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Wednesday, January 17, 2007
And so we rewind to what may possibly be Deborah's finest pop album since ditching Debbie…but it took a while to come together and there were a plethora of other tracks hanging around in the mean time. With the new millennium, came a new attitude for Deborah and she stopped trying to figure out what the pop world wanted and just get on and do her thing. First out the box was a piano only with vocal accompaniment track written especially for those new year feelings called With All My Heart. Certainly one of Deborah's most stunning vocals to date, it was a fan club only release that would do just fine chart wise if farmed out to Leona Lewis or someone of her "ilk"… Also floating around at this point was a charity track called Right on Time, another tender ballad that showcased Deborah's vocal capabilities and pure pop voice. Around April 2000, the album (at this point untitled) was tentatively mooted as on the way and You Belong To Me, a perky if somewhat tinny pop song circulated as first single. After two strong ballads, this was a little bit of a let down, so it's no surprise that it was quickly forgotten and the much sturdier poptastic What You Want released as the first single proper. (B)rimming with a chunky chorus, pop beats and a little bit of sassy attitude it was the ideal song for Debs to crack the British pop charts with (particularly as pop was at a peak with Kylie, S Club and Steps all dominating the charts). Even the b-side (Comes Right Back) was a stand out gently strumming acoustic mid tempo romp. However, the real joy was to come when MYOB was released as the title track from the album. Written and produced by the Alessi Brothers, how this song wasn't topping the charts for weeks continues success in later years, the song took a playground chant and took it into a gloriously dark disco influenced journey of a tale of love spurned, jealousy, gossip and mistrust. And the to keep me awake at night. Utilising gimmicks that would give Gwen her dance remixes were pretty spectacular too – particularly as vocals were re-recorded to match the mood of the remix, rather than just cutting them in after. Then in March 2001, the album dropped and was an instant pop classic for me, along side Light Years, Like A Prayer and Music Box. 3rd single – Your Secret – was another dark dance stomper (being tired of being the other woman has never sounded so frug-worthy), but overshadowed by other tunes on the album. Down That Road was another great ballad, while The One was co-written with Chynna Phillips and featured a soaring vocal on an almost midtempo number. In Blue and Jaded saw Deborah embrace a more jazz influenced sound, while a remake of Knock Three Times with Tony Orlando was a lot of fun, but completely unnecessary considering the quality of the rest of the disc. Around November 2001, Deborah re-recorded a track from a musical about Zorro she had been in entitled What Makes A Hero and sang it live at a benefit for those affected by the twin towers disaster. Even in it's original form, it's a beautiful tale of the ordinary among us doing extraordinary things. 2002 dawned and saw an unofficial remix of album track Wishing You Were Here turned from a soothing AC type tune into a pulsating dance anthem to great effect. And when two futher demos from this period appeared on Memory Line (Any Other Man and the gorgeous ballad Run To Her echoing the more sombre themes of Your Secret), it was clear that this overlooked cd saw Deborah at the top of her pop game. Below is how I would repackage the album for today's audience…Tomorrow ~ Deborah gets independent… .
MYOB / Your Secret / What You Want / You Belong To Me / Right On Time / Down That Road / Comes Right Back / The One / Wishing You Were Here / With All My Heart / Run To Her / What Part Of No / In Blue / Jaded / Any Other Man / Knock Three Times / Portrait In Loneliness / Light The World.
LINK: Purchase MYOB
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