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DVDfever.co.uk – Mark Read: Peace At Last CD reviewElly Roberts reviews
CBM Records
- Released: June 2009
- Rating: 8/10
- Vote and comment on this album:View Comments
Ex-boybander moves on significantly.
Give credit where its due, Mark Read has proved himself way beyond his days with boy band A1.
A1 disbanded some seven years ago now, and since then hes concentrated on his songwriting skills which have been taken up by Bee Gee Robin Gibb, Charlotte Church, Andy Abraham to mention but a few.
In fairness to Read, whos now 30, hes matured as a singer and writer of excellent anthemic pop / show tunes which might feature on a Take That or Boyzone album. Hes supporting the latter on a couple of gigs this summer, so he already fits the bill.Read and various collaborators have managed to conjure up some hefty pop hooks here, without bordering (too much) on the saccharine.
His opening song, the title track, is anthemic in quality, a punchy ditty that would fit perfectly on the Radio 2 playlist format. Keeping the MOR mindset, Cat Out Of The Bag has shades of Freddie Mercurys bombastic best, whereas Lie To You is a monster power-ballad backed by some impressive production.
He finds better form on yet another anthem Cold. Its whopping chorus is the hook here. Things move a pace again on Your World Moves Faster another stirring ballad that would an excellent single.Showing he can mix it, the next two are quality ballads of differing stylistic leanings, though its a more conventional slowie which brings the best out of him Wide Open Spaces also, it includes his best vocal performance showing hes got plenty of range.
Of all the tracks dedicated to loves trials and tribulations, Here And Now stands head and shoulders above the rest. This is a stirring song which many a pop star would love to get their hands on.The jewel in the crown is beautiful ballad The Greatest Lady In My Life, dedicated to his mother, and special mothers around the world.
Read might not become a star himself. Im sure hell get plenty of work as a composer though, with plenty of singers wholl jump at his work.
The verdict Youll be surprised, very surprised.
Weblinks:markreadmusic.com /myspace.com/markreadmusic
The full list of tracks included are :
1. Peace At Last
2. Cat Out Of The Bag
3. Lie To You
4. Cold
5. Your World Moves Faster
6. Fallen From Grace
7. Make Sense Of It All
8. Wide Open Spaces
9. The Last Kiss
10. Shell Never Know
11. Better Where I Am
12. Here And Now
13. I Owe It All To You
14. Greatest Lady In My LifeView the discussion thread.blog comments powered by Disqus= 0) {query += ‘url’ + i + ‘=’ + encodeURIComponent(links[i].href) + ‘&’;}}document.write(”);})();//]]]]>]]>
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.