Astley's post-retirement discography has been an enjoyable, safe, mixed bag of gospel, non-threatening pop, and warm romance. I went into Beautiful Life thinking it would be the same thing which can at times result in some songs being forgettable. Much as the world loved 50, only a couple of tracks really gelled with me.
So for this release I sat down and listened intently to each song, picking up the enjoyable bits to explain why they are worth listening to. Usually an album has songs that sound very similar in arrangement, but I did a test and skimming through Beautiful Life I gleefully discovered I could identify every song instantly with their opening bars. They are so audibly different, which is rare for any album released since the Baroque era.
Let's start with the title track - Beautiful Life. If it was about three octaves higher it'd be something the Bee Gees released in their prime. It has a thumping beat and an unashamedly disco sound and that means you want to dance to it. I've played this song at full volume at work. Everyone started moving. It's infectious. This wouldn't be a critical review if I didn't pick it apart to find something to criticise so... the yodelling at the start?
I don't like country or line dancing. I am conditioned to burn down a barn should any hoedown threaten to begin. I hesitate to call Chance to Dance a Country song but it has a country sound. And I want to hate it yet everything about it just works. That is a thing about this album. Things I tend to hate hearing in music just belong and feel at home with every single track they're in. They compliment, they harmonise, and even a plunky guitar and harmonica are just familiar cousins stopping by for a cup of tea instead of the worst possible combination of instruments since anything on earth flirted with a vuvuzela. I want to hate the country sound in Chance to Dance... but I just can't. So instead I'll hate the fact the song is 3 minutes and 11 seconds of someone waiting patiently to dance with someone while I can't get a single customer to wait one minute for a burrito before they chuck a tanty.
She Makes Me is an uplifting ballad. Nothing wrong with that. I usually associate ballads with moody crooners so it's nice to have an uplifting one. If life was a Musical on Broadway or the West End, 'She Makes Me' would be the song the male protagonist sings after meeting the female protagonist and his heart has swollen so much he has to sing about his love and feeling and whatnot or else he'll explode from happiness. There is also an underlying theme of forging trust through touch which is quite sweet. Maybe if Romeo sang this to Juliet instead of flirting via sonnet the murder/suicides never would've began. Shakespeare should've been Rick Asley. But I promised myself I wouldn't be 100% complimentary so my one quibble with this number is with the arrangement. The lyrics clearly state 'So I bang the drums...' when there is no drum accompaniment audible at that moment. In fact it sounds more like a crash cymbal followed by either a ride cymbal or open hi-hat beat. There's also a strong presence of Tommy Two Times in the lyrics in the lyrics.
Another thing I hate with music is syncopated snare drums bordering on the electronically manipulated. And yet here I am again being forced to admit the rapid syncopated percussion that pop up occasionally in Fevers just fit the song so damn well. I can't hate it yet my snobby traditionalist self should. It's an expressionist painting I don't understand yet the colours and brushstrokes just work to make something beautiful and for the life of me I don't know why. And I have to admit Fever sounds good. It's catchy and has an infectious rhythm. A quibble I need to have is the recurrence of Tommy Two Times again Tommy Two Times again.
Now I'm no expert on Musical History but I'm fairly certain Green Day, Miss Saigon and countless other artists have musically pondered what the Last Night On Earth would be like, but Rick Astley's contribution to the hypothetical apocalyptic genre is a simple chorus, a message of still keeping the fires lit on an old relationship and not being afraid to take risks or change, and a slight country sound. Cos when I think of the apocalypse I think of country music. Again, my one negative point is Tommy Two Times strikes again strikes again. Only it makes for a nice slow dance to an evening. If this doesn't become a 'Late into the Reception' Wedding Song, all future weddings are missing out. Missing out.
Tommy Two Times runs rampant over Every Corner. In fact, if you removed all the repeated lines the song would probably go for 15 seconds. Right, that's the negative out of the way so on to the positives. Holy crap Astley oozes charm with a whispered baritone throughout. He could whisper in my ear every day about doing stupid things and I'd melt into a pile of goo. I also find the chorus for this one one of the strongest of the album with a pulsing energy once the rhythm picks up and the song gains a beat. I struggled to not sing along to the chorus even on first listen because you get the hang of it pretty quick thanks to Tommy Two Times. So I guess that guy can't be all bad all bad.
