The Corrs - In Blue

Released: July 13, 2000

Purchased: Five or six years ago at Barnes & Noble. Saw it in the budget section and took it over to the listening station because I'd heard Sixpence None the Richer compared to them, and liked what I heard.

Playthrough:

Breathless - I think there's a good argument to be made that this was their artistic peak to date, though it's not my favorite on the album. It's really catchy, and one of their most exoteric moments, but still identifiably Corrs.

Give Me a Reason - This is so of its time, but I love it anyway. It's sort of generic, but a great generic song is still a great song. The Cutfather and Joe remix is a little better than the original mix.

Somebody for Someone - Unusually dark theme for a Corrs song, but it fits well in their aesthetic. It has a great melody, and I adore Sharon's "somebody's gotta make it right" BGVs. She really was criminally underused as a singer - she's by no means as skilled a vocalist as Andrea, but I love her tone.

Say - The first song on the album that doesn't totally do it for me. It's pleasant, but unremarkable. It sounds like a B-side, actually. It just doesn't fit in at this point on the album.

All the Love in the World - Wonderful production and performance that really enhance the melody. It's like The Corrs doing a Céline-type power ballad: Andrea's voice has its weaknesses, and it never quite explodes, but it has a big emotional punch. The only low point is the outro - the remix's outro is way better.

Radio - I know many fans prefer the original MTV Unplugged version, and though I really like that one (and the similar Live in Dublin version), I think I like this one more. It's got the angst of the original, but is a lot catchier - a proto-1989 tea.

Irresistible - I played this one to death and back when I got the album. It is such a summer anthem - breezy, fun, sweet. I'm still miffed it wasn't included on the Dreams comp.

One Night - I've only rarely made it all the way through this. I hesitate to call it noisy since it's so slow and soft, but I don't know what other word to use. It needs a much better melody - a rarity among Corrs songs. Well, at least it doesn't have Alejandro Sanz like the Spanish version (I can't stand his voice).

All in a Day - Pretty basic filler. Nothing wrong with it, but I never seek it out to listen to.

At Your Side - Another remake from the Unplugged session, but unlike Radio, it's very similar to the original, just a little more popped up. It's the most Talk on Corners song on the album, and it's kind of a nice link to their past at a time when they were overhauling their sound.

No More Cry - It's like a Katy Perry song: generic, basic, shoddy lyrics in spots, but effortlessly happy and so fun that it overcomes its flaws.

Rain - Another filler song. It really sounds like it was meant to be a B-side. I'd have liked for this and All in a Day to have been the Breathless B-sides in place of Head in the Air and Judy (neither of which needed to ever be released), with their places taken by the spectacular Make You Mine (instead of sentencing it to best-of album track) and Looking in the Eyes of Love from the bonus disc. That being said, it's perfectly fine. The syncopation in the chorus makes it stick in my head (kind of Amy Grant-like), though I don't remember the verses at all. But I don't understand why it's called Rain...

Give It All Up - The best Ace of Base imitation this side of Alejandro. The downside is that, unlike Alejandro, it hasn't really been integrated into the act's sound, so it sticks out on the album like Madonna on Instagram, and just comes off as an attempt to ape Ace of Base, with oddly processed vocals. Nonetheless: amazing.

Hurt Before - I took a long time to come around to this; it wasn't until the lyrics took on meaning for me that I started to really like it. It's nice, and Andrea's vocals are pretty good, but it does drag on a bit.

Rebel Heart - I spent some time as a narcissist... Ahem. This is an instrumental, and I'm not generally here for instrumentals, but it's really good for what it is.

Final verdict: Though it's certainly got its flaws, this is a really strong MOR-pop album, and a good example of how to change your sound and image fairly successfully. The songwriting isn't as strong as on their other albums, but the production is consistently great: they and Mutt Lange were a great match, though it's too bad there wasn't a David Foster song or two in there. With a little trimming and reworking (as described above), it's a really solid pop album, and it is a great introduction to the band. 7/10.

Highlight: I could easily go with Breathless, Irresistible, Give Me a Reason, or All in the Love in the World, but I'll toss the honor to my favorite album track.

Ace of Base - Da Capo

(the Japanese version!)

Released: September 2003

Purchased: Six or seven years ago on eBay.

Playthrough:

Unspeakable - I loved this and played the crap out of it when I bought it on iTunes as I was going through my Ace of Base phase in ninth or tenth grade. (I got the album in tenth or eleventh.) I remember specifically loving the "it's all so clear ... tooo ... meeeeee! ALLLLLLL!" bit and the key change. Now I don't really care for it, which is sad because I want to go back to being able to hear it as one of the greatest songs ever.

