Why Be Blue?

The two-disc reissue of 1992's Ric Ocasek-produced Why Be Blue?, originally released on Break Out, appeared at the same time as Mute's similar treatment of 1988's A Way of Life. In addition to being notable for its upbeat temperament (the title isn't ironic), the album shows Alan Vega and Martin Rev at a point in their career when they were neither ahead of nor with the times. And, despite "Mujo"'s resemblance to Peaches & Herb's "Shake Your Groove Thing" — a disco reference, very out-of-place for 1992 music that wasn't house or shiny dance-pop — and the mid-'80s sophisti-pop melodic structure of "Flashy Love" (it could almost be an ABC cover), they weren't exactly behind the times. They were somewhere else entirely, if vaguely in line with the groups that continued to look to Suicide's past work for guidance. The album, remastered by Rev, is packaged with a Paris gig from 1989. More audience recordings of Suicide: groan. But take into account that most of the songs in the set never appeared on any of the studio albums, including the battering "Johnny" and a disorderly "Rock Train" (dedicated by Vega to Bruce Springsteen, this tune generates all sorts of rowdy crowd participation). Unlike the just-decent performance that comes with Mute's reissue for A Way of Life, this set would've been deserving of its own separate release.