Face to Face

I was surprised to learn that Westlife is not dead when they released their 7th studio album, "Face to Face", so I got myself a copy to listen. By "got myself a copy" I meant I downloaded it for free off BitTorrent, but such small details are for nitpickers.

I'm not a big fan of theirs but some of their old songs are quite nicely made. I don't have much respect for boy bands who consistently sing cover versions - it shows a lack of creativity to stand on their own. So I really wanted to know how they are holding up, especially since their lead singer Bryan McFadden did a Ronan Keating manouvre by saying sayonara and releasing his own album, and the rececnt revelation by Mark Feehily that he is gay.

Overall, the album stayed true to what Westlife is known for - good old ballads and some upbeat tempos stuck in between. Oh, and of course, loads of cover versions. Their first single is the Josh Groban hit "You Raise Me Up". In fact, that song was the reason I wanted to listen to the album. I seriously doubt any of the Westlifers can hold a candle to the angelic and strong voice of Groban. And I was right - they certainly tried but did not manage to raise the song to inspirational levels. Watching the video also proved, yet again, Fact #1 of Boy Bands - there is only one real singer in the group, no matter how many members there are. In this case, it appears Shane Filan has taken over Bryan's place. Overall, it's an album I will continue to listen until I get bored.

You may now shoot me for listening to fluffy boy band pop.