Saturday, 28 December 2013

Top 20 singles/albums - Week Beginning 30/12/13

Top 20 Singles


1. Pitbull feat Ke$ha - Timber (3) (CR-20-OUT-18-14-7-3-1)
2. Gary Barlow & Elton John - Face To Face (2) (CR-1-1-1-2-2)
3. Leona Lewis - One More Sleep (1) (CR-18-18-19-16-15-12-2-1-3)
4. Agnes - Instant Repeater (NEW) (CR-4)
5. Clean Bandit feat Jess Glynne - Rather Be (5) (CR-8-5-5)
6. Avicii - Hey Brother (6) (CR-13-10-11-11-5-3-6-10-17-13-13-6-3-6-6)
7. A Great Big World feat Christina Aguilera - Say Something (9) (CR-13-9-7)
8. Seinabo Sey - Younger (NEW) (CR-8)
9. Beyoncé - Pretty Hurts (12) (CR-12-9)
10. Public Service Broadcasting - Spitfire (NEW) (CR-10)
11. Rivaz - #1 (Colors) (Re-entry) (CR-2-1-2-3-2-2-3-4-6-10-16-OUT-11)
12. Pharrell Williams - Happy (10) (CR-10-12)
13. Beyoncé - Yoncé/Partition (NEW) (CR-13)
14. Sam Bailey - Skyscraper (4) (CR-4-14)
15. Leddra Chapman - Blue Tattoo (NEW) (CR-15)
16. Lorde - Team (19) (CR-19-16)
17. Little Mix - Little Me (Re-entry) (CR-18-OUT-17)
18. Cash Cash feat Bebe Rexha - Take Me Home (NEW) (CR-18)
19. Leddra Chapman - Do You Think (NEW) (CR-19)
20. Burial - Come Down To Us (NEW) (CR-20)


Top 20 Albums


1. Leddra Chapman - My Mother's Mind (NEW) (CR-1)
2. Beyoncé - BEYONCÉ (1) (CR-10-1-2)
3. Delta Goodrem - Innocent Eyes (Ten Year Anniversary Acoustic Edition) (2) (CR-1-1-2-3)
4. Agnes - Collection (7) (CR-10-8-7-4)
5. Public Service Broadcasting - Inform - Educate - Entertain (NEW) (CR-5)
6. Gary Barlow - Since I Saw You Last (6) (CR-1-3-5-6-6)
7. One Direction - Midnight Memories (11) (CR-4-8-12-11-7)
8. Britney Spears - Britney Jean (5) (CR-2-4-5-8)
9. Absolute Dance Winter 2014 (NEW) (CR-9)
10. Lady Gaga - ARTPOP (9) (CR-1-1-1-3-5-7-9-10)
11. Boyzone - BZ20 (4) (CR-2-7-3-4-11)
12. Alla Tiders Hits (8) (CR-8-12)
13. Little Mix - Salute (18) (CR-2-2-5-13-17-18-13)
14. Avicii - True (12) (CR-3-4-4-1-1-1-1-1-2-3-5-7-8-8-10-12-13-12-14)
15. Leona Lewis - Christmas, With Love (3) (CR-4-2-3-15)
16. Now That's What I Call Movies (10) (CR-11-10-16)
17. Lorde - Pure Heroine (16) (CR-10-8-7-5-6-3-4-7-5-6-11-14-16-17)
18. Katy Perry - Prism (17) (CR-1-1-3-5-6-8-14-16-17-18)
19. Frida Sundemo - For You, Love (13) (CR-6-13-19)
20. Sharon Corr - The Same Sun (20) (CR-9-15-20-20)

 Commentary

 Climbing gradually for the past few weeks, Pitbull and Ke$ha finally ascend to the top of the chart with party anthem Timber, already a huge hit worldwide, and using the same country-pop hybrid sound that has dominated 2013. Gary Barlow & Elton John's collaboration Face To Face stays at No.2 whilst Leona Lewis' festive offering One More Sleep unsurprisingly dips two places to No.3. Swedish star Agnes debuts at No.4 with Instant Repeater, the final song that she covered on Swedish show Sa Mycket Battre. Clean Bandit stay at No.5 with the brilliant Rather Be whilst top 20 new entries come from Seinabo Sey, Beyoncé, Public Service Broadcasting, Leddra Chapman, Burial and Cash Cash. Little Mix re-enter with Little Me, as do Rivaz with their new vocal mix of the former chart topper Colors. 

