STYLE: MOR / Soft Pop RATING OUR PRODUCT CODE: 2095-31720 LABEL: Independent FORMAT: CD Album ITEMS: 1
Reviewed by Trevor Kirk
So much excellent new music has come out over the last few years from all sorts of places in the UK, the USA and Australia that it's comparatively straightforward to build up an extensive discography merely by releasing CDs that are exclusively cover versions. This latest one by the man from Ulster is a case in point, because here Alan gives us 10 familiar pieces in his usual smooth style, with material ranging from classic songs by Darlene Zschech, Geoff Bullock, Graham Kendrick, Noel Richards, Andy Park and Robin Mark to traditional stuff by Isaac Watts and J G Whittier, not forgetting "Be Thou My Vision" - yes, another one. Alan has added pipes, whistles and bodhran to the mix to emphasise the Celtic feel of the thing, but I've heard better versions of these numbers by the guys who wrote them, so I personally was unmoved. Having said that, there are many folks who've never heard the originals who'll lap this up.
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