The Sexiest Gay Guy In The World - and he sings!! (Another Side - John Barrowman)

Member Name: karenuk

Product:	Another Side - John Barrowman
Date:	30/11/07 (228 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some great tracks, a consistently impressive voice, great bloke

Disadvantages: A bit dull and dirgey at times, some over-used songs

I have been a fan of John Barrowman for a few years now. I was well aware of his musical background, but it was seeing him as Captain Jack in Dr Who and Torchwood that really made an impact on me. I think he is a very talented actor and I love watching him being interviewed too, as he is very quick-witted and funny.

When I heard he was releasing an album, I knew I would be buying it and when I saw the track listing, it sounded pretty good. So I got it from Amazon for £8.98 and bought it soon after its release.

Another Side is John's fifth solo album - and he has been featured on over twenty other albums since 1991. This one is different though, as it isn't musical theatre, but is based in the genre that I suppose would be called easy listening. The album debuted in the charts at number 22.


TRACKS

There are thirteen tracks on the album and I will briefly review each one.


1) ALL OUT OF LOVE

The first track is the Air Supply song All Out of Love. I like this song anyway and John does a good version of it. I love the tone of his voice and the clarity of it. It is not over-manufactured like most of the chart stuff seems to be. The album sounds like John singing live most of the time.

8/10

2) YOU'RE SO VAIN

This is a Carly Simon song and one I know very well, because my daughter (who is studying to go into musical theatre herself) sings this one, so when I played John's version on the CD, the whole house was singing along! You can hear John's American accent in this one, I noticed, whereas usually you can't tell so much. He enunciates the words well and I do like this version of a classy song.

8.5/10

3) SHE'S ALWAYS A WOMAN

She's Always A Woman is a slowish and rather dull song. I wasn't that keen on the Billy Joel version, so I doubt John could have made it into my favourite song ever. His vocals are well done, but I'm not keen on the song choice.

7/10

4) TIME AFTER TIME

Once again, I'm not keen on this song. The original Cyndi Lauper version certainly showcased her distinctive voice, but I just got fed up of it back then. Of course, John's version is different and I don't mind it, but this isn't a favourite.

6/10

5) WEEKEND IN NEW ENGLAND

I hadn't heard this track before and it is a really nice song. I think some of the other tracks suffer from over-familiarity, but I didn't know who sang this before and had to check online. (It was Barry Manilow.) So this is another favourite.

8/10

6) EVERY LITTLE THING SHE DOES IS MAGIC

This famous Police track (written by Sting) is a song I really can't stand. In fact, I like very few songs that the Police ever recorded. However, John Barrowman has tried a whole new theme with this one and recorded it in a kind of Spanish or salsa style, which he performed on Strictly Come Dancing recently. I think it really adds something new and certainly livens up the original. I actually like this song now - well, John's version anyway.

8/10

7) IF YOU LEAVE ME NOW

This is a song I seem to have always known. Written by Peter Cetera and recorded by the group Chicago, If You Leave Me Now is a pretty song, but rather dull. John's version sticks fairly closely to the original, so don't expect any surprises here.

7/10

8) YOUR SONG

I love Your Song, it's beautiful and I love all the versions around. John adapts the Moulin Rouge version here and does a great job with it. His voice lends itself really well to this track and he performs a wonderful version of this classic. One of the best tracks on the album.

9/10


9) PLEASE REMEMBER ME

The ninth track was one I wasn't familiar with - Please Remember Me. Apparently it was co-written by Will Jennings (who wrote 'My Heart Will Go On') and country singer Rodney Crowell in 1995, so it's newer than most of the other songs on this album. It's another impressive song and a lovely, powerful, emotional ballad that shows off John's range very well.

9/10

10) HEAVEN

Back to familiar territory for track ten, with Bryan Adams' oft-covered Heaven. John sticks to the ballad version of this and again performs it beautifully, so another favourite of mine.

8.5/10

11) BEING ALIVE

I hadn't heard of Being Alive before, but it comes from a musical by Stephen Sondheim and was sung by Barbra Streisand. You can tell this is John's genre, as he seems much happier with this track and it really suits his voice and style of singing.

8/10

12) FEELING GOOD

This is a very well known song, which seems to be regularly used on adverts for starters! I would have liked to have heard him sing this with a bit of an edge as it can be rocked up, but his version is a bit musak-ish! He has passion, but I wanted more somehow. A bit of a disappointing one.

7.5/10

13) ALL BY MYSELF

This was recorded by Eric Carmen in 1975, but there are several versions around. This is another song I seem to have known forever. I was six when the original came out, so I think I might well remember that! It's slightly slow for a last track on the album though. I think John needed something more upbeat and memorable to end in a high note and with a dollop of the feel-good factor.

7.5/10


OVERALL

John Barrowman really does have a beautiful voice, but after listening to Another Side several times, I think I would prefer one of his musical theatre albums. This one reminds me of the recent Michael Ball album I bought, which I've played twice before forgetting about.

Another Side is easy listening and suitable for all ages. In our house, I found my kids were singing along to most of the tracks, but none of them have asked to copy it to their MP3 player yet.

There are possibly too many slow songs in total. I think it needed a couple of faster, livelier songs to vary the pace a bit more. I Am What I Am is sorely missed too. I have seen John sing that and he does an amazing version and I had hoped he would have included it here.

A lot of opinion on this album will depend on whether you like the songs featured. If you don't like the songs, you probably won't like album. You can't fault his vocals, but you can fault the songs. They are his taste after all and few people will like all these 13 songs, so check the track listing. Incidentally, if you keep an eye out, he is due to be explaining the personal reasons he chose each song and writing about this on his website soon.

The album is rather camp and cheesy, but good for what it is. Overall, I'm a bit disappointed, as some tracks do seem destined to become lift music.


JOHN IN GENERAL

I have tickets to see John in concert next April, which I am really looking forward to. I am sure his live shows will be better than the album, because he is a wonderful performer and entertainer with bags of charisma and charm.

If you want more of the great man, his autobiography will be out in January 2008 and the next series of the brilliant Torchwood will be on our TV screens around the same time. He will also be back as Captain Jack in the next series of Dr Who.

Meanwhile, check out his official website and look out for the link to the mailing list and discussion group 'Barrowman Online'.

http://www.johnbarrowman.com/

Summary: A venture into light pop for Captain Jack!