 British singer/songwriter Leddra Chapman's long awaited second album My Mother's Mind goes straight in at the top of the album chart, the follow up to the gorgeous 2009 debut Telling Tales. Beyoncé falls to No.2 with BEYONCÉ after a week on top whilst Delta Goodrem dips a place to No.3 with Innocent Eyes (Ten Year Anniversary Acoustic Edition). Agnes climbs to a new peak of No.4 with her greatest hits album Collection whilst British conceptual electronic act Public Service Broadcasting debut at No.5 with the unique Inform - Educate - Entertain. The only other new entry to the top 20 is Swedish compilation Absolute Dance Winter 2014 at No.9.
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Thursday, 26 December 2013

Top 100 songs of 2013

And here are my top 100 favourite songs of 2013! A strong year for dance music especially, I've included Youtube links to every song in the top 20 but highly recommend searching out anything on the list that you're not familiar with.

100. Stereophonics - Indian Summer
99. Miley Cyrus - Wrecking Ball
98. Leddra Chapman - All About You
97. Demi Lovato - Heart Attack
96. Janet Leon - New Colours
95. Röyksopp feat Susanne Sundfør - Running To the Sea
94. John Newman - Love Me Again
93. Delta Goodrem - Will You Fall for Me (Anniversary Edition)
92. Caro Emerald - Tangled Up
91. Delta Goodrem - In My Own Time (Anniversary Edition)
90. Taylor Swift feat Ed Sheeran - Everything Has Changed
89. Céline Dion - Loved Me Back to Life
88. Martin Garrix - Animals
87. James Blunt - Bonfire Heart
86. Verona - Fallin' In Love
85. Belle And Sebastian - I Didn't See It Coming (Richard X Mix)
84. Avicii - Always On The Run
83. Vance Joy - Riptide
82. Caro Emerald - Liquid Lunch
81. Lily Allen - Hard Out Here
80. Little Mix - Move
79. The Sound Of Arrows - There Is Still Hope (Fear Of Tigers Remix)
78. Pitbull feat Ke$ha - Timber
77. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat Wanz - Thrift Shop
76. Disclosure - F For You
75. BlackByrd feat Craig Hinds - From The Bottom Of My Heart
74. Pitbull feat TJR - Don't Stop The Party
73. Bonnie Tyler - Believe In Me
72. Tensnake feat Fiora 58 BPM
71. Eliza Doolittle - Let It Rain
70. Cher - I Hope You Find It
69. Mark Lower - Bad Boys Cry
68. RL Grime - Because of U
67. Dina Garipova - What If
66. Family Of The Year - Hero
65. The Saturdays - Disco Love
64. Lady Gaga feat R. Kelly - Do What U Want
63. Delta Goodrem - This Is Not Me (Anniversary Edition)
62. Robin Stjernberg - You
61. Army Of Lovers - Rockin' The Ride
60. Tensnake & Syron - Mainline
59. Sanne Salomonsen - Du & Jeg
58. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat Mary Lambert - Same Love
57. Avicii - You Make Me
56. Gary Barlow - Let Me Go
55. Bastille - Of The Night
54. Eliza Doolittle - Big When I Was Little
53. OneRepublic - Counting Stars
52. Kelly Clarkson - Underneath The Tree
51. Matt Cardle & Melanie C - Loving You
50. Zedd feat Bright Lights - Follow You Down
49. Zedd feat Foxes - Clarity
48. Boyzone - Love Will Save The Day
47. The Saturdays - What About Us (feat. Sean Paul)
46. Mutya Keisha Siobhan - Flatline
45. Delta Goodrem - Heart Hypnotic
44. Lady Gaga - Gypsy
43. Loreen - We Got The Power
42. Lily Allen - Somewhere Only We Know
41. State Of Drama - Falling
40. Ralf Gyllenhammar - Bed On Fire
39. Mariah Carey feat Miguel - #Beautiful
38. Adelén - Bombo
37. Sara Bareilles - Brave
36. Icona Pop feat Charli XCX - I Love It
35. Ellie Goulding - How Long Will I Love You
34. Calvin Harris feat Tinie Tempah - Drinking From The Bottle
33. Bastille - Pompeii
32. Ellie Goulding - Figure 8
31. Nadine - I Will Be Strong
30. Jógvan Hansen & Stefanía Svavarsdóttir - Til þín
29. Robin Thicke feat T.I. & Pharrell - Blurred Lines
28. Leona Lewis - One More Sleep
27. Anouk - Birds
26. Avicii - Hey Brother
25. Stafford Brothers feat Lil Wayne & Christina Milian - Hello
24. Emmelie De Forest - Only Teardrops
23. Will.I.Am feat Britney Spears - Scream & Shout
22. Tove Lo - Out of Mind
21. Zlata Ognevich - Gravity


