Joe McElderry // Here’s What I Believe

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Joe returns with his 3^rd album under Decca (4^th overall) Here's What I Believe.

The album opens with the co-written title track (we review it a little earlier here) before we head into the first cover of the album in the form of Leo Sayer's When I Need You. From here, you can guess the album mood. To Have A Broken Heart is next up followed by the ever popular I Don't Want To Talk About It. Gene Pittney's Something's Gotta A Hold Of My Heart comes up next followed by Demi Loverto's Skyscraper but we can't help feel that there is something missing from this rendition...

How We Love is another cover but it's a duet with the original performer, Beth Nielsen Chapman, which works quiet nicely. Taking a break from the covers, we have another co-written track, Your Voice which seems to draw a little on the previous albums. A quick hop back onto the covers for I Look To You before we return back to the co-writing track of What Have I Done?. We then head into the guitar driven number of My Love Will Find You. Another driven track in the form of the Queen classic Love Of My Life. The last track on the album is an Italian number in the form of E Penso A Te where he shows that he's not forgotten his previous two offerings.

If you want, there is a deluxe version where you get another 3 tracks (Mayday, Silence Is The Loudest Cry (both of which are co-written by McElderry) and Rescue Us)

Looking at the album as whole, we're a little disappointed. Yes, McElderry delivers the tracks in a way that only he can but we have out doubts. Had the three tracks that were additional on the deluxe had been part of the standard version, we might have been a little happier. It would have been nicer to see an album a little fuller of his own material rather than being bulked out by covers. On a whole, most of the covers work out except for Skyscraper and Love Of My Life. There is just something missing from the tracks that Joe doesn't seem to bring to it. Sadly, we're just not sold with this one we're afraid.

Rating: 3/5

Joe McElderry // Here’s What I Believe

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Next month will see Joe’s 3rd album with Decca (4th overall) being released and the first offering from it comes in the form of the album’s title track, Here’s What I Believe.

Now we recommend that you sit down to read the following: Joe’s co-written it! Apparently it’s means if it’s not received well then he can only blame himself. Bless. The song is a nice ballad and for someone that’s just getting to grips with self-penned tracks, isn’t too bad. The only fault that we can find with it is that there are moments where he seems to be reaching the limits of his vocals range within the constraints of the style and the words become difficult to understand.

It’s apparent that he’s tried to bring some lessons from the previous two albums that were more classical crossover and hopefully he’ll take what he’s learned from this and incorporate it in further works

Rating: 4/5

Joe McElderry // Classic Christmas

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Not content with having one album out this year, Joe McElderry returns just in time for the Christmas period with a selection of classic Christmas songs.

Kicking the album off with Mary’s Boy Child, your given the idea of what the rest of the album is going to be like with well mixed instruments and vocals. Next up is the Bing Crosby classic White Christmas followed closely by the beautiful, if not haunting, When A Child Is Born. The opening to In The Bleak Midwinter, we treated to a celtic sound which re-appears before heading into a full orchestrated crescendo, before calming once more.

O Holy Night is a beautiful duet with tenor Rolando Villazón, if only overshadowed that when both are singing together, it is mainly Villazón that we hear. I Believe In Father Christmas follows, a great pop song well orchestrated but still maintaining a poppy edge. Slowing it down is the well known Christman hymn, Silent Night followed by the powerfully orchestrated Adeste Fideles (or for those that don’t speak Latin it’s O Come All Ye Faithful). Santo Natale is a beautiful ballad before we’re lead into a cover of the Wham! classic Last Christmas.

The Little Drummer Boy once again gives us a celtic feel to it and sang at maybe a faster tempo than expected but still a good version of it it. The final track on the album is Driving Home For Christmas that starts off as a slow orchestrated ballad before heading into a jazz/swing version and is a fantastic rounding off to the album.

On a whole, it’s a great little Christmas album. There might not be as much operatic sound to it this time, but Joe singing with an orchestra, it obvious that he’s still utilising what he learned while participating in Popstar To Operastar but also showing that he’s not completely changed and can still carry off a good pop tune when needed. A beautiful addition to anyone album, even if it does only come out once a year.

Rating: 4/5

Joe McElderry // Last Christmas

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Hot off the back of his album Classic, Joe is set to release a Christmas album, suitably titled Classic Christmas. Until it’s release though, we’ve having out appetite wetted with the release of Last Christmas.

This little offering brings three of the tracks set for the album a few weeks early. Starting with a cover of the Wham classic, Last Christmas Joe shows that, whilst he embraced the classical side of things, he’s still got pop in his heart. Then to mix it up we’ve given Adeste Fideles (or if you don’t speak Latin it’s O Come All Ye Faithful) in all it’s classical glory. And to top it off he finishes that well known Christmas hymn, Silent Night.

As a taster as to what to come it a nice little sample. Plus with Joe now touring the UK in support of his album Classic, no doubt as he gets closer to the Christmas period that he’ll be performing these. Only thing we have to complain about is the release date…Start of November?? Please!

Rating: 4/5

Joe McElderry // Classic

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It's been an interesting time for Joe McElderry. 2009's X-Factor winner was dropped by Simon Cowell's label last year, only to turn up this year on Popstar To Operastar and win. Now signed with Decca, Joe now releases his brand new album, Classic, just six weeks after winning the reality TV show.

Now, if like ourselves, you're diving in without knowing anything about the show, then you're in for a treat. The 12 tracks of Classic are a mixture of some well known songs in the classic standards as well as some show tunes. The opening track of Canto Della Terra is the first showcase what you can expect from the album but with an unseeming ability to go from classic track in Italian to singing once again in English without much effort, you cannot help but be impressed. He's tackled some big songs too (Nessun Dorma both in English and original Italian and Time To Say Goodbye)

There are the show tunes too, such as Solitare, I Dreamed A Dream and Over The Rainbow, as well as a recording of the song that brought him to the attention of the X-Factor massive, Dance With My Father.

Bearing in mind that McElderry is no opera singer, he has obviously taken what he has learned from Popstar To Operastar and incorporated it into this album. Maybe a 6 week turnaround from winning to album release was too quick, and it's likely to be to 'cash in' whilst it's fresh in the public mind, which is probably why it is a safe list of tracks.

Hopefully future album's will give Joe more of a challenge and give him the chance to improve in what seems to be a new direction for the singer from South Shields.

Rating:4/5

Joe McElderrry // The Climb

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With the exception of  the whole ‘Jedward’ fiasco, this years X-Factor has been hard to call with some song choices not being suited to the contestants voices and in-judge arguments. However, in the end the one contestant who has performed consistently well throughout the competition came out on top.

Joe appears to have taken the praise and the criticism each week and added to that which already to improve his performance, taking the songs and putting his own mark on them, accumulating in becoming the 2009 show winner.

The Climb is a cover of the Miley Cyrus track from the Hannah Montana movie soundtrack but when compared to the original, Joe brings more passion and emotion to the lyrics than Miley has. The lyrics also fit the situation that Joe has come through: the highs, the lows, the praise and the criticisms.

The CD version also features two songs recorded from the show; Queen track Somebody To Love and George Michael/Elton John track Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me, showcasing Joe’s ability to sing live as well as in the studio.

As with all X-factor winners, it’s hard to judge how well that he will be accepted by the British public and a future isn’t always certain. It may well be that this release will follow the same pattern as all X-factor releases: single release and then nothing for months until the time of the album release (currently set for October next year), but hopefully Joe will be one of those winners who will be around for a while and will prove that he deserved the title of X-factor winner

Rating: 4.5/5