There is not a theatre fan who doesn’t know Michael Ball. He
is nothing short of a theatre legend and remains a leading musical star as well
as a nationally adored radio host and TV presenter. He became a household name
as the original Marius with the London cast Les Miserables in 1985, and has
since stormed the West End, Broadway and theatres worldwide in Olivier winning
roles such as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray, and as the title character in Sweeney
Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. His new 15 track album “If Everyone Was
Listening” was released on November 17th 2014 and is already #3 on the Easy
Listening charts.
I was fortunate enough to see his “Heroes” tour in 2012,
again as Sweeney Todd at the Adelphi Theatre in 2013, and also as the host of
West End Heroes in September this year, and he was nothing short of
extraordinary on all three occasions so it’s fair to say I had very high
expectations for this album to blow me away.
Let me first clarify that there are some stunning songs on
this album, and simply put, the track list goes from strength to strength as
you read down the list, however, this album has confused me. As I look down at
the cover of the album and see his bright eyes, fuzzy goatee and mischievous
smile looking up at me, I feel guilty just for thinking this criticism but I
must be honest with myself and say that this album is not his best.
Ball’s voice remains as powerful and poignant as ever, but
the songs he has chosen have somewhat baffled me. For the first couple of tracks,
“Bad Things” and “Simple Love”, I was somewhat concerned that Ball had chosen
to pursue his hidden ambition of being a country and western performer… The
crossover is bizarre and it seriously puzzled me. With a beautiful cover of
Jason Mraz’s “I Won’t Give Up” followed by a heart-warming rendition of
“Jessie”, originally by Joshua Kadison, Ball redeems the out-of-place opening
tracks.
My favourite song on the album is “You Needed Me”. The
orchestrations on this ballad are soft and understated and even though
accompanied by a chorus, Ball has a delicate emotion searing through his voice
throughout the track. It sent visuals of a couples’ first dance at a wedding
racing through my mind… Yes, this is the style of Michael Ball I love most.
The beat is lifted in “Stuck Like Glue” which is playful and
infectious. I can imagine Ball will be superb performing this one live; his
cheeky grin lighting up the stage as he sings “woah-oh woah-oh, whatcha go’n
do?”. I liked this one, despite it being rather different from his ‘traditional’
style.
Thankfully his cover of Miley Cyrus’s “The Climb” is lost in
the middle of the album. There is nothing wrong with his vocals at all, it’s
just that the song was never good in the first place… Thankfully, “Let it be
me” featuring The Overtones, is an absolute winner. Soothing and calming in
every way you could hope for. This is the song which ‘classic’ Michael Ball
fans will love.
Overall, this album is a mixed bag with some stylistic
confusion. I’m sure it’s clear from my introductions that I have adored Michael
Ball for many years but this album is definitely not his best, however, it
isn’t bad. As Easy Listening albums go, this one is a goodu’n; but as someone
who wanted more ‘classic Michael Ball’ on this album, I was disappointed. He is
as vocally strong and emotive as ever; it’s just not quite what I was hoping
for.
Review by Harriet Langdown
Rating: ★★★
