John Barrowman // You Raise Me Up

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Apparently it's been 3 years since John Barrowman's last release (Tonight's The Night) and now he's back with his latest release, You Raise Me Up.

Opening with Christina Perri's A Thousand Years we immediately hit a snag with the opening verse as it's too proper (ever word pronounced instead of allowing to flow) but this seems soon rectified as the song progresses. From ballad to more upbeat with Doobie Brothers Listen To The Music and this makes for a more comfortable listen. All too soon though we're back to a ballad in the form of Raise Me Up before heading into Demi Lovato's Skyscrapper which we can't make our mind up what side of the tempo is wrong, the lyrics or the melody.

Barry Manilow's Mandy is next and for fans, they already that John can deliver this as he's previously performed it live on tour. Back to upbeat track with That's Just The Way It Is (we originally know it done by Celine Dion) but all too soon we're back to ballads with Simon and Garfunkel's classic Bridge Over Troubled Water (beautifully performed we might say) and Goodbye My Friend

The Broadway classic This Is The Moment is up next and proves no difficulty for Barrowman, given his theatrical background. Back to an upbeat track with a cover of Michael Buble's Hollywood before finally closing with a classic Scottish track Loch Lomand although we do have mixed feelings over it.

Overall, we feel that there's a bit of hit and miss here with the track selection. Some work well while other just seem not to suit at all and whether this is just down to the arrangements or the songs themselves is difficult to say. For the adoring fans out there, they will probably enjoy. For us, we think the albums of cover is that comfortable jacket that's getting a little frayed. We'd love to see something a little different...like an album of original material. We'll even settle for an EP for starters.

Rating: 3/5