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New Releases

Rating Scale: to

Artist:	GARY BARLOW
Title:	"OPEN ROAD"
Label:	Arista
Reviewed By:	Jill Williams
Rating:

I had never heard of Gary Barlow before receiving this CD. After reading about him I decided that I really need to watch more TV and keep up more on the interenational music scene. He's recently been on Regis and Kathie Lee, had an MTV Live special, and was nominated for Best British Male in the Brit awards in the UK. Formerly of the band "Take That," Barlow launched his solo career with this album. Born in Frodsham, Cheshire/UK, Gary seems to have done well for himself. He was signed to Arista after performing at the BMG world conference in San Francisco, where he impressed the head of the company and got the opportunity to work with stars he'd only dreamed of. After rerecording the entire album, it finally found it's way to American music stores the second week of January. This light, peppy adult contemporary CD should find it's way into American hearts soon, as well. I have a habit of trying to compare an artist to another, more well known artist. In this case, I have to say that Gary Barlow reminds me a little of Howard Jones mixed with Peter Cetera, or perhaps "Wham." Listening to the first song, "I Fall So Deep," is a joy. While it doesn't have an 80's sound, it does have elements of all of these artists' style. "Superhero," Barlow's latest single, has some wonderful backup singing and is very inspiring. I found it slightly boring musically, compared to the other songs on the the album, but it's still a fine song. Incidentally, this song was not included on the UK release but was added when Gary was picked up by Arista. Much faster and more fun is "Love Won't Wait," written by Madonna and Shep Pettibone. This is a great song to dance to, especially with your significant other. A beautiful and bouncy love song, this is one of the coolest on the album. Barlow's range on this song is amazing. He can hit those high notes like few other male singers. "Everything I Ever Wanted" is a soft but upbeat song that makes you want to get with your lover and cuddle for hours while you let the packaged love flow over you. "Lay Down for Love" is more sensual and bouncy, and would go very well as your evening begins to heat up. That is, if you can keep from dancing. A live version of "Back For Good" rounds out the album. This is just wonderful. My head can't seem to stop bopping whenever I hear this song, my body can't stop swaying, and my heart gets heavy thinking of how in love he is. If he really sounds this great live, I'm eager for him to tour the States. At present, he's only covering Europe. This is just a small sampling of the songs you'll hear on "Open Road." All of the songs are worth listening to if you enjoy lighter sounds and love songs. It's no wonder he's been nominated for awards. It's hard to beat this wonderful collection of musical beauty. It's absolute perfection in the adult contemporary genre.

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