ALBUM REVIEWS
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ALBUM REVIEWS |
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Gary Go
GARY GO DECCA 25.05.09 @www.vanguard-online.co.uk
I’ve never heard of this bloke before – but it seems he’s the current incumbent of a support slot on Take That’s massive tour of the UK’s shiniest new stadiums. That sounds like a pretty big deal – and he’s previously landed support tours with The Script and The Feeling - so I guess he must be doing something right. Amusingly the press blurb notes that Wembley Stadium is his local venue – like he pops down there of a Tuesday night for a quiet pint and a bag of pork scratchings. Sadly Gary Go isn’t his real name – it’s Gary Baker. I don’t know if it was his record companies’ marketing team who decided to go with the Go, maybe they thought his real moniker was a bit too mundane for a potential pop star. Speaking of marketing, the album looks great – the cover is a pleasing pastel yellow with swish stylised graphics rather than bog-standard photos. I’m sure it’s all been designed to appeal to a particular demographic – and although I like the design of the cover, I doubt that I’m it from a music perspective. The production job (done by multi-talented Gary himself) on this album has been to hit the big button labelled ‘Perfect power pop’. It’s crammed with radio friendly sweeping/uplifting arrangements - soaring emotional highs building up from melancholic lows. The vocal style is pretty much as you’d expect – competent, safe and relatively bland with a nod towards earnest chart crooners like James Morrison. Although some tracks also have a modern day jazz troubadour vibe about them which is quite a refreshing break from the full-on self-important intensity of the other tracks. You would think trying to attain pop perfection would be a good thing – but sometimes things can be too perfect; and this is all a bit too polished and pristine for my tastes. I prefer things to be a bit more rough and ready – a bit more warts ‘n’ all; but there’s no doubt that this album has the potential for a major mainstream appeal. So the question is ‘Who can now stop Gary Go?’ www.garygo.tv |
