Break You Down” has an oriental-style beat to it, which is unique. The tunes that I enjoy Ayo and All I Need. These songs have a style differ from the style of Blue’s music that’s familiar to fans.
In one version of the album, there’s the song from the 2011 Eurovision competition “I Can” that I enjoy very much. It’s a song that I consider to be both about love and heartbreak.
Overall, I enjoyed listening to the Roulette album, especially when it comes to the mix of pop & dance. I hope you enjoy this record.
My favourite songs are Without You, Broken, Hurt Lovers, I Can, Risk It All, Black Box, and Break My Heart.
Side Note: There’s also the Deluxe Album, as well as the Summer Edition of Roulette. Both albums have remix versions of the best hits of this album.
