Susan Boyle // Home For Christmas

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Would anyone have believed that 5 years ago that this Scot would become the sensation that she is? Yes, Home For Christmas is Boyle’s 5th album, and if you haven’t guessed from the title, there’s a bit of a Christmas theme to it.

The album opens with her current single O Come All Ye Faithful, a virtual duet with none other than the King himself, Elvis Presley and it works very well. We’re then led into a rendition of The Lord’s Prayer, beautifully orchestrated. A single drum beat with backing from The Overtones opens the classic Little Drummer Boy before building into full flair with what sounds like a military drum and bagpipes.

The beautiful I’ll Be Home For Christmas comes up next followed quickly by another duet in the form of When A Child Is Born with Jonny Mathias (and apparently, she appears on his new album performing Do You Hear What I Hear!). Strings lead us into The Christmas Song (or as some might know it, Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) before being joined by piano and just a nice a nice little addition from the drum kit.

The Greg Lake track I Believe In Father Christmas is next and has a slightly slower tempo than the original but suits Boyle’s voice before giving way to another Christmas classic in Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing presents itself as the first carol of the album with organ and backing choir.

The Christmas Waltz with what sounds like just piano and guitar is delicately portrayed (we’re thinking we could see this of Strictly Come Dancing) as too is In the Bleak Midwinter. Finally, the album is brought to a close with an original song, led in the same as with Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, titled Miracle Hymn that will feature in the upcoming film The Christmas Candle (in which Susan will make her film debut)

Overall, the album is well delivered with the arrangements of the songs suited to Boyle’s voice. Yes there’s not much here that hasn’t been heard on previous Christmas albums by other artists (minus the last track) but there is something about Boyle’s voice that makes you want to listen, even if you know the songs. A beautiful little album for the upcoming season.

Rating 5/5

Bentley Jones // The Closing Of The Year

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Ahhh…Mr Jones….it’s been a while since we’ve reviewed anything by him but his final release of the year comes as a bit of  Christmas bundle of tracks. So what’s he offering up on the latest EP.

The EP opens with Auld Lang Syne…well…Bentley’s take on it….but we’re a little disappointed. Auld Lang Syne is one of these well known songs that should not be tampered with. More to the point, he’s attempted it by singing it as a Scot would…and sorry, it doesn’t work! The title track of the EP, The Closing Of The Year is next up. Think you recognise it? Well…it comes from the soundtrack of a 21 year old film, Toys but it’s given new life through Jone’s interpretation of it.

Joni Mitchell’s River is next up, which is just vocal and piano before we’re treated to a re-mastered version of the track Joyful but the version that appeared on his last album, UPGRADE 1.0.

The next offering is 蛍の光 (or Hotaru no hikari ("Glow of a firefly"), the Japanese version of the first track (sort of. The Japanese version actually has different words and just sort of ‘borrows’ the melody), and it seems the arrangement suits better for this than the first. Finally it’s a solo version of track 2 to well…close the EP

So if we overlook track 1, it’s not a bad little offering considering it was brought together in only a few weeks. And it looks like he’s rocking a former Time Lord’s scarf in the artwork. And it’s the final release of the year. Just go a have a listen already!

Rating 4/5

Celine Dion // Loved Me Back To Life

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Loved Me Back To Life is the 11th English language album from Celine in 6 years(!). So what does she have on offer for us?

Opening with the first single & title track, it’s a little unexpected and maybe a little more modern that we’re used to hear from the French-Canadian but still has those iconic vocals. Somebody Loves Somebody in some ways reminds us a little of Goyte’s Somebody That I Used To Know. But then we get the lovely little number that is Incredible, a duet with Ne-yo and we have to say that their vocals meld beautifully.

Water and a Flame is actually a cover of a Daniel Merriweather track, and comes across as very laid back…think Adele. Breakaway gives a great showcase to Dion’s vocals and is definitely sounding like a classic with a modern twist. Save Your Soul gives a bit of funky groove to the album while Didn’t Know Love gives precedence to Dion’s vocals with a minimal instrumentation.

An injection of a delicate summer bloom comes with the track Thank You a track we’re pretty sure a number of, if not all, will relate to or want to share if they can’t find the words to say…well, thank you. Overjoyed is a duet with it’s original singer, Stevie Wonder with not much changing between the versions but still, Wonder & Dion’s vocals work well in bringing new life to the track.

Thankful is very much a Celine song with moments where her vocals soar and then produce a little intimacy of small cafe or venue. At Seventeen has a nice little acoustic guitar running through it and a nice little surprise. Always Be Your Girl is another ballad but being predominantly piano driven, the inclusion of the strings midway suit and aren’t too overpowering. Finally the album comes to close with the uptempo Unfinished Songs which in some instances leaves you wanting more but in others, is just the right ending to the album.

