Published on Nov 11, 2000
I hate doing this. I remember a couple of years ago, when a
friend introduced me to an Irish rock band named The Corrs. Made up
of three hottie sisters and their brother, they blended traditional
Celtic sounds with pop hooks to create a tasty blend of pop. At the
time, most were not aware of them, but they soon became. Tours with
the likes of Celine Dion and years of concerts and albums have made
the band a pop up-and-comer. So I hate clipping some of their wings
this soon.
You see, their latest album,
In Blue, seems to be nothing more than a rehash of their old
music – albeit with less Irish influence. I don’t know whether they
are tired due to their work schedule or if they have stopped
trying, but the Sisters and Brother Corr’s latest album is the
weakest they’ve released so far.
What makes it worse is that they lead off with the strongest
song in this album, “Breathless.” One of three songs they
collaborated with Robert John “Mutt” Lange (AKA Mr. Twain), this is
an example of what The Corrs do best. It features the harmony of
the Corr sisters at vocals, strong blend of guitar and violin and a
lovely rhythm that brings it all together. If the album could
maintain this tempo or if it was peppered with more songs of this
quality, it would have been a step forward. Alas, that is not to
be.
OK, now let me say that there are a few other good songs here.
Both of the Corrs’ other colaborations with “Mutt” Lange work
great. “All The Love In The World” is a soft ballad, while
“Irresistible” is an upbeat, up-tempo slice of pop. Add to them the
tender “One Night,” the upbeat “No More Cry” and the soft “Rain.”
And then there’s the instrumental “Rebel Heart,” which is very airy
and open. This album-closing track is the only song that sounds
truly imbedded in their Celt-oriented sounds.
However, the problem is that the band seems to sit on its
laurels and releases a good number of average and standard pop
fares. They’re not bad per se. Let me restate that: there is no BAD
song here. So, then what’s the problem? These songs seem to miss
the final step that turns average songs into great songs.
All of the songs here can be split into one of two groups. The
first is the soft ballad about love and love lost. Here you pile
“Somebody For Someone,” “All In A Day” and “Hurt Before.” This is
the kind of stuff that this band already perfected in songs like
“Runaway.” The second pile of songs is the more up-tempo straight
pop of songs like “Give Me A Reason,” “Say,” “At Your Side” and
“Give It All Up.” Again, this band has already given us better
versions in this genre with songs like “Heaven Knows” and “Only
When I Sleep.” This tends to put these new songs against the
eight-ball. It’s not that they’re bad, but that they fail to
register above the level of nice.
Does that mean that hardcore fans of this Irish pop-group should
not go out and buy it? Of course not. Even new fans will be pleased
with this album. It’s just that when you compare
In Blue to their other releases, there seems to be no
growth; no advances in their musical style. It’s The Corrs,
straigthforward and simple, but there’s no way to tell whether
these are the Corrs of 1995 or 2000. Whether they need a simple
kick in their beautiful booties or a change in how they write music
is unknown, but they do need to evolve.
At the end,
In Blue is a good pop album. While that will keep the fans
happy, it is not necesarily the best they could release. It’s my
hope that, by the time we hear new music from them, the Corrs have
managed to harness their Celtic sounds, pop hooks and harmonious
vocals and managed to craft pop songs that refuse to leave your
head – after all, that is the ultimate test of any pop song.