One2OneNetwork: Kylie Minogue's THE ABBEY ROAD SESSIONS Album Review

"Global icon and popstar sensation Kylie Minogue, is celebrating 25 years in music with the release of The Abbey Road Sessions.  The album, recorded in London at the legendary Abbey Road Studios with a full orchestra, features 16 classic Kylie songs, all radically reimagined and rearranged.

The album features many of Kylie's best-known hits including "I Should Be So Lucky", "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" and "The Locomotion".  Other highlights include fan favorite but previously unreleased "Flower", a song she wrote years ago following her battle with breast cancer, an ode to the child she hopes to have one day. 

Across all 16 tracks, one thing becomes very clear - stripped of her high-end pop production, the emotional resonance of her songs has never been clearer, nor has her voice ever sounded better.  For a preview of the album click here." -One2OneNetwork

My thoughts on the album is that it's not as bad as I expected it to be, nor is it as good as I wanted it to be.  I am not that huge of a fan of her voice.  I really thought Kylie Minogue was a one-hit wonder back in the day (1987) with "The Locomotion".  Then she came out with the song "I Should Be So Lucky" in 1988 and I thought that OK, maybe she does have potential.  She topped the charts for a long time with that one, I think.  I didn't hear much about her again until 2001 with her son "Can't Get You Out Of My Head".  Quite honestly, as much of a hit as that song was, I thought it was just plain annoying.  But then again, any song can get annoying after being played for the hundredth time in a given day.  So in all fairness, when I signed up to do a review of this album, I am coming from an already pretty biased background of not being a huge fan of Kylie Minogue.  I realize that there's something about her voice that I just don't like.  I think she's a talented woman and is considerably beautiful, I am just drawn by certain voices and styles of music. 

However, if I am to focus on the songs, I do like "I Believe In You", "Confide In Me", "Where The Wild Roses Grow, "Slow", and "Never Too Late".  "Flower" is probably the best song out of the whole album.  I have never heard these songs before so I am trying to give my honest review based on listening to them just twice.  I must confess this album didn't turn me into a new Kylie Minogue fan.  It's definitely meant for a certain audience and unfortunately I'm not one of them.  I am sure there is a huge fan base out there that will appreciate this album a lot more than I did.  :)


*This is a review post from One2One Network. I was provided with a copy of the album and I am eligible for a prize drawing. All opinions stated are my own.

 

One2OneNetwork: Chris Mann's ROADS Album Review

Over a year ago, Chris Mann was featured on one of the other campaigns I participated in (I forget which website it was?) as a new upcoming artist.  A few months later, he actually became the fourth place finalist from the second season of “The Voice”. He was able to work with Christina Aguilera as his mentor. I was in awe of not only of his talents (he is an awesome singer!) but also of his good looks.  He is a hottie!  

I was really excited about getting picked to review his new album "ROADS" (released Oct. 30, 2012) for One2OneNetwork!  His voice reminds me of a crossover between Josh Groban, Michael Buble and Elliott Yamin.  He just has a really sensual side to him with a little R&B and opera mixed in with his contemporary style of music.  He can reach really high notes (think in the styles of Christina Aguilera & Celine Dion) which is impressive.  He sings with such romanticism and passion, makes you melt like butter.  This album would be perfect to play during a dinner party or a romantic night with your lover...or while you're relaxing in the hot tub with some candles lit up. 

The first song Roads in the album is probably my favorite. The words have so much meaning for me personally.  His renditions of songs like "I Need You Now" (by Lady Antebellum), "On A Night Like This" (by Dave Barnes) and "Ave Maria" (a classic!) were very well done.  Not to say the other songs weren't well done at all, but those were some of my other favorites.  He sang Coldplay's song "Viva La Vida" and I just didn't think it suited him.  Although I like the song itself, I just didn't think it was his kind of style.  But good for him for trying.  Overall, I think he has a heavenly voice and is great eye candy.  His album wasn't mind-blowing by any means but I thought it was a good debut.   ;)

I encourage you to purchase his album and check out for yourself how great he really is as an artist.  You can purchase the album on iTunes (http://bit.ly/SgkwJb) or Amazon.com (http://amzn.to/XQpJc8).  I promise, you will not be disappointed!  For more information about Chris Mann, check out his main website ChrisMannMusic.com - bit.ly/CMannMusic.


*This is a review post from One2One Network. I was provided with a copy of the album and I am eligible for a prize drawing. All opinions stated are my own.