Easy Listening
Elizabeth | Australia | 10/04/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The album is a compilation of all the songs Natalie Gauci performed on Australian Idol (which she eventually won). Unlike last year's "Winner's Journey" album ( Damien Leith) all the tracks are studio recordings instead of rips of the live performances from the show which not only makes the tracks a lot higher quality but also makes them fresh/unique.
Now, due to the format of the show every track is indeed a cover (besides "Here I am") - I personally love covers - provided they offer something over the original. Gauci especially achieve this in "Man in the Mirror" and "Crazy" which stand out emotionally; Gauci is definitely at her best when she is singing solo with just a piano accompaniment.
"Running up that Hill" is my favourite track on the album, although at only 2:30 it is far too short. However, it's quite an upbeat improvement over the Kate Bush original, if a slightly toned down version of Within Temptation's rock cover. Another pop-rock cover include "Boys in Town" which builds from solo piano (perhaps slightly cliché but still better than nothing).
There are a couple of tracks that are rather redundant and offer little besides Natalie Gauci's unique voice, "Nobody knows", "Nothing compares 2 U" come to mind, and yes that misspelling is strangely intentional. Almost as if they are tailoring this for the tween Australian idol audience!
"Umbrella" and "Apologize" had the potential to be good, however I feel that the addition of a hip-hop beat especially to "Umbrella" just killed what Natalie was trying to achieve with the cover on the show.
But to make up for the few shortcomings, there are three Jazz tracks "Orange Coloured Sky", "How high the moon" and (although not as significantly) "Feeling Good" which really highlight Natalie Gauci's technical skill.
So, what you get here is a bit of a pop-pop/rock-jazz mix of covers which, while it won't change anyones life, provides some easy listening.
Still waiting for a 'proper' album to be released and hope Natalie gains a genuine place in the Australian music industry."
Track Listings (13) - Disc #1