Beautiful Morning - Kind of obviously the "fuck, we need a viable single" track, but still extremely good. I've always loved the video too - beautifully filmed.

Remember the Words - It's appropriate my last review was of Hilary, because this is a very 2003 Disney-type track. The lyrics are meant well but sort of hopelessly basic ("remember the words, you are never on your own, out here alone"), and it mimics that The Matrix / Alain Bertoni production style perfectly. Would have fit in on Christy Carlson Romano's "album" or any early-'00s Disney soundtrack without anyone batting an eye.

Da Capo - Among their most dancey songs. It's a very good, catchy song - sort of like Kesha with less auto-tune - but the lyrics have always bothered me. It's like they took two different songs, one about being in love with someone who can't tell ("I'm telling you I am your friend / But you can't hear me in your dreams") and one about a relationship based purely on sex ("I'm your everlasting property"), and combined them without a further thought.

World Down Under - Another Matrix-type song. It's not as good as Morning or Da Capo, but it's more than serviceable, and among the more Ace of Base-ish songs on the album. The lyric "I believe in there's a world down under" has always bothered me though, because "I believe there's a world down under" or "I believe in a world down under" would have made perfect sense, but combining them doesn't.

Ordinary Day - This is my big discovery from replaying the album. I've never paid much attention to it before, but I'm loving it right now. Unless I'm very much mistaken, it's the only song Linn sings lead on. Though I love Jenny, I think Linn is marginally the better vocalist, and this is a pretty good showcase of her vocal abilities. It's a little bland, but it works for me. It's basically Don't Go Away 2.0 (and that's another one that only clicked with me fairly recently).

Wonderful Life - Of all the versions of this song I know (Kim Wilde, Tina Cousins, Lara Fabian), this is probably my favorite. It's far more upbeat and bright and shiny than the original or the other covers. It's also pretty much the only thing on the album that sounds like it could have been on Happy Nation, despite the group's explanation of the album title as meaning that they'd gone back to that sound. Then again, Happy Nation is by far my least favorite of their albums (not counting the dot group's album), so whatever.

Show Me Love - This was my favorite for a long time, and may still be. It takes the smooth sound of Flowers and runs with it. It's identifiably Ace of Base, but it could easily have been played on AC radio. Pity it wasn't a single.

What's the Name of the Game - Filler. They obviously try harkening back to the Living in Danger-type synth lines under the chorus, but it doesn't really work. It's not a BAD song, but it's obviously not as good as anything else on the album, or on Flowers for that matter.

Change with the Light - I was obsessed with this one too. It sounds exactly nothing like Ace of Base, but it's great, and they deliver it better than I can imagine anyone else doing. Jenny's and Ulf's voices are a perfect fit for the song, and it's exquisitely played and produced.

Hey Darling - I think this is one of the fan favorites. It's perfectly nice, but a little boring compared to most of the album.

The Juvenile - This would have been great as a Bond theme, shame that rat bastard Clive Davis yanked them from the project. That being said, outside of the Bond context it was a laughable choice as a single (especially a lead single, for God's sake...). I really love it - it actually has kind of a Tori sound to it, but darker - and I think it has great lyrics, but I absolutely cannot imagine hearing it on the radio.

Don't Stop - Basic bop done right. Sounds like it came off The Lizzie McGuire Movie soundtrack, which isn't a bad thing. It doesn't shine as well as most of the main album, though.

Summer Days - All I can think is that it sounds like a demo. An almost-finished demo to be fair, but still, a demo. I've struggled to understand the lyrics for years, but I think I've finally got it, and it's about realizing you're in love with an old friend you're out of contact with. It sounds appropriately beachy, and for the most part the lyrics are fine; I just wish they'd polished it up a bit.

Beautiful Morning (Groove Radio Edit) - Nice idea but poorly done. Should've been replaced with the Junk&Function/M12 mix of Unspeakable, which is about 1000 times better.

Final verdict: If you've noticed all the references to Disney above, well, that's deliberate. I kept thinking as I played the album that it really, really sounds like AOB trying to ape the Disney sound perfected on albums like Myra's debut and the Princess Diaries soundtrack, often at the expense of their own sound. Luckily for them, I happen to love that sound. The songs themselves are at about their usual level, maybe a little lower than Flowers. This is probably my favorite of their albums, though I understand why the Happy Nation crowd didn't like it. 9/10.

Highlight: Show Me Love