I associate the dreaming spires of Oxford with Gregorian
chants and boys’ choirs. Until I heard Out of the Blue, I
was sceptical that good collegiate a cappella was to be found in
our ancient town. In America, almost every East Coast university
claims to have an a cappellatradition that stretches back fifty
or a hundred years. I’m a visiting student from Princeton,
where we are very smug about this fact and defend the antiquity
of our a cappella groups, though their age is just a flickering
moment if measured in Oxfordtime. Out of the Blue is a mere four years old. Less than a flicker.
And I should point out that for once, something in America is
older than something in England. Hearing these thirteen lads sing
though, you would have no idea that they’re new kids on the
block. Their talent and their enthusiasm (not to mention certain
pop diva tendencies) make them a formidable artistic force. Not that high art is what a cappella is about. Though
unaccompanied voice is the oldest style in Western music,
collegiate a cappella is always fresh and more about having fun
than serving the muse: Out of the Blue sway and careen when they
sing a piece. They mime the instruments whose parts they’re
singing, and there’s an occasional country western line
dance thrown in. If Out of the Blue have a sublime sense of showmanship and of
having a good time, their musical ability is no less impressive.
Members of the group do their own arrangements, and these tend to
be very ambitious with complicated harmonies and intricate
instrumental lines. A pop song becomes richer when Out of the
Blue sing it. Their repertoire ranges from pop to traditional,
though they always seem to have an eye towards boy-bandhood.
One’s heart melts at some of the soloists crooning about
broken love, but the performance never becomes the maudlin
overacting of a real boy-band. It’s not all fun and games though, they set themselves a
taxing tour schedule, have released three CDs and seem to be
making an appearance at nearly every college ball this term. By
all accounts, it’s been worth it: last year’s Spring
show sold out the Oxford Playhouse and the show this term will
most likely sell out the much larger New Theatre. In their four years of existence, Out of the Blue have become
one of Oxford’s most popular musical traditions. So who
needs an old a cappella tradition if you can just forge your own?ARCHIVE: 3rd week TT 2004
Out of the Blue: The International Men of Mystery
