I Am the Portuguese Blues

I Am the Portuguese Blues is the eighth full-length album released by Starflyer 59. With this album, the band returned to its past in multiple ways. The band's earlier albums had been characterized by loud guitars, but later albums saw the band progress to a softer sound, incorporating keyboards. I Am the Portuguese Blues saw the return of the sound from earlier albums, as the band was stripped just to Jeff Cloud on bass, Frank Lenz on drums, and Jason Martin, the only person to perform on all of Starflyer 59's albums, handling guitar and vocal duties. In addition, the album has a monochromatic cover, similar to those of Starflyer 59's first three albums (Silver, Gold, and Americana). Many of the songs on I Am the Portuguese Blues were written years earlier as demos for an album to follow Americana. They were eventually scrapped, as the band decided to take a different musical direction for The Fashion Focus. The old demos were refined and combined with several new songs for I Am the Portuguese Blues. In regards to the title of the album, Martin, the band's frontman said,

"I thought the title was odd. There are a couple of proper blues riffs‚ on there, but mainly it is just a rock and roll album – no tricks no gimmicks.... And, oh yeah, I'm Portuguese."[5]

I Am the Portuguese Blues
Studio album by Starflyer 59
Released	February 24, 2004
Recorded	2003 at The Black Hand
Genre	Alternative rock, indie rock
Length	27:27
Label	Tooth & Nail
Producer	Starflyer 59
Starflyer 59 chronology
Old Demos (2003) I Am the Portuguese Blues (2004) The Last Laurel (2004)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Christianity Today	[2]
Cross Rhythms	[3]
Jesus Freak Hideout	[4]

Track listing

All songs written by Jason Martin.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Wake Up Early"	2:53
2.	"Unlucky"	2:11
3.	"Teens in Love"	2:53
4.	"The Big Idea"	2:53
5.	"Worth of Labor"	2:48
6.	"Not Funny"	2:34
7.	"Sound on Sound"	2:34
8.	"Destiny"	2:24
9.	"No Revolution"	3:33
10.	"I Need Some Help"	2:44

Personnel

• Jason Martin – vocals, guitar, engineer, art direction
• Jeff Cloud – bass guitar
• Frank Lenz – drums
• Aaron Sprinkle – mixing
• Troy Glessner – mastering
• Brandon Ebel – executive Producer
• Kris McCaddon – art direction, design

References

1. I Am the Portuguese Blues at AllMusic
2. "I Am the Portuguese Blues". Crosswalk.com. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
3. "Review: I Am The Portuguese Blues - Starflyer 59 - Cross Rhythms". crossrhythms.co.uk. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
4. "Starflyer 59, "I Am The Portuguese Blues" Review". jesusfreakhideout.com. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
5. "I Am the Portuguese Blues press kit". Archived from the original on 29 July 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.