Cheryl Cole is not a familiar face here in the U.S. She was a member of the UK girl group Girls Aloud which formed as a result of the television show Popstars: The Rivals. They went on to become one of the most successful acts of the past decade in Britain with 20 consecutive top 20 hits and 4 No. 1s. Cheryl is now a judge on X Factor and is going solo with a new album, 3 Words, and it is the No. 1 album on the UK Charts. Here's what I think. The first song on the cd, the title track, features Will.I. Am. Very dark sounding, throbbing, electro beat. Not your typical pop-tart sound one would expect to kick off an album by a former member of a girl band. I have to admit that it's a nice surprise to not get exactly what you expected. The song is well written and haunting. Parachute ventures back into sugary pop territory with a love song about a man who is there to "catch you" when you fall and is her parachute. Although parachutes don't technically catch you if you fall, I get the point. This song doesn't really do it for me. It's a little too repetitious and the military drum line is a bit too obvious. The next track is Heaven and again features Will.I.Am. A mid tempo song with a heavy synth-infused chorus, this track is passable, but not something that will stand out and not nearly as good as the title track that opens the disc and is also with Will.I.Am. Fight for this Love is the first single of the album and is currently sitting at #1 on the UK charts. (click HERE for the video) This is pure pop and allows Cheryl to use her voice to good effect. Sweet melody and music box backing sounds make for a nice song and a good choice to open a solo career. Rain on Me might be my fave so far on this album. It has Cheryl singing a little gutsier and has a soulful feeling to it. It is really the first track that makes you believe Cole has pipes to back up the cleavage. With a robotic opening, Make Me Cry has a futuristic sound and plenty of auto-tune moving it along with a funky baseline kicking in after almost a minute. It reminds me of the classic Forget Me Nots by Patrice Rushen, though it probably won't stick around as long or make that big of an impact, nevertheless it has the same sauciness. That being said, it is one of the standout tracks here. Happy Hour has an eastern influence and a slightly annoying vocal that runs on a loop in the background. A throwaway track at best, the song basically compares a certain boy to her happy hour, drinking him up and not being responsible for her actions when drunk on him. Yeah, I don't know either. Stand Up has a heavy synth sound and is clearly targeted at the clubs with plenty of bubbling sounds and waves of electro weaving through it. The lyrics are pretty generic, but that's not really the focus of this tune, so it works as a move-your-body anthem. Don't Talk About this Love is a ballad that has the words at the beginning "It's like I could drown. It's effortless" that I SWEAR TO GAWD sound like she says, "It's like I could drown in syphilis". You tell me it doesn't!!! Anyway, the song is nice, but sounds like something Britney left off of Circus. I guess it serves as a decent ballad for the collection of songs here. Boy Like You is another song with Will.I.Am that starts with a great sample of "Little Lies" by Fleetwood Mac and has a thumping beat. Cole and Will.I.Am create a great club anthem with plenty of -- again -- synths and attitude. Sexy and strong, this track is a great closer to this album.......although it's not really. There is one more track included, another with Will.I.Am, from his album Songs About Girls from 2007, which was Cole's first foray into solo work (ironically not alone...so NOT solo. Shutever! You know what I mean) The song reached No. 4 in the UK, so I guess it's a no-brainer to include it on her first solo album. I would say this is a pretty decent solo effort for Cole. She has a voice and is certainly pretty enough to garner some attention. Don't know if it will make it's way to our shores, but you can check it out and decide for yourself if it's worth a purchase.
Monday, November 2, 2009
CHERYL COLE: 3 WORDS - REVIEW
Cheryl Cole is not a familiar face here in the U.S. She was a member of the UK girl group Girls Aloud which formed as a result of the television show Popstars: The Rivals. They went on to become one of the most successful acts of the past decade in Britain with 20 consecutive top 20 hits and 4 No. 1s. Cheryl is now a judge on X Factor and is going solo with a new album, 3 Words, and it is the No. 1 album on the UK Charts. Here's what I think. The first song on the cd, the title track, features Will.I. Am. Very dark sounding, throbbing, electro beat. Not your typical pop-tart sound one would expect to kick off an album by a former member of a girl band. I have to admit that it's a nice surprise to not get exactly what you expected. The song is well written and haunting. Parachute ventures back into sugary pop territory with a love song about a man who is there to "catch you" when you fall and is her parachute. Although parachutes don't technically catch you if you fall, I get the point. This song doesn't really do it for me. It's a little too repetitious and the military drum line is a bit too obvious. The next track is Heaven and again features Will.I.Am. A mid tempo song with a heavy synth-infused chorus, this track is passable, but not something that will stand out and not nearly as good as the title track that opens the disc and is also with Will.I.Am. Fight for this Love is the first single of the album and is currently sitting at #1 on the UK charts. (click HERE for the video) This is pure pop and allows Cheryl to use her voice to good effect. Sweet melody and music box backing sounds make for a nice song and a good choice to open a solo career. Rain on Me might be my fave so far on this album. It has Cheryl singing a little gutsier and has a soulful feeling to it. It is really the first track that makes you believe Cole has pipes to back up the cleavage. With a robotic opening, Make Me Cry has a futuristic sound and plenty of auto-tune moving it along with a funky baseline kicking in after almost a minute. It reminds me of the classic Forget Me Nots by Patrice Rushen, though it probably won't stick around as long or make that big of an impact, nevertheless it has the same sauciness. That being said, it is one of the standout tracks here. Happy Hour has an eastern influence and a slightly annoying vocal that runs on a loop in the background. A throwaway track at best, the song basically compares a certain boy to her happy hour, drinking him up and not being responsible for her actions when drunk on him. Yeah, I don't know either. Stand Up has a heavy synth sound and is clearly targeted at the clubs with plenty of bubbling sounds and waves of electro weaving through it. The lyrics are pretty generic, but that's not really the focus of this tune, so it works as a move-your-body anthem. Don't Talk About this Love is a ballad that has the words at the beginning "It's like I could drown. It's effortless" that I SWEAR TO GAWD sound like she says, "It's like I could drown in syphilis". You tell me it doesn't!!! Anyway, the song is nice, but sounds like something Britney left off of Circus. I guess it serves as a decent ballad for the collection of songs here. Boy Like You is another song with Will.I.Am that starts with a great sample of "Little Lies" by Fleetwood Mac and has a thumping beat. Cole and Will.I.Am create a great club anthem with plenty of -- again -- synths and attitude. Sexy and strong, this track is a great closer to this album.......although it's not really. There is one more track included, another with Will.I.Am, from his album Songs About Girls from 2007, which was Cole's first foray into solo work (ironically not alone...so NOT solo. Shutever! You know what I mean) The song reached No. 4 in the UK, so I guess it's a no-brainer to include it on her first solo album. I would say this is a pretty decent solo effort for Cole. She has a voice and is certainly pretty enough to garner some attention. Don't know if it will make it's way to our shores, but you can check it out and decide for yourself if it's worth a purchase.
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