Now, I can only interpret these tracks as an outsider with an English degree, and Rick Astley can be free to contact me and tell me I have no idea what I'm writing about, but I find I Need the Light a rather deep meaningful song. It reads like a middle aged person looking at the world and seeing it in its current state (totally F'ed up the A) and reassuring oneself and one's partner that sooner or later it'll get better. There's even a nice story going on about one generation stepping aside and letting the youth come forward. It's rather stirring. The downside? All the positive stuff for the future hasn't happened yet.
If you're in the market for some Tommy Two Times but with a thumping beat and a bit of call and response in the lyrics, Better Together provides. This is a catchy number I found myself mouthing along to in the kitchen lest my poor alto vocals spoil the arrangement. The song is a slow burner, starting slow before picking up as the chorus closes in. It's interesting to note that the verses are a mere four lines here but the chorus is where the bulk of the songs message comes from. The story seems like a couple have had a tiff, parted ways, and they are both reeling. Decisions are regretted, pain felt deeply and both sides know they're Better Together than apart. It's a nice change of perspective from either the usual a 'Breakup Song' or a 'Love Is Awesome Isn't It Awesome Look How Awesome It Is' song. If I had to nitpick I'd have to say the weakness is the repetition but then again it does make the song a catchy one.
If I'm not listening to music all sense of affection, affectation and adoration dries up in a stone cold inner core protected by a solid shell resembling a human. The only thing that warms me up is a purring cat or a good album. So there's this odd feeling that Empty Heart is directed to people like me who tend to keep a distance from a relationship but at the same time don't want to lose said relationship. It's a constant conflict. And not being the composer of this song I can't guarantee that is the message. Like a few songs on this album, it begins talking about the singer's significant other then later shifts to the singer himself. It's a nice kind of twist that you don't hear enough in music that Astley seems a master at. I didn't realise the message of the songs had changed until listening to the tracks for about the 248th time. Bad point is as the song builds it takes a country sound that makes it come across a little like the slowest line-dance in history.
I've let it be known many times that a warm baritone voice whispering in my ear is my number one idea of heaven. If that is also your idea of heaven, allow me to introduce you to Rise Up. It probably has the best example of Rick Astley's charming dulcet tones and baritone range. I could listen to Astley whispering the stock market report in my ear for all eternity and be content. This is the ecstasy of the opening few lines of Rise Up. The title sounds like some RnB type psyche-up song, or a number from that Hamilton show everyone raves about, but it isn't. It's got a rhythm but nothing too hectic - everything about it is understated and smooth. Eventually some sort of music kicks in and whatnot but all that I remember after the 15th listen is the greatest voice in the world whispering in my headphones. The only negative is that he isn't whispering sweet things to me in person. Way to shatter my aural dreams. Yes, I meant 'aural'.
The penultimate track is Try. Bloody hell this one tugs on your heart strings so hard they break, then gently stitches them back up again and pushes you out into the world healed, uplifted and ready for anything. This has got to be on any future 'Best of Rick Astley' Album. It's quietly understated, builds very slowly and Astley's voice is raw, warm, and honest. Try is the song that I have kept on repeat for days because if I hear anything else I might fade into a pile of emotional goo. It's so rare a song resonates and bloody hell this one resonates with me so much my bones vibrate. If I could ever meet Mr Astley face to face, and I had only a moment to say everything within my soul, I'd thank him for Try. I desperately needed this song in my life. I've tried to find a bad thing about this song but failed. I thought for once YouTube comments would help but they praise this song too. While some of us like dance numbers, there are those looking for music that speaks to their soul and this song does it for me. It breaks my heart that this track isn't as well circulated as Beautiful Life.
