Westlife faces new challenges

The boy band craze has taken its place on the shelf. It will stay there until somebody decides that the time is ripe for a new batch of post-pubescent heartthrobs to once more take the center stage. That will surely happen but we do not know when. But even with great ones like ‘N Sync, Boyzone and Take That already dead and buried, there remains a few groups who have gracefully left their teeny-bopper days behind and are now taking on new challenges as mature music artists. One of them is Westlife.

Westlife is made up of Shane Filan, Kian Egan, Nicky Byrne and Mark Feehily who all come from Ireland. They initially sounded like every other boy group, Swear It Again but they later on discovered their true calling with lushly-arranged soaring ballads, Flying Without Wings and interesting covers, Uptown Girl. They also do other types of music. In fact, a drastic change of pace in 2004 with the swinging Rat Pack album Allow Us to be Frank kept boy band atrophy at bay and introduced them to a whole new market.

By the time they got to their new studio album, Face to Face, Westlife fans were certainly glad that they have gone back to their pop roots. At the same time, their new followers were also eager to find out whether they will have more to offer after their Rat Pack experience. I have to say that they have a lot. These guys made sure that they took no chances with their latest release. Face to Face adheres to a sure-fire pop formula that should delight all sorts of listeners and it is definitely one of the most commercial albums I have ever heard with one enjoyable cut after another.

The album is largely made up of covers, hence we have already heard most of them before. Remember, oldies are easier to sell than new songs. If I remember right, When You Tell Me That You Love Me was originally a duet for Diana Ross and Julio Iglesias. Westlife does it again and would you believe, also with Diana, whom I must add, is the quintessential pop diva and does not do duets with just anybody. This means that Westlife has indeed arrived.

They also do Desperado, which was a hit for The Eagles. There is She’s Back which comes from Human Nature and Heart Without a Home which is an even better version than the original from Nick Carter. And talk about daring because it is really a big no-no for any artist to record a song by one of its main rivals. Westlife though also sings a Backstreet Boys original, Color My World, in the album.

The first single out is You Raise Me Up which is also another cover. The most recent one was by Josh Groban in his album Closer. Westlife spares nothing with theirs. In fact, I hear a combination of the Groban recording and an earlier one done by the Secret Garden in this new version. Westlife takes the anthemic approach throughout the song, down to the use of bagpipes and the booming crescendo with a choir towards the end. The song is a success and I will not be surprised if Westlife decides to do an album of inspirationals in the near future.

Every cut in Face to Face was produced to be a hit. If the melodies are not familiar, then you can bet that the arrangements are. You hear echoes of ‘60s pop in the engaging Change Your Mind, Motown soul in Amazing, a bit of dance with Hit You with the Real Thing, good old lushly soaring Westlife in That’s Where You Find Love and country in the sweet ballad that will surely make a fantastic next single, In This Life.

I recommend this one for everyone to enjoy and to prepare for the return of Westlife to the Philippines early this year.

Golden Globe movie theme song nominees

The award-giving season is now underway and for those who love music and films, here are the movie theme song nominees at the Golden Globe Awards: A Love That Will Never Grow Old from Brokeback Mountain, Christmas in Love from Christmas in Love, There’s Nothing Like a Show on Broadway from The Producers, Travelin’ Thru from Transamerica and Wunderkind from The Chronicles of Narnia.

For more pop music from the movies, you might want to check out At the Movies which has a very popular selection. Most of them from soundtracks that are no longer available here like Where Do We Go from Here from Eraser by Vanessa Williams; Right Before Your Eyes by Hoobastank from Daredevil; Too Lost in You by Sugababes from Love Actually; If You’re Not the One by Daniel Bedingfield from Maid in Manhattan; Picture of You by Boyzone from Mr. Bean — The Movie and others.