Affirmative (Affirmation - Beverley Knight)

Member Name: bailey_kipper_uk

Product:	Affirmation - Beverley Knight
Date:	10/08/08 (61 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good overall album

Disadvantages: Not many stand out tracks

I always thought Beverley Knight was quite mainstream. however this was her 4th album and only managed to spawn 3 singles, one of which was a cover. My wife is a fan though and when we went to see Bryan Adams in Swindon a couple of years ago she was the warm up act. Whilst she was ok, I didn't really know many of her songs, so as part of my album collection reviews I feel I should open myself up to more styles of music.

Knight has an easy listening style of music that combines rhythm and blues with some soul and funk, producing a style that has made her one of the UK's most popular singers of this musical genre. Admittedly there's not a lot of quality competition for this position.

On with the review then and we begin with one of her most well known songs and first single from the album.

'Come as you are' is definitely one of her best tracks, with a distinctive opening. Quite a lively track with a mix of styles, quite funky and a bit rocky. It gives her voice a bit of a workout and she manages it well and shows why many people view her as one of the best British vocalists. 8/10

'Not too late for love', being 35 then I'm sure she's hoping thats the case. This song is choc full of metaphors, it's a well written track though that actually makes sense, unlike many songs these days. This was the 2nd single from the album and is sung very differently from the first with longer notes and sung in a slower style, more soulful. 7/10

'First Time' is another heartfelt track from this album which is a very personal album, giving each of the songs a special meaning and therefore well suited to this style of music. This like many of the later tracks I feel are all good, but they are album tracks. The album itself works well as a album and is good for sticking on when friends are round, having a chat, over dinner, that sort of thing. This is partly due to the pleasant voice of Beverley and the relaxing beats. 6/10

Slight change to a more rocky track, the music is a bit harder than the last couple and there's a lot of strong emotions and strong singing in this track. Another very personal song and this comes across a lot in the lyrics and style of the song. Good song. 7/10

'Keep this fire burning' is another single (the 3rd and last). I didn't realise initially but this was initially a hit for Robyn (who was number 1 in the UK charts this time last year with 'With every heartbeat'). The song was never released in the UK by Robyn but was popular in her native Sweden which is probably why Beverly released it here. It's another song that's widely recognised and associated with her, though it didn't do too well for her in the charts. It's very much her style of song and is a good one to dance along to. 8/10

'No-one ever loves in vain' is the next track and returns to the slow ballad, lots of light drumming and piano for the majority of this track. It does mean she has to focus on the vocals and lyrics which luckily are good throughout this album. 6/10

The title track is next and it's a bit of a nothing track, quite a downbeat track and very much an album track. 5/10

'Supasonic' reverts back to the funky style again, but again it's not a great song, she probably had fun recording it though as she has fun with her voice. She mixes up about 3 different main vocal tracks but it becomes quite a chaotic mix at the end. 6/10

'Tea and Sympathy', does what it says on the tin. The song is about giving someone a sympatheic ear, and the obligatory cup of tea. Quite a girly song this, not one for the blokes, easily forgettable though. 5/10

'Below my radar' is another slow song, very much in the easy listening style, very similar to a lot of other stuff on here. The lyrics are often the only thing that separate some of these songs. Better lyrics than the last and a good one for the end of an evening dance. 6/10

'Under the same sun' stays with the slow song style and is reminissent of a slow TLC song. Again it's ok but not a memorable track, in fact I've skipped most of it as it's quite dull, useful as background music. 5/10

'Till I see ya' picks up the pace again and is a much better song. To be fair there is a good mix of slow and more upbeat songs, so if you like the style of music then this is a good album, it's just not my thing and though the first part of the album was bringing me round there is still too much that I'm not keen on. This however as I say is one of the highlights of the 2nd half of the album. 7/10

'Salvador' is a song that is about one of her friends that died from Aids. Thus the lyrics and feelings are from her own personal experience, which as I said earlier does make her music very good and is probably why it is very popular which a wide group of people. 7/10

'Remember me / Fatal Factor' is the last track. Remember me is a good track with just the piano and Beverley, I'd imagine this would be good to see live. The second part is a bonus track that is much more of a party track, very upbeat & very dancy and a good way to end the album. 7/10

Summary
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Overall the album is an hour long which is good value for money considering there are a few good songs on here. Though many of the tracks aren't very good on their own, when they combine they do make a good easy listening album.

Summary: It's a decent album when listened to as a whole.