So, how big is THEIR revival going to be? (Back Again...no Matter What - The Greatest Hits - Boyzone)

Member Name: pmcds

Product:	Back Again...no Matter What - The Greatest Hits - Boyzone
Date:	25/05/09 (25 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fun to listen to

Disadvantages: Lots of covers

Pop band revivals seem to have been a thing for the last couple of years, or at least, the revival of two of the 1990s' most revered and successful boy bands. Take That's return to the top has been amazing, while following close behind, in a more subtle and less explosive fashion, are Irish boy band Boyzone.

Louis Walsh's creation were huge in the 1990s, and split, as did Take That, seemingly ahead of their time. Widely regarded as the poor man's Take That, having to accept second billing behind TT a number of times, their revival has been less meteoric, but the release of their greatest hits album reminds us of just how many recognisable hits they did have.

This album has 18 tracks on it, and kicks off with the powerful ballad No Matter What. Featuring heavily on individual vocals, I found this one of their more mature tracks. Then follows one of their covers, with Tracy Chapman's Baby Can I Hold You. A nice track, but not as good as the original. There are other covers on the album, such as Words, Love Me For A Reason and When The Going Gets Tough, and although I do like these tracks, I feel it is a bit of a trait that they got into. It seems to be a bit of a recurring theme with Westlife, too, which has links with Boyzone's lead singer, Ronan Keating.

Keating's own track, Life Is A Rollercoaster, is also included at the end of the album, and in between these earlier tracks and this one, which finishes off the album, there are some other recognisable tracks. Coming Home Now is equally as mature as No Matter What, and the emotional ballad Father & Son (another cover!) is very well performed. I actually prefer it to Cat Stevens' original!

All in all, this is a good album. I am not so interested in Boyzone's revival as I am in that of Take That, if I am honest, and there are a lot of covers on this album, but is undeniable in its quality and popularity. There is nothing too tricky, or noticeably deep and meaningful in these songs, as such, and the fact that there are a lot of covers only just hit me when I heard them all together. This does detract from the power the album gives you, from them as musicians rather than just singers, but I know that they all have more musical talent than has often been shown, so perhaps some of their own individual musical skills can come through in successive releases, if indeed it reaches that point.

Back Again......No Matter What is currently available from amazon.co.uk for £8.98. There are 18 tracks in total, and they are in this order:-

1 No Matter What
2 Baby Can I Hold You
3 Love You Anyway
4 Words
5 Love Me For A Reason
6 A Different Beat
7 All That I Need
8 Better
9 You Needed Me
10 Father And Son
11 Can't Stop Thinking About You
12 I Love The Way You Love Me
13 Coming Home Now
14 Isn't It A Wonder
15 When The Going Gets Tough
16 Picture Of You
17 Every Day I Love You
18 Life Is A Rollercoaster

It's one worth getting to remind yourselves of how catchy their tunes are, although no doubt many fans will have most of these tracks somewhere anyway. Fun to listen to!

Summary: A complete collection of Boyzone's greatest hits