By a country mile my favourite artist of the year is Swedish producer Avicii, who managed to produce both my favourite album and now song of the year, albeit with a song people might not expect. When I first heard that he would be involved with the opening theme for Eurovision, alongside ABBA's Benny and Bjorn, I thought nothing of it and in fact forgot all about it. That was until I heard the song of course, and that moment was when I was standing watching the afternoon dress rehearsal for the Eurovision final in Malmö Arena. This incredible piece of choral dance music started playing above me and I thought 'wow, what is this beauty?'. As the song continued to play, a huge bridge dropped down over my head and all of the participating Eurovision artists started walking over it, waving down at the crowd. It was truly euphoric and this song soundtracked the moment perfectly. 

Later on that day I went back to watch the final and got to enjoy the moment again. Probably THE most perfect opening to any Eurovision ever, it combined my loves of dance music, Avicii, ABBA (it was an amazing year for fans to have this song by Bjorn and Benny and to have Agnetha back on form) and my occasional curious appreciation of certain choral music. For many people the song was nothing more than a forgotten showpiece, but the six and a half minute epic became by far my most played song of the year. The way it opens slowly before building to the choir and then Avicii's incredible production, before building up again in a rockier way towards the end thanks to 'B & B's input, everything about this song is pure magic. So for a second year in a row a song related to Eurovision tops my end of year chart, but this year the song is not actually an entry to the contest! 

Elsewhere in the top ten, gorgeous South African piano house/bassline song Spin My World by DJ Kent feat The Arrows unexpectedly takes the No.2 spot ahead of New Zealand teenager Lorde's global breakthrough single, the minimalist angst anthem that is Royals. Germany's flop Eurovision entry Glorious, by the ever brilliant Cascada, is No.4 ahead of Melodifestivalen failure Heartstrings by Janet Leon AKA the best song that Agnes never released. Avicii gets another double helping in the top ten as his UK No.1 singles I Could Be The One and Wake Me Up finish at No.6 and No.7 whilst two dance instrumentals line up immediately behind. Euphoric trance anthem Colors by Italian producer Rivaz just edges out the electro house monster Platinum Chains by legendary British DJ and producer Michael Woods. Slowing down the tempo to round off the top ten is the million selling Let Her Go by Brighton singer Passenger. Elsewhere in the top 100 are year defining hits including Katy Perry's Roar (No.14), Daft Punk's Get Lucky (No.17), Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines (No.29), OneRepublic's Counting Stars (No.53) and Macklemore's Thrift Shop (No.77). 
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Top 40 albums of 2013

The first of my two end of year countdowns, here are my 40 favourite albums of 2013:

 40. Hurts - Exile
39. Haim - Days Are Gone
38. Céline Dion - Loved Me Back To Life
37. will.i.am - #willpower
36. Rudimental - Home
35. Cascada - Acoustic Sessions
34. Kelly Clarkson - Wrapped In Red
33. Leona Lewis - Christmas, With Love
32. Krista Siegfrids - Ding Dong!
31. Bastille - Other People's Heartache Pt. 1 & 2
30. Taylor Swift - Red
29. Nádine - Eindeloos
28. Imagine Dragons - Night Visions
27. Britney Spears - Britney Jean
26. London Grammar - If You Wait
25. Little Mix - Salute
24. Boyzone - BZ20
23. Gary Barlow - Since I Saw You Last
22. Icona Pop - This Is...Icona Pop
21. Beyoncé - BEYONCÉ
20. Pet Shop Boys - Electric
19. Agnetha Fältskog - A
18. Emmelie De Forest - Only Teardrops
17. Gabrielle Aplin - English Rain
16. The Saturdays - Living For The Weekend
15. Calvin Harris - 18 Months
14. Lorde - Pure Heroine
13. Katy Perry - Prism
12. Caro Emerald - The Shocking Miss Emerald
11. Army Of Lovers - Big Battle Of Egos

 ----------------------------------

 10. Delta Goodrem - Innocent Eyes (Ten Year Anniversary Acoustic Edition)



 Highlights: In My Own Time, This Is Not Me, Will You Fall For Me, Innocent Eyes

9. Tom Odell - Long Way Down



 Highlights: Can't Pretend, Grow Old With Me, Another Love, I Know

8. Zedd - Clarity



 Highlights: Follow You Down, Clarity, Spectrum, Stache

7. Bastille - Bad Blood

Highlights: Pompeii, Flaws, Oblivion, Things We Lost In The Fire, Icarus (and Of The Night and The Draw from All This Bad Blood)

