How can we be lovers if you don't have a mullet anymore? (The Essential Michael Bolton - Michael Bolton)

Member Name: benlepensive

Product:	The Essential Michael Bolton - Michael Bolton
Date:	13/02/09 (41 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: loads of hits

Disadvantages: hmm, one poor cover

You simply have to love this man, I don't know what is more famous, his music or his mullet, but this is a timely collection of his finest moments. Bolton has captured the hearts of women (and some men) worldwide and hehas the knack of making anything he touches turn into pure soulful brilliance.

Who is he:

Soulful US singer, famed for big hair in the eighties, his hair has gone but the voice remains.

On this album:

I adore the heartwrenching 'How Am I Supposed To Live' which is one of those songs to play when you have been ditched. A storming power ballad, Michael puts his all into it and builds to an emotional climax where it sounds like he is having a hernia. Quite wonderful. 'How Can We Be Lovers' has some biting lyrics and once again lets Bolton work his vocal magic as he gets gutsy and emotional.

Highlights:

'Steel Bars' smacks of the typical eighties power ballad and is just brilliant, upbeat and such good fun to listen to. His cover of 'Sittin On The Dock Of The Bay' is done with restraint and has a rich soulful edge to it, quite appealing. I also love 'Can I Touch You...There?' as you don't know quite where Michael is referring to and this makes the experience ever so slightly erotic. One of those tracks to play quietly on your own, in the dark.

Weaker Moments:

His version of 'Whiter Shade Of Pale' seemed an unnecessary way to bulk out the album and did little for me.

Overall:

With two discs of material, you really do get value for money here. It covers his entire career, from the power ballads to the newer more soulful stuff. His voice never falters though and you can get lost in the endless songs about love while you gaze longingly at his smug picture on the front cover.

Summary: Wonderful