It’s an album of two halves; the first sees Dion trying to bring a current trend to her music whilst the second is more what people probably expect from her. The voice is still there, that’s not in question. Maybe this album is trying something new out to stay current in the frequently changing world of music whilst appealing to those that know her. It’s possibly more of a grower than an instant hit.

Rating: 4/5

Bastille // Of The Night

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Think that you recognise the current song from Bastille? We wouldn’t blame you seeing as it is a mash up of two different tracks.

Yes it’s Corona’s Rhythm of the Night and Snap’s Rhythm of the Night. We admit that it is a little odd hearing it at a slightly slowly tempo than usual. Yet for some strange reason it appears to work and brings the tracks a new life and to a new generation.

We’ve often cautious about cover versions but we have to say that this is one of those that we give a thumbs up to.

Rating: 4/5

Boyzone // Love Will Save The Day

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Wow! Have Boyzone really been around for 20 years? Would seem so. To mark this landmark (besides going on tour), they’re releasing a new album simply called, BZ20 and the first single to be lifted from it is Love Will Save The Day

We can’t help think that this track will have the audience singing along it but there’s not much else here. It’s a very generic song that basically anyone could sing and maybe that’s what they were going for but seems a shame that to start the 20 years celebrations off to release something like this.

Fans will probably enjoy and no doubt will be popular with audiences at the live shows for a sing song but feel that it may just get a little lost in the rest of the music out there right now.

Rating: 2/5

Shane Filan // You & Me

 
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Having spent the many years as part of the successful group Westlife, earlier this year, Shane Filan released his debut solo single, Everything To Me as a taste of what his solo sound would be. Now, having released his solo album, You and Me, can he shine as a solo artist.

Opening with that debut single Everything To Me it’s swiftly into About You which has an odd sense of sounding melody wise like Train’s Drop of Jupiter. Everything You Need To Know is a beautiful little ballad dedicated to his wife while Knee Deep In My Heart has a little country feel to it…actually…it could easily be James Blunt’s Stay The Night.

One Of These Days opens with a great little ukulele (they seem to be a popular instrument these days) and you can’t help want to tap your feet and clap your feet with it. Everytime has feeling that you can see the crowds swaying and singing the Ohhhhh while Always Tomorrow brings the tempo back down for a nice little guitar strong ballad. The ukulele makes a return for this more upbeat track When I Met You with what we’d call a little country violin turning up just for good measure.

Continuing with an upbeat theme is Everything’s Gonna Be Alright before it’s back to the bar stool for the beautiful ballad that is Coming Home. Baby Let’s Dance does have a hint of Uptown Girl and to be honest, we can see a 80’s theme video for it. The final two tracks we’re torn on if it’s the right order. In The End has that rousing ending feeling to it, perfect to end an album on but then we have the album title track, You and Me sort of drops down into a piano led track, that you can’t help thinking that maybe there should be more…maybe the title track would have been suited either at the start of the album or midway, not here though.

Overall, there is some sense that Filan is sort of sampling the current sound trends and making it work for him. He co-wrote all of the tracks on the album and there a mix of genre here. He has that distinctive voice and looks like he’s prepared work to gain recognition on his own terms and not off the back of his past fame.

Rating: 4/5

Little Mix // Salute

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It’s been a year since Little Mix released their debut DNA and they seem to have been everywhere, you might wonder when they had the time to record a new LP. So what is Salute?

Opening with the title track, it suitably starts with warning sirens, a burgle call and in general, a very military feel before moving into the first single offering off the album in the form of Move. From this, we move to track that samples Faure’s Pavane, but don’t worry, it’s not a classical track (they’re not the first to do it with this classical piece. S club 7 and Sweetbox did it before them!). No, Little Me is literally the girls wanting to go back and tell their younger selves to speak up. Nothing Feels Like You brings a bit of urban street carnival to the album (complete with a bit of double dutch at the start)

Towers is the first real ballad to the album and showcases the delicate side of the girls but also their harmonies. A Justin Timberlake-esque feeling comes to the album with Competitions before returning to a fragile ballad in These Four Walls constructed of emotional lyrics, piano and strings. About The Boy brings us back to the sort of sound we heard earlier in the album from Move.

Boy opens with an a capella section from the girls before heading into the third ballad on the album Good Enough. Mr Loverboy has a bit of a 90s feel to it though it reminds us of another tracks from that era who’s name escapes us. Finally, the album comes full circle with A Different Beat returning to the military sound heard back at the start with Salute.

