Review of John Barrowman's "Another Side"

afhickman

"It takes a village (to make Village People)"

I heard this album in London and was tempted to buy it, at first, but I came away thinking that lightweight and boyish aren't really the kind of qualities I look for in a 40-year old singer.  I'm reminded of the gravitas of a Sinatra or even a Bono at that age.  I know, I know, this is a different kind of music.  But (surprise!) I've been listening to show music all my life, and it's hard to believe John can project his instrument (pinched and nearly colorless as it is) past the first row.  Wow, does that sound harsh!  What I meant to say is, "Another Side" is a lively collection of sure-fire favorites that will please any John Barrowman fan.  Really, I did.

By his own account, it took John a year to work up the nerve to ask his partner-to-be for a date, even though he was starring in a London play at the time.  I think we can safely say he has a shy, vulnerable side.

...but that was a very mechanical, dull and pretty much uninspired cover of "All Out of Love." It was all just hit the notes and enunciate the words properly; no feeling of desperation or desire in it at all. Carp all you want about Air Supply, but at least the original had a certain operatic, tragic quality to it that made it so memorable.

afhickman

"It takes a village (to make Village People)"

Boy, the silence is deafening on this one, but I have to agree with Jospeh.  Air Supply had their moments.  (Joseph, you might be interested to know that Jeremie Renier has a small part in the big-budget film "Atonement," which is playing in parts of Europe.  He is barely recognizable as a bandaged vet, but he nonetheless makes an impression.  Granted, you probably already knew that.)  Yeah, as I was saying, you gotta hand it to that Air Supply.

Okay, maybe I'm just getting old, but was "All By Myself" REALLY "most famously sung" by Celine Dion????

I mean, I know she did a cover version that was realeased to adult contemporary stations a few years back, but I think the best known version is probably still Eric Carmen's, surely?

Sadly, if you go to Wikipedia, it seems to be all about Celine.  That's pathetic.

Pop singer and former Raspberry Eric Carmen wrote and recorded "All By Myself" in 1975, basing the melody on Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor. It reached No. 2 on the Billboard charts that year. I would say it was more "most famously sung" than Celine Dion's. He imbued the power pop ballad with a mixture of melancholia and wistfulness. It is definitely memorable, and no cover of it to date has even come close.

I love this cd. It's brilliant, and that's without me ever listening to two songs on it. An ex totally ruined "My Song" and "She's Always a Woman to Me" for me, so I can't bring myself to listen to them, even for John's pretty voice. I thought "Feeling Good" could have used some brass to back it up, but other than that a great album. And you have to love John's "This is my Sexy Pose" picture on the front.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuFIzHifuu4

"I Won't Send Roses" from Mack and Mabel.