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Trollheart · 01-02-2012, 06:19 PM

Innocent eyes --- Delta Goodrem --- 2003 (Mercury)
Moderator cut: image removed

Oh-oh! Red alert! Alert one: Delta Goodrem is one of those soap-star-turned-singer, and more than that, she's an Australian soap star! Haven't we had enough of those? Alert two: she was almost married to Westlife's Bryan McFadden. Oh no! Should I just forget this and abandon my attempt to listen to this album? Oh hell, give the girl a chance: can't paint everyone who comes down this well-trodden path with the same brush!

This is Delta's first album, released way back in 2003, and to be fair to her she has a few things on her side that many of her soap-born ilk do not. First off, she's not the puppet or cash cow of some megarich record producer --- no Simon Cowell involvement here! Secondly, she writes the songs on her albums (well, co-writes them) AND plays piano and keyboards. So like Debbie Gibson in the eighties, let's not just write her off as another wannabe yet.

I must say, it starts nicely, with a nice piano sound from Delta and a very clear and beautiful voice, reminds me a little of Faith Hill, if I'm honest, though she certainly has a sound of her own. Her voice is very gentle, but she can certainly belt out the high notes when needed, though without any hint of screaming or that annoying female growl that so many of her contemporaries use. No, she's no Leona Lewis, thank the Great Pixie! Kind of a country sound to the song, lots of passion and some really nice arrangements on “Born to try”, then the title track is another uptempo song which seems to recall her own childhood, bopping along at a nice lick and with a sort of sense of drama to it, nice vocal hook, though the melody tends to change key a little unsettlingly and then slip back to the original. Hmm. The off-key, slightly out-of-tune piano, while quite obviously deliberate to underline the idea of learning to play piano at an early age, is also a little off-putting. Can't say I like this...

Surprising how suddenly your view can change! I loved the opener, but I think I quite hate this. So let's see how track three fares. “Not me, not I” becomes the first ballad, and quickly brings things back onto an even keel, with some lovely classical or Spanish guitar and Delta back singing softly, which I think suits her better. There are several people involved in the writing of this song, including her producer, Take That's Gary Barlow, and Kara DioGuardi, as well as Delta herself, who has input to almost every song on this album. Nice piano on this and some lovely string arrangements really flesh the song out, then “Throw it away” is the first of only three of the fourteen tracks here where she does not participate in the songwriting.

A sort of acoustic bluesy type of song, with a striding beat, it kind of reminds me of Kelly Clarkson. Whether that's a good thing or not I don't know, but it has elements of “Breakway” in it, which is not to say that it's a rip-off of that song in any way, but it does bring it to my mind. Next one up is another song written for her, and which became one of her biggest hit singles. “Lost without you” I would have assumed to have been a slow, sentimental piano ballad, but though the tempo is slow enough, it's not a ballad, with chuggy drums and nice guitar. Sprinklings of her piano pepper the song, but I think she does better when that instrument is to the fore. Still, it was a big hit so I guess people liked it. Not one of my favourites, though certainly better than the title track.

Well, so far it's not quite “meh” but it's not “woo-hoo!” either. Definitely something there, but is it enough to pique my often demanding interest? Hell, I'm the guy who didn't like Peter Gabriel's “New blood”! Let's continue on and see. Is the next track predictable? Well, yes it is, but that's the title. As for the music, that's not really predictable at all. The piano melody reminds me of nothing more than Nick Cave's “As I sat sadly by her side”, and the song is a sort of mid-paced rocker almost, with some pretty hard guitar fading then back into the piano line. “Butterfly”, then, is the last of the songs not to be written or co-written by her, a nice little semi-bopper with some busy drum machine action and eighties style keyboards, and that distinctive piano melody running through the song.

Other than the opener, I don't see anything (well, hear I should say) that completely grabs my attention, and although the bulk of what I've heard so far is good, it's not great overall. But then, we're only halfway through the album, so there's time for a dramatic improvement. I have to say though, I'm less than hopeful at this point. “In my own time” is the first of two songs written solo by Delta, and does it show? Well, it's certainly more piano-led, a sort of mid-paced ballad, though rather oddly I would think so far there hasn't been an actual slow ballad. Perhaps she's holding it back for the big finale?