If we were to look at DNA, it seems that it may have been a bit of trial and error whilst Salute seems to have found the girls with a sound that suits them. It gives a bit of a mature sound to the girls and in a sense, it seems to be well planed track wise. There are, as with most albums, tracks that will take time to grow, however, it feels like a solid little number from the girls

Rating 4/5

Jonathan & Charlotte // Perhaps Love

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After the release by the Syco label last year, Jonathan & Charlotte have moved (probably next door) to Sony Classical. So does this move make their latest offering, Perhaps Love build on the foundations of their debut release, Together?

The answer is...we don't really know what to make of the album. Opening with Perhaps Love, a beautiful little, string driven ballad before moving into the well known (Arms of an) Angel. In a first for this album, we have solo performances and the first comes from Jonathan in the form of Santa Lucia.

Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again from The Phantom Of The Opera gives Charlotte her first solo on the album before the pair join up again on Falling Slowly bringing us memories of their last offering to the table. Next we have the oddity that is You've Got The Love and we say oddity because it seems Charlotte doesn't know what voice to use.

Another solo excursion for Jonathan on the classic O Sole Mio that is delivered with power and passion. Another solo from Charlotte in the form of Caro Mio Ben. The classic Lionel Richie & Diana Ross duet Endless Love comes next but sadly, there is nothing here on the original.

Another solo for Jonathan in Va Pensiero, again, beautifully delivered utilising his voice once more before giving way for Charlotte's rendition of It Must Have Been Love. The last two tracks bring the pair back together though in our opinion, When A Child is Born suits more Jonathan while O Holy Night is more towards Charlotte.

As we said, we're not entirely sure what to make of this album. There are safe choices here in songs you could call traditional standards in the classical crossover genre meaning really, there's nothing new there. But sadly, the attempt to bring well known 'pop' songs over, sadly doesn't work well either, feeling at times, a bit of a train wreck, particularly with You've Got The Love.

There is a positive side to this. Sang predominantly in English this time around, we start to hear another sound from Jonathan. It's a sound of confidence not just singing in Italian, but also English. Sadly though it feels at times that Charlotte is over pronouncing words that makes it feel a little unnatural and more often, more of a pop edge to her voice. Placing both this and their debut side by side, Together is easily the better album. Something's been lost in the year between the two albums. Perhaps Love?

Rating: 2/5

Ellie Goulding // How Long Will I Love You

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It's probably considering something of an honour to be asked to sing the charity single for Children in Need and this year, it falls on Ellie Goulding.

This year's single is actually a cover version of The Waterboys song from 1990 although at a slightly slower tempo than the original. This doesn't detract from the song. In fact, at the tempo that Goulding sings it at, it suits her.

It definitely tugs at the heart strings. And it's for charity....what's not to love about it?

Rating: 4/5

Cher // I Hope You Find It

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The last time we really came across Cher she was doing the whole electronic and dance thing with Believe. But what of her latest offering in I Hope You Find It?

Well, it certainly shows her vocal abilities off and if we were looking at it just as a song, then it’s a beautiful little ballady number that wouldn’t look out of place on a soppy chick flick film. As a single…had it been released closer to the Christmas period, then yes, it might have been okay but given the current climate, it’s more likely to be left in the background unnoticed.

Rating: 3/5

Cascada // Acoustic Sessions

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If you’ve visited before, then you’ll know that our feelings for Cascada releases vary considerably! So will their latest release, Acoustic Sessions do anything for our opinion of them? Well…actually yes.

Opening with a cover of 74-75 with The Cornnells you’re sort of drawn into what you are going to be offered here on the album before we head into Evacuate The Dancefloor. You is a piano duet with Robin Stjernberg on his Eurovision entry earlier this year (and secretly, we’ve wondered what it would sound like as duet, now we know!) before heading into another Eurovision track, that being Casdada’s own entry from the Eurovision, Glorious.

Why You Had To Leave pops up next followed by the first Yanou’s Candlelight mixes  in the form of Everytime We Touch. Golden Train is a bit of an oddity in this collection as it just seems have been dropped randomly into the tracklisting. Bringing it up to date with the most recent album, Original Me, is Hold Your Hands Up which in some instances was already sort of an acoustic number. Then it’s back to album no.3 (Evacuate The Dancefloor) for Breathless, a track that been given the duet treatment with Nick Howard.