Finally there's The Good Old Days, that starts with a gong and ends with Beautiful Life if you've left your player on 'Album Loop'. This is a tribute to a bygone age. A nostalgia trip where you're a kid soaking up the musical influences of older siblings or parents. There's some nice distorted guitar shredding going on as well. What can I criticise about this song? I'm gonna have to go real petty here: it lovingly mentions Radios, Records, Tapes and CDs but ignores Marconi MIDI Discs. There we go. But kudos for selling this album on cassette, LP and CD then fondly mentioning those formats in song. That's clever nostalgic promotion right there.
I've seen Rick Astley live and he is an absolute blast. He had a full theatre of varying ages on their feet for the entire night and this album succeeds in doing the same. Two albums arrived in the post before I wrote this: one by Sir Paul McCartney of very stripped down old jazz standards, and this one of self-composed and performed tracks recorded in a garage. The winner was the singer whose concert tickets I could afford. I love Beautiful Life. It's made my life more colourful, listening to it at work or in the car - it's currently the only soundtrack I need to get by. I dearly hope people go out and give this album a go because I sorely want Mr Astley's talents and passion to gain the attention he deserves.
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| By all accounts it's a Beautiful Life. |
I don't like country or line dancing. I am conditioned to burn down a barn should any hoedown threaten to begin. I hesitate to call Chance to Dance a Country song but it has a country sound. And I want to hate it yet everything about it just works. That is a thing about this album. Things I tend to hate hearing in music just belong and feel at home with every single track they're in. They compliment, they harmonise, and even a plunky guitar and harmonica are just familiar cousins stopping by for a cup of tea instead of the worst possible combination of instruments since anything on earth flirted with a vuvuzela. I want to hate the country sound in Chance to Dance... but I just can't. So instead I'll hate the fact the song is 3 minutes and 11 seconds of someone waiting patiently to dance with someone while I can't get a single customer to wait one minute for a burrito before they chuck a tanty.
She Makes Me is an uplifting ballad. Nothing wrong with that. I usually associate ballads with moody crooners so it's nice to have an uplifting one. If life was a Musical on Broadway or the West End, 'She Makes Me' would be the song the male protagonist sings after meeting the female protagonist and his heart has swollen so much he has to sing about his love and feeling and whatnot or else he'll explode from happiness. There is also an underlying theme of forging trust through touch which is quite sweet. Maybe if Romeo sang this to Juliet instead of flirting via sonnet the murder/suicides never would've began. Shakespeare should've been Rick Asley. But I promised myself I wouldn't be 100% complimentary so my one quibble with this number is with the arrangement. The lyrics clearly state 'So I bang the drums...' when there is no drum accompaniment audible at that moment. In fact it sounds more like a crash cymbal followed by either a ride cymbal or open hi-hat beat. There's also a strong presence of Tommy Two Times in the lyrics in the lyrics.
Another thing I hate with music is syncopated snare drums bordering on the electronically manipulated. And yet here I am again being forced to admit the rapid syncopated percussion that pop up occasionally in Fevers just fit the song so damn well. I can't hate it yet my snobby traditionalist self should. It's an expressionist painting I don't understand yet the colours and brushstrokes just work to make something beautiful and for the life of me I don't know why. And I have to admit Fever sounds good. It's catchy and has an infectious rhythm. A quibble I need to have is the recurrence of Tommy Two Times again Tommy Two Times again.
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| Would totally hang with this guy for the Last Night on Earth. |
Tommy Two Times runs rampant over Every Corner. In fact, if you removed all the repeated lines the song would probably go for 15 seconds. Right, that's the negative out of the way so on to the positives. Holy crap Astley oozes charm with a whispered baritone throughout. He could whisper in my ear every day about doing stupid things and I'd melt into a pile of goo. I also find the chorus for this one one of the strongest of the album with a pulsing energy once the rhythm picks up and the song gains a beat. I struggled to not sing along to the chorus even on first listen because you get the hang of it pretty quick thanks to Tommy Two Times. So I guess that guy can't be all bad all bad.