“My big mistake” comes in on a solid, Bruce Hornsby-esque piano line with some nice strings, but then sort of devolves into a standard pop song when it looked like it was going to be so much more. “This is not me” is a harder rocker, but again I don't see it standing out particularly, though there is a lot of energy in the song, and it comes across as quite honest and open. There's a real sense of dance and even soul to “Running away”, but it's on “A year ago today” that we find at last a true diamond among all the costume jewellery, and yes, it's the first ballad, and it turns out to be well worth having waited for.

Opening on the acoustic piano it's soft and lush, tender and fragile, then the drums kick in, but gently, and the song slips along on a nice piano and keyboard melody. Delta's voice here is pure country songstress, soulful, heartfelt and passionate, but without any harshness. Beautiful strings arrangement make this song close to perfect, but is it too little too late? Well, if those crystal clear piano notes are anything to go by, perhaps not. “Longer”, though it opens like a ballad, is not one, but does keep the sudden surge in quality going, with a soft rock mid-pacer, with again great strings and some really nice and well-placed piano along with some effective backing vocals.

The closer is another ballad, and indeed the second track on the album completely written by Delta. “Will you fall for me” is again close to perfect, tiny tinkling piano taking the song in before it gets more solid and slows down, getting almost classical in its feel, and I expect strings to make an entrance anytime soon... yeah, there's the cello, courtesy of Ameena Maria Khawaja, just filling in at the right spot and then fading back out to allow the lone piano take the melody as Delta's gentle, soft voice rises in pitch as the song reaches its climax, holding the last note acapella and then finishing off with a flourish on the piano. Nice ending.

Yes, nice ending, but unfortunately it's a case of a few stars visible in an otherwise cloudy night sky. The other tracks are not bad, per se (other than the title, which I really hate), but they're not up to the calibre of the last three, and adding in the opener “Born to try”, they're still in the minority, so I would have to file this under “interested, tried, not terrible but no return visit likely”. A good first effort, and maybe her subsequent releases were a lot better --- this is a debut, after all --- but there's little here to make me want to hear more.

TRACKLISTING

1. Born to try
2. Innocent eyes
3. Not me, not I
4. Throw it away
5. Lost without you
6. Predictable
7. Butterfly
8. In my own time
9. My big mistake
10. This is not me
11. Running away
12. A year ago today
13. Longer
14. Will you fall for me