6. Lady Gaga - ARTPOP



 Highlights: Applause, Gypsy, Do What U Want, Aura, Artpop, Dope

5. Disclosure - Settle



 Highlights: F For You, Latch, Help Me Lose My Mind, White Noise, When A Fire Starts To Burn, Voices, You & Me, Confess To Me

4. Ellie Goulding - Halcyon Days



 Highlights: Figure 8, How Long Will I Love You, Anything Could Happen, My Blood, Burn, Under Control, You My Everything

 3. Daft Punk - Random Access Memories

Highlights: Get Lucky, Giorgio By Moroder, Instant Crush, Give Life Back To Music, Touch, Contact

 2. Sara Bareilles - The Blessed Unrest

Highlights: Chasing The Sun, Brave, Manhattan, Hercules, Little Black Dress, Satellite Call, Cassiopeia, Eden

 1. Avicii - True

Highlights: Wake Me Up, Hey Brother, You Make Me, Always On The Run, Dear Boy, Addicted To You, Liar Liar, Lay Me Down, Edom

 --------------

 A solid year for albums, the bottom half of the top 40 sees solid second albums from Hurts and Little Mix, unexpectedly good comebacks from Céline Dion, Gary Barlow and Beyoncé, charming festive albums from Kelly Clarkson and Leona Lewis and fantastic debuts from Icona Pop, Krista Siegfrids, London Grammar, Rudimental, Haim and Imagine Dragons. Veterans like Britney Spears, Boyzone and Cascada also put out strong collections to varying levels of success. will.i.am's #willpower, Bastille's mixtapes, South African singer Nádine and Taylor Swift's 2012 album Red also appear here.

 Into the top 20 and some solid returns from veterans Pet Shop Boys and unexpectedly, ABBA singer Agnetha Fältskog. Eurovision winner Emmelie De Forest's lovely ethno-folk debut, Gabrielle Aplin's pleasant first LP and the latest album by The Saturdays also make it into this section. Calvin Harris kicks off the top 15 with his 2012 album 18 Months, just behind New Zealander Lorde's excellent debut Pure Heroine. New albums by Katy Perry and Caro Emerald and a comeback greatest hits collection from Swedish pop legends Army Of Lovers just miss the top ten.

 Delta Goodrem finishes in the end of year top ten once again, this time with the recently reviewed Ten Year Anniversary Acoustic Edition of my all time favourite album, Innocent Eyes. Fantastic debuts from rising British stars Tom Odell and Bastille, and German producer Zedd all finish top ten alongside the long anticipated ARTPOP, the third (or fourth if you class The Fame Monster as an album) album from Lady Gaga. 

 Combining a 90s garage sound with contemporary house production, young Surrey fraternal duo Disclosure finish in fifth place with Settle just behind Ellie Goulding's Halcyon Days at No.4, the re-release of her successful second album Halcyon, adding a bonus commercial sounding disc of pop which includes the hits Burn and How Long Will I Love You. French dance duo Daft Punk had a brilliant comeback with the monster smash hit Get Lucky which features on the highly recommended Random Access Memories, a real return to disco form after their disappointing 2005 album Human After All. 

 Finishing second in my 2008 end of year chart with Little Voice, Californian singer Sara Bareilles is right back on form this year with new album The Blessed Unrest, which has been nominated alongside Daft Punk for Album of the Year at the Grammy's no less! Perhaps the most surprisingly good album of the year, power-pop anthems like Brave and Little Black Dress are instantly infectious, there's the mid-tempo brilliance of Chasing The Sun, Hercules and Eden and then the gorgeous piano balladry of Manhattan (up there with City and Gravity) and the haunting Satellite Call. It's a fantastic album from Sara and it's criminal that she continues to be written off as a one hit wonder here when Brave is practically screaming to be a UK hit.

