This album is bittersweetly beautiful and an absolute triumph (as we knew it would be). I was worried for a while because I didn't have that instant love for talk talk talk and went off it quickly, but hearing the whole album for the first time today I couldn't be happier. I don't think he's ever produced an album I didn't love to pieces the first time I heard it.
Darren Hayes
- Thread starter Maggz
- Start date
biffy77 said:
I have yet to listen to the demo song (I didn't have enough time today), but Wrecking Ball is amazing and very different. I have to listen to it a few more times before I can say more though.
The Ultimate Edition looks absolutely fantastic by the way. The booklet is a music listener's dream. The Special Edition book is amazing too.
biffy77 said:
I like 'Wrecking Ball' - very upbeat, slightly peculiar. Would probably fit best on 'Spin' out of all his albums, but it's obviously a bit more current than that. Wasn't expecting to like it (I mean, it's not even a bonus track, it's a... bonus bonus track) but I really do.
'The Sweetest Lullaby': awful title belies a really nice little song. Sort of in the vein of the 'Every Little Thing' demo, in that it's both stripped down (or rather, not yet built-up) and mentions a lot of concrete, physical nouns (Waterloo station, London doorsteps) - not something that usually comes up in Darren's music, he's better at the abstract stuff. Anyway, my questionable 'analysis' aside, this is more a hit than a miss. Obviously never going to be album-worthy but really nice to have, the sort of song that makes you smile a fond smile as you listen, and maybe shed a small tear if you've ever had to say goodbye to someone at Waterloo.
EDIT: while we're discussing bonus tracks, how fucking brilliant are some of the lyrics in 'Nothing'?
"when did your eyes get so icy blue/when did you stop seeing me as a reflection of you?"
biffy77 said:
It's weird how people react to the same thing, isn't it. For me, this album was probably THE most instant album I've ever heard - I came out of the playback thinking 'yes, I love this album unequivocally, I must buy the Ridiculous Edition'. With 'Tension', I obviously love it now, but when I got it I remember I only had 5 or so tracks (including Pop!ular which I loved completely and utterly) 'ticked' on iTunes - a few more crept in after that, but it took me until last year before I could say I loved every track. Can still only really enjoy it when I'm in a godawful mood.
Going off topic a bit, would anybody love some sort of covers album? Unplugged stylee? I hear so many songs and think Darren's voice would be perfect for them, as he's so versatile and emotional. Plus when he does more stripped back stuff, it's always completely captivating.
I'm not normally one for covers but I would adore hearing Darren doing some of these:
Angel - Sarah McLachlan
Breathe Me - Sia
Robyn - Indestructible
Heaven - Emeli Sande
Rihanna - Fire Bomb
Kings Of Leon - Use Somebody
Katy Perry - Teenage Dream
George Michael - Jesus To A Child
Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way & Dreams
I know that's kinda female-heavy but Darren's voice does lend itself to those songs.
I'm not normally one for covers but I would adore hearing Darren doing some of these:
Angel - Sarah McLachlan
Breathe Me - Sia
Robyn - Indestructible
Heaven - Emeli Sande
Rihanna - Fire Bomb
Kings Of Leon - Use Somebody
Katy Perry - Teenage Dream
George Michael - Jesus To A Child
Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way & Dreams
I know that's kinda female-heavy but Darren's voice does lend itself to those songs.
Dazzle said:
I asked Darren about the miming thing last week and he blew up (in a nice way). He was like "I sing all my songs live. I do not fucking lip sync". F bombs were dropped. Then he said something to the effect that while it's a sort of compliment for people to think he is miming (bc he sounds good), he works really hard to keep his voice in shape and sing properly. I asked specifically about this segment of the show (with the makeup etc). So the definitive answer from him is that he was not miming at all.
And let me tell you, DH doesn't crack much, but this topic got him fired up.
This is a good video to use as a judge:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQPIyYN5ff0
When I first watched it, not really paying close attention I instantly thought it was miming because it was so perfect and close to the album version. But there are moments where you can hear him take his breath and there a slight differences. Quite simply - it's so good, it sounds like miming.
Considering it's such a weird song to sing, it's amazing he managed to give such a flawless vocal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQPIyYN5ff0
When I first watched it, not really paying close attention I instantly thought it was miming because it was so perfect and close to the album version. But there are moments where you can hear him take his breath and there a slight differences. Quite simply - it's so good, it sounds like miming.
Considering it's such a weird song to sing, it's amazing he managed to give such a flawless vocal.
