Lopez Blogs

Let's just start this post by stating that I am most disappointed in the chart position for William's lead off single Changes. It debuted promisingly enough at number ten last week, but drops to thirteen this week despite a physical cd being available and the lovely Let It Go on the flipside. And I doubt (though am hopefully wrong) that it will bounce back this week either, now the album is in the shops. I mean what is wrong with pop England? First, as a nation, we (though not me. woo, go me!) totally abandon The Feeling to the lower echelons of the charts, and now can't even give William's lovely comeback single a decent top five ranking. Shame on you record buying public, shame on you. On the plus side, that is a rather lovely picture of William clutching a starbucks cup above. Sigh. What I wouldn't give to be that cup. (Note - i nabbed this picture from the very amazing Will Young Devoted forums. They are tres brill). And by the way, catch William's ever so good session at Radio 2 here...

So Let Go has finally hit the stores and the question on everyone's lips is "will it maintain the high quality of Friday's Child and Keep On?" Mercifully, the answer is yes... and then some. It's an incredibly accomplished piece of work that transcends musical genres to create a polished timeless feel that, unlike some modern pop albums, will stand the test of time well. Elements of jazz, soul and disco are fused together, and mesh well with William's distinctive vocal style to give the album a cohesive feel all the way through. By now, everyone knows the glorious comeback single Changes. As a precursor to the album, it does a stirling job of introducing the listener to the central theme of troubled relationships. It's a shuffling track that erupts into a hopeful optimistic chorus that refuses to accept that life can't move on and become better. It's a message that is perfect for everyone whether in a relationship or single or just aware of what is going on in the world beyond the front door. Some lovely sweeping strings and a confident piano lift ultimately a sad song into a chorus of euphoric levels. Rumoured second single Grace is a good choice for a single. It seems to be about a not very nice person, who draws people to them and then actually treats them like dirt. This song is the comeuppance for that person, and as malicious as the lyrics are, there is a certain amount of karma to them to. Musically, it's a midtempo strings led gem with some crazy trumpets in the middle 8 and some lovely backing vocals with a great singalong chorus that seems to have kidnapped the pit orchestra from his days on stage. And marvelous it is with it too... Won't Look Down is another sad song that leaps with absolute optimism and crescendoes into another near perfect chorus. There's a lovely line of falsetto in the chorus that is just dreamy. In fact, this would make a rather delicious single in it's own right :)

Following the gentle ballad Tell Me The Worst comes the first of the songs that hints at the much rumoured disco album William was making. I Won't Give Up is produced by The Freemasons (yes them of the brilliant Kylie pairing The One) and yet again is totally single worthy, and should produce some much finer remixes than the dubious Changes ones floating around. There are elements of disco hiding in the background of the song - just 'there' enough to be noticed, but without overpowering the entire tune. It's the type of instrumental that powered the more innocent and funky Mariah tracks like "Make It Happen" and "There's Got To Be A Way" - deep and dirty bass, elegant strings and a hand clapping chorus. This is going to be MEGA live. Disconnected starts with a nice acoustic guitar and some crackling, which I love in modern records - gives the feeling you are listening to it on one of those record players you read about in the history books :P This song, other than Let It Go, is probably the one that resonated with me most lyrically upon first listen. Anyone who knows me well knows it's been a tough year family wise which has strained Darren and I to breaking point. However, I think with all the great love affairs in the world, you can be far away from each other emotionally at certain moments in life but always end up back together because that's what love is. And that's what this song represents. In essence it's a love song about people "stuck in a space that's totally silent" instead of having the time of their lives. "Love should be easier" croons William and for that second you can't imagine why it isn't. By far the most romantic moment on the album even if it does tackle the difficulties within relationships. There is a very sweet moment where William sings "we've got to talk baby boy" and it's nice to hear something gender specific that actually enhances the tune and makes it incredibly tender. A lovely 4 minutes of music. Passion leads to pain on the lazy (in a good way) Love Equals Nothing - a gentle ballad on a par with the elegant Love Is Matter of Distance (musically rather than lyrically) while Love takes us back to the disco, with some delicious lower register being tapped on lines like "i let it take ahold of me"... Great horns permeating the chorus, with some electric guitar giving the song an added intensity.

I've already written about the eloquent and elegant Let It Go where hopes and fears are laid utterly bare for the listener to examine and relate to. In the Attitude interview, William states that it's about having your heartbroken and then breaking someone else's heart. It's one of only 2 songs not co-written by William, yet he desperately wanted it to be a single. Seems like it won't be now but actually it would have made a lovely comeback single. Perhaps the record company felt it would've been too similar to Leave Right Now? Are You Happy is one of those funky perky pop songs that marries downbeat lyrics with an upbeat tempo and melody. Abba are masters of this, but William certainly shows his emotional chops on this song. The album comes to it's fine conclusion with the Sia collaboration You Don't Know - a tune about rebuilding your life from the emotional tatters complex relationships can leave you in - and Free Your Mind, a morose ethereal ballad. The album as a whole is quite sad and contemplative, but within that there are many moments of optimism and hope. Definitely one of THE pop albums of the year...
POTENTIAL SINGLES: Changes; Grace; I Won't Give Up; Won't Look Down; Disconnected