 And at No.1, in an incredible year for dance music, it's only fair that a dance album tops my end of year chart. And when you consider his existing hits that are missing from the debut studio album of Sweden's super producer Avicii - I Could Be The One, Levels, Fade Into Darkness/Collide, Silhouettes, My Feelings For You - it's astonishing that True still manages to be this good. After years of lowest common denominator chart dance from David Guetta (although he's had a couple of incredible tracks natually), it's good to see a commercial dance force who manages to put out thoughtful and innovative dance music, whilst using vocals from lesser known acts such as Dan Tyminski, Aloe Blacc, Salem Al Fakir and Audra Mae on this album. True is one of those joyful albums that packs in smash after smash - the huge techno-country hits Wake Me Up and Hey Brother, the oddball excellence of You Make Me and Dear Boy, the euphoria of Edom and the beauty of bonus track Always On The Run. It's one of the best dance albums I've heard in many years and Avicii truly deserves all of his success. Had he included his aformentioned missing hits on it too, it could have comfortably become one of my favourite albums of all time.
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Tuesday, 3 December 2013

Review: Delta Goodrem - Innocent Eyes Ten Year Anniversary


Ten years ago, Australian Neighbours actress Delta Goodrem, who played teenager Nina Tucker, left the soap to persue a singing career, following in the footsteps of the likes of Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Natalie Imbruglia, Holly Valance and many others. Delta's debut album Innocent Eyes smashed records down under, spent an incredible 29 weeks at No.1 in Australia and finished the decade as Australia's highest selling album of the noughties. It also spun off five No.1 singles there - Born To Try, Lost Without You, Innocent Eyes, Not Me, Not I and Predictable. 

 A few months after its mammoth success there it got a UK release and went to No.2 here, sold almost a million copies and produced three top ten hits. It also became my favourite album of all time. A number of tracks on the album were interestingly co-written by Gary Barlow during his wilderness years between the failure of his second solo album and the hugely successful revival of Take That a few years later. Barlow is repsonsible for all of the album's more uptempo moments as well as the stunning Not Me, Not I and it was credit to him that he could still write such brilliant songs at a time when his own career was at rock bottom. 

 To mark the ten year anniversary, Delta has re-recorded the album in an acoustic style as a CD/DVD set, the latter showing the videos of Delta recreating the tracks live, often with added elements or in a different way to the original versions. The album is only available physically in Australia but can be downloaded in the UK on either iTunes or Amazon. Here are my track by track throughts on each song on the album:

 1. Born To Try

 The song that kicked it all off for Delta over a decade ago, Born To Try was a major hit in both Australia and the UK and the song that introduced me to my favourite singer. Ten years later I'm still addicted to this song and this straigthforward acoustic take on it is as beautiful as you might expect. The rawness of this version highlights the maturity in Delta's voice a decade on, she has a certain smoky quality to her vocals these days, they are certainly richer and deeper than they were when she was a teenager, yet she can still reach the high notes with ease. Other new vocal techniques evident on this album are the extra ad-libs and trills and this track has a lot of those. A beautiful rendition of a classic. 

 2. Innocent Eyes

 The day I purchased Innocent Eyes in summer 2003 (with my first ever pay cheque no less!), this was the song that I was most instantly drawn to. The gritty, mature lyrics surprised and stood out to me and the fantastic piano melody kept drawing me back. The new version adds a children's choir, which amps up the theatrical qualities of the song that were always there to begin with. The 'da da da da da da' refrain sounds almost Another Brick In The Wall-esque sung by kids. It's a brilliant version of a career highlight.

 3. Not Me, Not I

 The fourth single from the album, an Australian chart topper and top 20 hit in the UK, Not Me, Not I is a gorgeous piano ballad and was always one of my major highlights from the album. The new version adds strings, an acoustic guitar and a slightly more aggressive piano but little else has been changed. 

 4. Throw It Away

 One of the biggest growers on Innocent Eyes, Throw It Away showed off Delta's fun side and finally hit me about a year after getting the album. The new version is very similar to the original, albeit a little faster paced and with some more ad-libs and diva-esque singing towards the end.

 5. Lost Without You

 Delta's second Australian No.1 and perhaps her best remembered single in the UK, Lost Without You was a more mid-tempo ballad in its original form but now takes on the form of a classic piano singalong. It sounds very similar to many of the versions of the song that Delta has performed live or on tours over the years. 

 6. Predictable

 The fifth and final No.1 from the album down under, Predictable criminally didn't get a single release in the UK, despite the fact that it was far more commercial than the likes of Innocent Eyes and Not Me, Not I and might well have been a decent sized hit here. Previously a powerful and angsty mid-album highlight, Predictable has been slowed down slightly here but doesn't lose any of its charm. As an aside, check out this video as halfway through there's an incredible mashup of the song with Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics. It works amazingly well and it's a crying shame that a studio version of this version was never released.