San Francisco keeps the pace of the previous track before we drop back for another visit to the candlelight mix for What Hurts The Most. Two tracks from the recent studio album, Original Me follow with Enemy & Hangover (although the last sounds very similar to it’s studio version)

Everytime I Hear Your Name picks the pace up just slightly from the previous two tracks. The version of Ready For Love (from the debut release, Everytime We Touch) is a slower affair to it’s original. The Buena Vista mix of Evacuate The Dancefloor brings a little salsa to the dance hit and surprisingly, it works well before we end the album with another candlelight mix of Draw The Line (though we don’t know of any other version of the track!!)

Whilst we’ve heard some of the versions here before (Yanou’s Candlelight mixes & Evacuate The Dancefloor for example) we can’t help think that this shows another side to the team. You wouldn’t think that for being more of a dance orientated group that they’re music would transfer well over to acoustic but it does and does well, at least the tracks that they’ve chosen to showcase on this release. In fact, we’d go as far as to say IF Cascada ever considered it, we’d probably be first in line for an acoustic show!

Rating: 4/5

Film Review: Sunshine On Leith

Sometimes you have to wonder where the idea to take popular or successful music groups and put their songs into musical format comes from. We’ve seen in the past few years with successful shows like We Will Rock You (based on the music of Queen) and Mamma Mia! (based on the music of ABBA), so it was only a matter of time before Scotland got it’s own  in the form of Sunshine On Leith, which is based on the music of the Proclaimers.

Again, this is another show that has been taken from the stage to the screen but we can’t really comment on how well that’s been done given that we’ve only seen the film version of it. The story follows friends Davy & Ally re-learning how to live on their return to Edinburgh after serving in Afghanistan and the struggles they have coping with life outside the army as well as everyday struggles of family, jobs and relationships.

There is fun plays on the ‘old' rivalries’ of Glasgow & Edinburgh and of course Scotland & England, but for the most part, it’s a film where you feel that you can connect to the family. They are not the ideal Hollywood family that we are normally sold in the movies, but with how things are played out, you feel that you know exactly what it is that they are going through even if you haven’t been in that particular circumstance.

In the long run though, this isn’t the same happy performance that Mamma Mia! was. There is a bit of  dark side to it but it probably one of things that makes your connection to the character more real. Still, there is more than enough here to make you laugh and cry….oh and have a good sing-a-long too and a wee bit ‘a dance!

Rating: 4/5

James Blunt // Moon Landing

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*This review pertains to the deluxe version of the album*

It’s been 3 years since James Blunt last album release (Some Kind Of Trouble) but now he’s back with his brand new album, Moon Landing. So what’s Mr Blunt offering us?

Opening with just a tinkling on the piano keys (and a motorbike buzzing past(?!)), Face The Sun a bit of sombre opening, that builds gradually to a crashing sound before dropping back just to piano.Satellites is slightly more upbeat and feelings of previous works by Blunt across his previous albums. Next we have the debut single from this album, Bonfire Heart.

Raising the tempo once again, it’s Heart To Heart we reckon will have fans singing and clapping along with when it comes to touring. Miss America again has us thinking of tracks from albums one & two (Billy & Carry You Home) mixed with a bit of Elton’s Rocket Man.The rousing The Only One comes next before another slow number Sun on Sunday with obligatory key change

I have never been a beautiful boy/Never liked the sound of my own voice are the opening lines to the upbeat Bones (and we think this is crying out for a dance remix!) Another dark track in Always Hate Me before he head into a brighter little number with Postcards complete with ukulele. Blue On Blue is another slow number before reaching it climax 3/4 of the way through.

Telephone (no, not a cover of Lady Gaga’s track….hmmm….James Blunt does Lady Gaga….no?) is a little swayey, clap the hands track with piano and ukulele and a backing of ohh. Mid tempo Kiss This Love Goodbye trundles along to the final track of Hollywood which reminds us a little of Goyte’s Somebody That I Used To Know.

Moon Landing feels like a bit of mash up of Blunt’s last three albums as there are sounds from all three present but at the same time, there is a bit of a mix of different sounds that we don’t think is deliberate. There more of a feeling towards the first two albums (Back To Bedlam & All The Lost Souls) more than the last (Some Kind Of Trouble) but there are moments where that sneaks through. An interesting collection of tracks from the singer/songwriter

Rating: 4/5

James Arthur // You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You

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When James Arthur’s debut single Impossible (a cover version of the Shontelle track) came out , it made us cringe. Thankfully though, he’s now back with his follow up single, You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You.

Thankfully, we have to say that this co-written track makes for more comfortable listening from him. It feels a bit more of a natural sound for him than his last release, that he doesn’t have to be something that he not. And added to that that it has that anthem feel too. We’d be happy to hear more like this from the former X Factor winner.

Rating: 4/5