When we talked to Terry about which direction his new album should take we all agreed that it should be sparse recording, with hardly any other instruments than his battered guitar and a dobro. Something that sounds like his solo-shows. It was somewhat fitting that the Texas-born musician had already written a bunch of songs that dealt with a recently departed lover, which almost cried out for sublte arrangements.
Chris Eckman of the Walkabouts, who had already produced a few records, shared our soundvision and even took it a step further. The ocassional fiddle, steel or bass got cancelled and thus Terry found himself in the studio with just his guitars. The session lasted six days, the first two nothing got done due to some bad astrological karma. Day 3 and 4 were magic, though, and Terry played his record live, guitars and vocals in one take, no overdubs. Day 5 and 6 were reserved for mixing.
”The Blue Room” is Terry at his best. Just a bunch of great songs, his unusual guitar technique, a well-worn, husky voice and a warm, atmospheric production is all it needs to come up with a classic. Terry sings about a love gone wrong and one can almost feel that it tore him apart, the tears, the disappointment and the wounds that slowly heal.
Next to “Tornado Alley” (which again is highly recommended) this is Terry´s masterpiece. Cherish it.