 7. Butterfly

 Moving on past the hits and to the second half of the album. Many of these songs Delta hasn't revisited in years and it's refreshing to hear them all over again. Although some of these tracks are dismissed as filler, for me they are an integral part of the album and each and every one has its own merit. Butterfly was a bright, breezy, hopeful pop track and the anniversary version also adds a children's choir which massively adds to the sunny charm that the song has always possessed. 

 8. In My Own Time

 As the b-side to Born To Try in the UK, In My Own Time was the second Delta song that I ever heard and has always remained one of my firm favourites, despite mass indifference from many fans. The lyrics perfectly related to me at the time back in 2003 at the age of 16, where I felt almost forced to grow up at a time when I wasn't yet ready to. And the understated melody remains gorgeous, particularly in the verses and middle eight. This song hasn't lost any of its appeal to me and I hope that this version wins people over.

 9. My Big Mistake

 Like a natural successor to Throw It Away, My Big Mistake is another fun highlight of the album. The iconic chorus 'how could something so magic, magic, become something so tragic, tragic' is sung in a very different way in this version; melodically the chorus lyrics come in earlier. Aside from that change it still sits nicely on the album as a welcome change of pace.

 10. This Is Not Me

 In exactly the same way as In My Own Time, This Is Not Me was disregarded by many fans as filler yet quickly became a personal favourite of mine. Again, the lyrics have a lot to do with this. At 16, and surrounded by peer pressure and trying new things, I wasn't quite ready for it all at that point and the lyrics basically explained my thoughts at the time perfectly. The hugely melodic chorus and gorgeous chords during the middle eight also add to its appeal and a decade on, I still can't understand why it's not loved more widely.

 11. Running Away

 Despite being my all time favourite album, no album is perfect, especially when there are as many as fourteen tracks on it. And Running Away was always the weak link for me on Innocent Eyes, a 7/10 in amongst a sea of 9's and 10's. The anniversary version is slower and darker than the original and helps it to stand out a whole lot more as a stripped and soulful addition to the album. It sounds far more unique and really helps to improve it in my eyes. It's still not perfect but it's far superior to before.

 12. A Year Ago Today

 My ultimate highlight of the second half of the album, A Year Ago Today is so much more emotional and touching than many of the tracks around it and the simple piano ballad really stood out to me. An early Delta song, she first recorded it a couple of years prior to the release of Innocent Eyes, alongside her first single I Don't Care, in a much more overproduced form and before her voice had matured. The anniversary version (should it have been retitled ten years ago today!?) remains beautiful. It would be nice if she put this, and a few of the other highlights from the last few album tracks, back into her setlists on future tours.

 13. Longer

 Another slightly more uptempo track on the album, Longer told the story of a fleeting meet between a boy and a girl. It was never particularly one of my absolute favourites but it has brilliant verses and a fantastic middle eight (a recurring theme throughout some of the songs with weaker choruses on the album). Delta has featured it in many of her shows through the years so it's one of the more enduring album tracks from Innocent Eyes. The new version does little to change the original but that's not a bad thing.

 14. Will You Fall For Me

 One of the songs with the biggest transformation for this version of Innocent Eyes, the original version of the album's closing track was a stripped back piano ballad, with literally nothing more to it than a piano and Delta's voice. This version adds a number of elements; the production has been vastly expanded with other instrumentation and Delta's voice comes across even better here than on most of the other tracks, really showcasing the rich rawness of her voice these days and the notes that she can reach. But once again, the highlight and biggest addition to the track is the children's choir, which make this song sound like far more of an event than it ever has in the past. Complete with hand clapping and Delta's ad-libbing, it almost sounds like a gospel choir performance. It's a brilliant way to close the album and one of a few tracks that has been vastly improved from its original.

 To conclude, this is an absolutely stunning take on an incredible pop album. It's been a pleasure to hear these tracks all over again, many in very different forms. The DVD is a brilliant insight into the recording of the album and Delta looks and sounds fantastic throughout. It's also lovely to see many of her long term band members featuring on the project including backing vocal duo Sister2Sister who had a UK top 20 hit of their own in 2000 with Sister. What would be really interesting to hear as 'outtakes' perhaps would have been similar reworkings of some of the fantastic b-sides from the Innocent Eyes era. Songs like Right There Waiting, Hear Me Calling, Lost For Words and Here I Am could have sounded incredible as bonus tracks. But I'm grateful that Delta took the time out to re-record this album at all, it's amazing to listen to as a major fan of the original and it really reminds me just why Innocent Eyes impacted my life so much a decade ago. I couldn't recommend this album enough.
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