Of all the albums coming out this first quarter, this has been the one I’ve been looking forward to most. When you listen to a lot of albums that try to be deep & meaningful this and concept that it’s always nice to return to an album that has just simple and honest good music. A quote that came to me last year (and I don’t think I copied it from anywhere….I checked) is this:
“Sometimes all you need is the right chord sequence then everything else just falls into place”.
The meanings behind it being that if you’re writing the music for a song, once you have the perfect chord sequence, more often than not a song can compose itself from there. In broader terms (and this is in the context that the quote came to me) is that if you need music to change your mood then the right chord sequence can inspire and make everything feel better. This is a case of the latter.
There’s a classic idea that (which has been lost over the years as digital distribution has taken over) that an album should be taken in as a whole, not just a collection of tracks which is more the case these days. Here is an album that feels like it was put together with that in mind and as you reach the end you feel like you’ve experienced an album that was put together with care and planning regarding its order.
The opening song ‘Rockstar’ is a great and uplifting track that will have you singing along and tapping your feet. It’s one of those instantly infectious songs that tell you exactly what you’re in for with this album. To have a song like that for any band is a tricky thing to accomplish but this band manages to do it brilliantly. From then on each track delves more into the song writing and performing talents that these musicians have to offer and they don’t falter in their efforts.
Standout tracks on this album are ‘Rockstar’, ‘Already Home’, ‘I Really Want It’, ‘I Don’t Wanna Love Somebody Else’ & ‘Shorty Don’t Wait’ as well as ‘Say Something’ of course but if that’s the reason you’re buying this album then you won’t be disappointed with the rest of it.
There’s a range of songs on this album that go from upbeat and energetic to contemplative and emotional and as you go through the album, each track feels just as well structured, if not better than the one that preceded it. After looking forward to this album since hearing their single ‘Say Something’ I can easily say that this album already has a place in my top ten albums of 2014.
And yes if you were wondering this album contains both the original and the collaboration with Christina Aguilera of ‘Say Something’.
Check out the video below too to see ‘A Great Big World’ perform a stripped back version of ‘Land Of Oppurtunity’ and be sure to click the link to see more of the album tracks performed this way, trust me they’re awesome (I just hope they release these as an album somewhere down the line.
And because I’m sure you want to hear it again here’s the video for ‘Say Something’:
Click below for more:
