Why Be Blue

AMG Review of Why Be Blue

Andy Kellman
All Music Guide

The Ric Ocasek-produced Why Be Blue?, originally released on Break Out in 1992, is notable for its upbeat temperament (the title isn't ironic) and its display of Alan Vega and Martin Rev at a point in their career when they were neither ahead of nor with the times. 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.