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Westlife

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 27, 2007)
• Original Release Date: November 20, 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Sony Bmg Europe
• ASIN: B000W7M1EY
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,797 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.co.uk

Westlife aren’t exactly full of surprises. If they were maybe we wouldn’t be here discussing the release of their ninth (yes, NINTH!) album, another sure-fire number 1 a staggering eight years after their first. Barely breaking sweat at any point over their career, slow and steady wins the race it seems--and song after song after song of just-so pro-forma arm-waving heartache fits that bill. Flip them over and you’ll find guarantees tattooed to their spines--and you can’t knock them for sticking to the rule-sheet like good boy scouts, can you? Of course they’re boys no longer, not that you should expect amendments owing to that fact. Their sound has been afforded maturity in recent years and we get a smooth continuation of that on Back Home, particularly evident on "I’m Already There" as they sing earnestly of missing their kids when away from home as emotions swell courtesy of climbing orchestration and cracking voices. Their voices cradle each other in their famously supportive Motown-aping style throughout, but particularly on "Have You Ever" as Shane steps ahead and aims beyond Ronan Keating’s heights with his keen lead. The album’s token upbeat song "The Easy Way" almost surges into N-Sync territory with a perky horn section, but your pulse needn’t be alarmed. There are no immediately obvious additions to their greatest hits canon (perhaps the Michael Buble penned "Home", given time), but Back Home will reinforce whatever it is you think about Westlife–-guaranteed. --James Berry

Product Description

2007 from the reigning kings of Pop, their ninth album overall. The Irish boyband have sold 36 million albums, not forgetting their 14 UK #1 singles. Back Home contains twelve brand new songs with production credits including Quiz Larossi, Per Magnusson and Rami. Features the first single, 'Home'. RCA.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Back to Westlife!, November 30, 2007

By	Alan Ng "Silver Hawk" (Torrance, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is definitely one of the top Westlife albums! I didn't appreciate "Allow Us To Be Frank" and "The Love Album", but Westlife did indeed exceed my expectation this time!
The first good news: only 3 covers! 9 original songs!
The second good news: There are equal amount of mid-tempos and love ballads!
Here is an in-depth review of each song:

Track 1 - Home: As I reviewed before for the Home single CD, this song is definitely not the best first single for Back Home. This song is a cover of Michael Buble's famous hit. Not a bad cover, but not great. 3.5/5

Track 2 - Us Against The World: One of the best songs Westlife ever made! Westlife's signature ballad~ Shane and Mark's voices are exceptional (especially Mark's), and their voices blend with each other perfectly! This will make a great second single. Great lyrics and memorable melody! Also, this song has the best introduction (Nicky echoing "Us Against The World") 5/5

Track 3 - Something Right: A mid-tempo song with catchy melodies! Didn't really care about this song at first, but it is stuck in my head now! 4/5

Track 4 - I'm Already There: A cover of Lonestar's country song. This song has great lyrics and Shane's voice made the song more emotional. This song goes with the album theme Back Home! Great song overall (Kian and Nicky got 1 solo line part each!). 4/5

Track 5 - When I'm With You: A great attempt of colliding R&B with Pop! Mark's voice is absolutely amazing, and Shane repeating "When I'm With You" made the song even better! One of my favorite songs on this album. 5/5

Track 6 - Have You Ever: Westlife's cover of Brandy's well-known "Have You Ever". Even though this song didn't give me chills as opposed to other songs, this song still has great lyrics and Mark's vocal (is again) absolutely breathtaking. Another great song! 4/5

Track 7 - It's You: One of the best adjectives to describe this song is...cute! Another great ballad by Westlife. Simple but straight to the point lyrics...and I just adore the melodies throughout the song. Another one of my favorite new songs! 5/5

Track 8 - Catch My Breath: This song fails to stand out for me in this album. It's one of those songs that are not slow, not fast, and not quite mid-tempo... Shane's vocal is undeniably appealing! 3.5/5

Track 9 - The Easy Way: Although not as wacky (and kinky) as their "Hit You WIth The Real Thing" from Face to Face, this song is another unexpected Westlife song. This song has one of the catchiest bridges ever! The chorus is tragically too simple (basically "I love you~ I love you~")...this song is the best uptempo songs on this album. 4.5/5

Track 10 - I Do: Wedding song alert! This song is filled with emotions and shouts "PLEASE MARRY ME!!!" Although not the best ballad, this song has the most wonderful lyrics ever. Shane's voice is absolutely melting! 4/5

Track 11 - Pictures In My Head: Another mid-tempo song. The lyrics are great! And I just can't help but to compliment on Shane's voice again...absolutely stunning!!!! Another great song! 4.5/5

Track 12 - You Must Have Had A Broken Heart: I don't really get the lyrics...but this is another great ballad. 4/5

Not sure where to put this, but Westlife covered Chicago's "Hard To Say I'm Sorry" on Home's B-side, and it is one of the best covers Westlife ever made, so check it out if you can get your hands (or ears) on it!

To conclude, Back Home exceeded my expectation and not one song on this album is a disappointment. Many of the songs fit the theme of Back Home (such as "Home", "I'm Already There", "Pictures In My Head", etc). The only downside of this album is true for their previous albums - too little of Kian and Nicky! But overall, great job lads! Can't wait for the next album!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars nice trip Back Home.., November 29, 2007

By	Derrick Jenkins "love of Gaming/Movies/Anime/... (Hampton VA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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It's Westlife, the way you expect it. More solid ballads with great leads shared and excellent backing vocals as well. 11 songs and 1 cover of "Have You Ever" sung before by Brandy (written by Diane Warren). The guys actually get that right on the mark not a huge fan of covers but still it's done well.

While most my might look at this as them staying in a certain position and not expanding the sound musically. I'm an avid fan of Westlife and have been for years so my opinion might be a little skewed. But i really love the fact that they bring you solid songs (mostly ballads) minus "The Easy Way" written by Rami/Kotecha/Birgisson. It makes you almost think it might be another group singing this as they relatively do few uptempo songs which i really dont mind.

The guys have a solid and expanding niche and are comfortable doing what they do best singing ballads with earnest and passion that will have you feeling them as well. I've noticed though on this album that Westlife didnt write any songs on this cd. I'm sure they are busy touring and all that but. I hope on the next cd that they expand themselves a bit and add their own touch to the songs that they sing. It would only make them that much better (that's really the only knock against the cd that i have at the moment).

As it stands right now the favorites of mine on "Back Home" include:

Us Against the World
Something Right
I'm Already There
Home (1st single)
It's You
Catch My Breath
The Easy Way (uptempo)
I Do
Pictures in My Head

this cd clocks in at 47:32 so pretty close to 4 minutes a song average. It's an excellent cd throughout and while not long. It's not something you'll be inclined to forget in the future. So with all that being said. It's great to have a new cd from Westlife and will continue to only further their success in the music industry in Europe and abroad as well.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, January 7, 2008

By	Carole H. Trull - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

These guys are just amazing. They can take the worst song and make it a hit. The songs on this CD were outstanding and the way they were arranged was fantastic.