01-02-2012, 06:19 PM	#692 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,971	Innocent eyes --- Delta Goodrem --- 2003 (Mercury) Moderator cut: image removed Oh-oh! Red alert! Alert one: Delta Goodrem is one of those soap-star-turned-singer, and more than that, she's an Australian soap star! Haven't we had enough of those? Alert two: she was almost married to Westlife's Bryan McFadden. Oh no! Should I just forget this and abandon my attempt to listen to this album? Oh hell, give the girl a chance: can't paint everyone who comes down this well-trodden path with the same brush! This is Delta's first album, released way back in 2003, and to be fair to her she has a few things on her side that many of her soap-born ilk do not. First off, she's not the puppet or cash cow of some megarich record producer --- no Simon Cowell involvement here! Secondly, she writes the songs on her albums (well, co-writes them) AND plays piano and keyboards. So like Debbie Gibson in the eighties, let's not just write her off as another wannabe yet. I must say, it starts nicely, with a nice piano sound from Delta and a very clear and beautiful voice, reminds me a little of Faith Hill, if I'm honest, though she certainly has a sound of her own. Her voice is very gentle, but she can certainly belt out the high notes when needed, though without any hint of screaming or that annoying female growl that so many of her contemporaries use. No, she's no Leona Lewis, thank the Great Pixie! Kind of a country sound to the song, lots of passion and some really nice arrangements on “Born to try”, then the title track is another uptempo song which seems to recall her own childhood, bopping along at a nice lick and with a sort of sense of drama to it, nice vocal hook, though the melody tends to change key a little unsettlingly and then slip back to the original. Hmm. The off-key, slightly out-of-tune piano, while quite obviously deliberate to underline the idea of learning to play piano at an early age, is also a little off-putting. Can't say I like this... Surprising how suddenly your view can change! I loved the opener, but I think I quite hate this. So let's see how track three fares. “Not me, not I” becomes the first ballad, and quickly brings things back onto an even keel, with some lovely classical or Spanish guitar and Delta back singing softly, which I think suits her better. There are several people involved in the writing of this song, including her producer, Take That's Gary Barlow, and Kara DioGuardi, as well as Delta herself, who has input to almost every song on this album. Nice piano on this and some lovely string arrangements really flesh the song out, then “Throw it away” is the first of only three of the fourteen tracks here where she does not participate in the songwriting. A sort of acoustic bluesy type of song, with a striding beat, it kind of reminds me of Kelly Clarkson. Whether that's a good thing or not I don't know, but it has elements of “Breakway” in it, which is not to say that it's a rip-off of that song in any way, but it does bring it to my mind. Next one up is another song written for her, and which became one of her biggest hit singles. “Lost without you” I would have assumed to have been a slow, sentimental piano ballad, but though the tempo is slow enough, it's not a ballad, with chuggy drums and nice guitar. Sprinklings of her piano pepper the song, but I think she does better when that instrument is to the fore. Still, it was a big hit so I guess people liked it. Not one of my favourites, though certainly better than the title track. Well, so far it's not quite “meh” but it's not “woo-hoo!” either. Definitely something there, but is it enough to pique my often demanding interest? Hell, I'm the guy who didn't like Peter Gabriel's “New blood”! Let's continue on and see. Is the next track predictable? Well, yes it is, but that's the title. As for the music, that's not really predictable at all. The piano melody reminds me of nothing more than Nick Cave's “As I sat sadly by her side”, and the song is a sort of mid-paced rocker almost, with some pretty hard guitar fading then back into the piano line. “Butterfly”, then, is the last of the songs not to be written or co-written by her, a nice little semi-bopper with some busy drum machine action and eighties style keyboards, and that distinctive piano melody running through the song. Other than the opener, I don't see anything (well, hear I should say) that completely grabs my attention, and although the bulk of what I've heard so far is good, it's not great overall. But then, we're only halfway through the album, so there's time for a dramatic improvement. I have to say though, I'm less than hopeful at this point. “In my own time” is the first of two songs written solo by Delta, and does it show? Well, it's certainly more piano-led, a sort of mid-paced ballad, though rather oddly I would think so far there hasn't been an actual slow ballad. Perhaps she's holding it back for the big finale? “My big mistake” comes in on a solid, Bruce Hornsby-esque piano line with some nice strings, but then sort of devolves into a standard pop song when it looked like it was going to be so much more. “This is not me” is a harder rocker, but again I don't see it standing out particularly, though there is a lot of energy in the song, and it comes across as quite honest and open. There's a real sense of dance and even soul to “Running away”, but it's on “A year ago today” that we find at last a true diamond among all the costume jewellery, and yes, it's the first ballad, and it turns out to be well worth having waited for. Opening on the acoustic piano it's soft and lush, tender and fragile, then the drums kick in, but gently, and the song slips along on a nice piano and keyboard melody. Delta's voice here is pure country songstress, soulful, heartfelt and passionate, but without any harshness. Beautiful strings arrangement make this song close to perfect, but is it too little too late? Well, if those crystal clear piano notes are anything to go by, perhaps not. “Longer”, though it opens like a ballad, is not one, but does keep the sudden surge in quality going, with a soft rock mid-pacer, with again great strings and some really nice and well-placed piano along with some effective backing vocals. The closer is another ballad, and indeed the second track on the album completely written by Delta. “Will you fall for me” is again close to perfect, tiny tinkling piano taking the song in before it gets more solid and slows down, getting almost classical in its feel, and I expect strings to make an entrance anytime soon... yeah, there's the cello, courtesy of Ameena Maria Khawaja, just filling in at the right spot and then fading back out to allow the lone piano take the melody as Delta's gentle, soft voice rises in pitch as the song reaches its climax, holding the last note acapella and then finishing off with a flourish on the piano. Nice ending. Yes, nice ending, but unfortunately it's a case of a few stars visible in an otherwise cloudy night sky. The other tracks are not bad, per se (other than the title, which I really hate), but they're not up to the calibre of the last three, and adding in the opener “Born to try”, they're still in the minority, so I would have to file this under “interested, tried, not terrible but no return visit likely”. A good first effort, and maybe her subsequent releases were a lot better --- this is a debut, after all --- but there's little here to make me want to hear more. TRACKLISTING 1. Born to try 2. Innocent eyes 3. Not me, not I 4. Throw it away 5. Lost without you 6. Predictable 7. Butterfly 8. In my own time 9. My big mistake 10. This is not me 11. Running away 12. A year ago today 13. Longer 14. Will you fall for me __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018