Now, I can only interpret these tracks as an outsider with an English degree, and Rick Astley can be free to contact me and tell me I have no idea what I'm writing about, but I find I Need the Light a rather deep meaningful song. It reads like a middle aged person looking at the world and seeing it in its current state (totally F'ed up the A) and reassuring oneself and one's partner that sooner or later it'll get better. There's even a nice story going on about one generation stepping aside and letting the youth come forward. It's rather stirring. The downside? All the positive stuff for the future hasn't happened yet.
If you're in the market for some Tommy Two Times but with a thumping beat and a bit of call and response in the lyrics, Better Together provides. This is a catchy number I found myself mouthing along to in the kitchen lest my poor alto vocals spoil the arrangement. The song is a slow burner, starting slow before picking up as the chorus closes in. It's interesting to note that the verses are a mere four lines here but the chorus is where the bulk of the songs message comes from. The story seems like a couple have had a tiff, parted ways, and they are both reeling. Decisions are regretted, pain felt deeply and both sides know they're Better Together than apart. It's a nice change of perspective from either the usual a 'Breakup Song' or a 'Love Is Awesome Isn't It Awesome Look How Awesome It Is' song. If I had to nitpick I'd have to say the weakness is the repetition but then again it does make the song a catchy one.
If I'm not listening to music all sense of affection, affectation and adoration dries up in a stone cold inner core protected by a solid shell resembling a human. The only thing that warms me up is a purring cat or a good album. So there's this odd feeling that Empty Heart is directed to people like me who tend to keep a distance from a relationship but at the same time don't want to lose said relationship. It's a constant conflict. And not being the composer of this song I can't guarantee that is the message. Like a few songs on this album, it begins talking about the singer's significant other then later shifts to the singer himself. It's a nice kind of twist that you don't hear enough in music that Astley seems a master at. I didn't realise the message of the songs had changed until listening to the tracks for about the 248th time. Bad point is as the song builds it takes a country sound that makes it come across a little like the slowest line-dance in history.
I've let it be known many times that a warm baritone voice whispering in my ear is my number one idea of heaven. If that is also your idea of heaven, allow me to introduce you to Rise Up. It probably has the best example of Rick Astley's charming dulcet tones and baritone range. I could listen to Astley whispering the stock market report in my ear for all eternity and be content. This is the ecstasy of the opening few lines of Rise Up. The title sounds like some RnB type psyche-up song, or a number from that Hamilton show everyone raves about, but it isn't. It's got a rhythm but nothing too hectic - everything about it is understated and smooth. Eventually some sort of music kicks in and whatnot but all that I remember after the 15th listen is the greatest voice in the world whispering in my headphones. The only negative is that he isn't whispering sweet things to me in person. Way to shatter my aural dreams. Yes, I meant 'aural'.
The penultimate track is Try. Bloody hell this one tugs on your heart strings so hard they break, then gently stitches them back up again and pushes you out into the world healed, uplifted and ready for anything. This has got to be on any future 'Best of Rick Astley' Album. It's quietly understated, builds very slowly and Astley's voice is raw, warm, and honest. Try is the song that I have kept on repeat for days because if I hear anything else I might fade into a pile of emotional goo. It's so rare a song resonates and bloody hell this one resonates with me so much my bones vibrate. If I could ever meet Mr Astley face to face, and I had only a moment to say everything within my soul, I'd thank him for Try. I desperately needed this song in my life. I've tried to find a bad thing about this song but failed. I thought for once YouTube comments would help but they praise this song too. While some of us like dance numbers, there are those looking for music that speaks to their soul and this song does it for me. It breaks my heart that this track isn't as well circulated as Beautiful Life.
 |
| Genuine brand new cassettes!! |
I've seen Rick Astley live and he is an absolute blast. He had a full theatre of varying ages on their feet for the entire night and this album succeeds in doing the same. Two albums arrived in the post before I wrote this: one by Sir Paul McCartney of very stripped down old jazz standards, and this one of self-composed and performed tracks recorded in a garage. The winner was the singer whose concert tickets I could afford. I love Beautiful Life. It's made my life more colourful, listening to it at work or in the car - it's currently the only soundtrack I need to get by. I dearly hope people go out and give this album a go because I sorely want Mr Astley's talents and passion to gain the attention he deserves.
