Is his way the right way? (Ray Quinn - Ray Quinn)

Member Name: CrazyJamie

Product:	Ray Quinn - Ray Quinn
Date:	22/06/09 (74 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some excellent covers, a decent track list, brings some more variety to a neglected genre

Disadvantages: Some covers are well below par

Ray Quinn 'shot' (I use the word slightly loosely) to fame through X Factor in 2006, and ultimately finished second in that show behind a certain Leona Lewis (you may have heard of her). He won votes on the show through his old fashioned Sinatra-esq singing style that he delivered with bundles of charisma and charm way. His main standout performances on that show came with renditions of Sinatra's "My Way", and a highly emotional "You'll Never Walk Alone". More recently he won Dancing On Ice in 2009, which is neither here or nor there, but I thought I'd throw it in to prove that, despite not watching the show, I am aware of that he won it this year. Good for him.

The votes he collected on X Factor proved his popularity, and the inevitable album followed not long after the show had finished. The album has eleven tracks. All covers. All classic old fashioned songs that the majority will recognise with absolutely no problem. But covering legends like Sinatra is no easy feat, and certainly not for someone who was a teenager when this album was recorded. So the main question is, has he pulled it off? The answer is a resounding 'sort of'. The quality of the covers here, and the song choice, is not as consistent as it could have been, so it makes the most sense to go through each of the tracks.

1. AIN'T THAT A KICK IN THE HEAD (5/5)

A cover of the classic Dean Martin song. It's bright, it's punchy and it makes you want to sing along to it. He delivers it with exactly the right pace and bundles of charm, which is what this song is about. A good song choice, and an excellent opening track.

2. FLY TO THE MOON (2/5)

The first of a number of Sinatra covers on this CD, and things don't start out particularly well. The problem with this is that, contrary to the first track, he gets the pace wrong here. The start of the song in particular just sounds a little awkward, and whilst the chances are slight compared to the Sinatra version, it just makes the song as a whole quite difficult to listen to. This is one of Sinatra's best known tracks, and unfortunately it just isn't good enough here.

3. MY WAY (4/5)

Covers don't come much bigger than this. Plenty of people have tried to cover this in the past, and very few get anywhere near. But those who listened to rendition of this on the X Factor will know that he does this song incredibly well. There's real emotion in this song, which obviously is the point, and whilst it would be ridiculous to suggest that he reaches Sinatra's level, this is an excellent version.

4. THAT'S LIFE (4/5)

A predictable song choice, but whilst originally I was hesitant about his performance in this song, it has really grown on me. He adds a sharpness to certain lyrics that brings something new to this song, and after much deliberation, I've decided that I like it. A good cover.

5. MACK THE KNIFE (5/5)

This is actually one of my favourite Sinatra songs, and it's good to see that Quinn has changed the arrangement for this. I think if he'd done it at the original Sinatra pace we would have had a awkward 'Fly To The Moon' scenario. Instead he speeds it up slightly and gives it a bit more of a beat. And it works incredibly well, because it makes the song much more accessible and smooth. This is possibly the best song on the album.

6. SMILE (1/5)

Another well known song that was originally sung by Charlie Chaplin (a fact that not a lot of people actually seem to know). Quinn has gone for the slower ballad version of this rather than the original upbeat offering. And it doesn't work. He seems to drag out a lot of the notes and struggles with it. I really found listening to this the equivalent to wading through a puddle of knee high treacle. Not recommended.

7. THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT (3/5)

After the issues with the previous track, I have to admit that I wasn't looking forward to this at all. Certainly butchering a lesser known ballad is no way to warm yourself for attempting a better known and much loved one. But, thankfully, things improve. Once again he puts that little beat in the background and it carries the song nicely. The only problem, and this may sound a little odd, is that after the Sinatra version, Quinn seems to be too young to be singing this, so it's a very slight mis match. His youthful charm and emotion helps on other songs, but not so much on a mature love song like this one.

8. SUMMER WIND (3/5)

I was surprised at the inclusion of the song on this album because, to be frank, it doesn't seem to 'mainstream' enough to be included on a CD that is intended to appeal to a wider pop culture audience. And as far as the songs go it doesn't really stand out. There's nothing wrong with it, and his cover is pleasant enough, it just isn't remarkable in any way.

9. WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD (3/5)

From Sinatra to Louis Armstrong. Didn't see that coming. Obviously covers of this track tend to be a little different from most covers, because no one sounds anything like Louis Armstrong. Like the track before it, Quinn carries this off nicely, but there is nothing particularly remarkable about it. It tries to throw a few pitch changes in to vary the song, but it doesn't really raise it above the level of 'average'.

10. MR BOJANGLES (5/5)

Another of my personal favourites, which appears to be a good omen for this CD, because like Mack The Knife this is an excellent cover. Unlike some of the songs on here, it is quite clear that Quinn likes this song, and quite possibly picked it himself to be on the CD. His timing is spot on, and whilst he brings some 'pop esq' notes into this, it doesn't detract from what is a quite superb rendition.

11. NEW YORK NEW YORK (2/5)

Spare me. A classic Sinatra track, but when that is roundly played at the end of every drunken family celebration, party or disco, and is therefore just a terrible song choice for an album like this. You can see what the intention was in picking this. It was to make people smile and bring in some nostalgic thought to round the album off. But it just doesn't work, and in fact brings in something of a tacky feeling. For his part, Quinn actually sings it well. It's just a terrible song choice.

OVERALL OPINION

So there you have it. A real mixed bag of good song choices, bad song choices, good covers and bad covers. It is a bit of a shame in a way because Quinn clearly has a talent for this type of music- you just don't get to see it fully because the overriding intention with this CD was to make money from the teenage girls that will buy it irrespective because they saw him on X Factor. Which leads to some bad song choices, and results in the album as a whole not flowing very well.

The upside is that there are a few fantastic covers here, and the renditions of My Way, Ain't That A Kick In The Head, Mack The Knife and Mr Bojangles are real highlights that will be appreciated by those who like this type of music. The main regret is simply that for a one off album (and it really was only going to be a one off) opportunities were missed, the most notable being You'll Never Walk Alone, which really should have been the final track. In his tour (yes, I saw him live, what of it?) he actually sang a pretty good version of Michael Buble's 'Home' as well, which would have been a decent addition. Certainly above Smile, anyway.

If you don't like the general swing/big band type of music, don't buy this CD. It was quite amusing when I saw him live to see the hundreds of teenage girls singing along to Sinatra covers (clearly having no appreciation of the origins of those songs), but realistically the CDs bought by those girls have probably been flogged at the car boot sale by now. So really, if this genre isn't for you then this CD won't be.

If, however, you are a fan of the genre, this is actually worth a look. You can pick it up fairly cheap nowadays, round about the £4 mark or less if you look, and if you can get it for that price there is enough on here to make it worthwhile. Just don't expect outstanding quality, and brace yourself for some poor covers.

Summary: Worth a look for fans of the genre