Someone To Watch Over Me

Susan Boyle | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 1, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2011
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Columbia
• ASIN: B005G618JU
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (276 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #235 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #12 in Music > Broadway & Vocalists
  • #16 in Music > Pop > Vocal Pop > General
  • #21 in Music > Music Deals

Editorial Reviews

2011 release, the third album from the British vocalist. Someone To Watch Over Me sees Susan and world acclaimed producer Steve Mac reunited to present a sensational and contemporary album that will span the generations. Featuring breathtaking renditions of 'Unchained Melody' and 'Both Sides Now', Susan fearlessly takes on iconic songs 'Enjoy The Silence' and 'Mad World' giving them a new identity. Original material includes 'This Will Be The Year' by Emeli Sande and Naughty Boy with Josh Kear and 'Return' by Steve Mac and Wayne Hector. The album heralds a new era of music for Susan Boyle. New material and classics combined with a variation of tempos from the ethereal to the dramatic, the music is stripped back and showcases the voice the world fell in love with.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

139 of 147 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Susan's Voice Glows, November 1, 2011

By 

Carol Clifton (Arkansas USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Someone To Watch Over Me (Audio CD)

Barbra Streisand called Susan's voice "like a poet singing". On this album she displays that unique ability to inhabit and interpret a song like no one else on the music scene today. Her voice goes from soft and smoky to a soaring cry of need in "Unchained Melody", she is bluesy and softly sexy in "Lilac Wine". In "Both Sides Now", she has given us a freshly interpreted song with insights into a life of someone who has seen it all and still doesn't understand "life" or "love". In "Return", one of the songs written just for her, she soars with longing and emotion. "This Will be the Year", another original shows us a woman who will always prevail. "You Have to Be There" resonates with everyone who has had a crisis of faith, but in the end, embraces hope and trust. I was skeptical about "Mad World" and "Enjoy the Silence". Neither one would have been a choice to listen to. That said, Susan shows her considerable emotive talents in these two songs perfectly. "Autumn Leaves" is about grief and sadness, true, but as in YHTBT, ends with the hopeful knowledge that loved ones never completely leave us. I would have loved "Someone to Watch Over Me" to be longer. If I have any disappointment in the album, that would be it. Miss Boyle has grown incredibly in vocal prowess and technique in a scant 2 1/2 years. Her versatility, her range, her emotive abilities, all these shine in this incredible album. Billboard says she "has arrived". Personally, I believe she had already "arrived" by selling 14 million albums in 14 months, but I agree that, with this album, she is firmly set as a professional singer who is here to stay for a very long time. And all we who are music lovers are the better for it.

62 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Album!, November 2, 2011

By 

Corkie - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Someone To Watch Over Me (Audio CD)

I believe Susan has taken some remarkable strides with Someone To Watch Over Me. I like the versatility of her voice and the way she changes it to suit the mood of the song she's singing. That effect alone just pulls me into the song, and I can get lost in it. I like having an album in which all the songs aren't the same. I have a pretty wide range in my taste in music, and I think Susan must also. In this album, there is a little bit of everything, and I like that. I was also pleased that the production was held back this time compared to the last two albums. Susan's voice is stunning, and in this album, the listener can actually hear her and not miss a single beautiful note.

Yep, there are covers on this album. I like covers! I like to hear songs that are familiar to me and different interpretations of them. "Both Sides Now" was a song I never liked at all. With Susan's interpretation, it sounds like a completely different song, and I'm loving it. I also like "Mad World" and "Enjoy the Silence" -- a little bit off balance and edgy. And "Unchained Melody"...I don't care if it's been done a lot, it's still one song I love, and Susan's rendition is fantastic. There are two original songs on this album that were written for Susan, "Return" and "This Will Be The Year". She does an incredible job with both of them. It seems to me that now days the trend is for the artist to write his/her own material. Good or bad? Some songs artists write are good -- some so poor I could do a better job without half trying. Collaboration appears to be used pretty loosely.
Susan doesn't have to write her own material for me to respect what she does.

There are also songs on this album I was completely unfamiliar with, so they are new to me. I'd never heard "You Have to Be There" the ABBA song from Katrina, "Autumn Leaves" by Paolo Nutini and "Lilac Wine". So, for me, this was like three new, wonderful songs!

I would have preferred that Susan had sung all of "Someone to Watch Over Me" because she sings it so beautifully, and that the album would have been longer with maybe a couple of uptempo songs added. But, for me, these are minor things. The sheer artistry of this album far outweighs a few minor faults I might find. This is indeed a wonderful album.

60 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing Collection - I'm Hooked!, November 1, 2011

By 

China Mom - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Someone To Watch Over Me (Audio CD)

Susan continues to surprise us with her ability to take songs from diverse genre, reach deep within her soul, and pour out a fountain of emotion, creating something that captures the song's essence so we hear it new as we listen over and over. She just as adeptly swoons us with a saucy 40's-like bar room ballad "Lilac Wine," then mesmerizes us with haunting yet innocent versions of the 80's new wave classics "Mad World" by Tears for Fears and "Enjoy the Silence" by Depeche Mode. She cries with emotion and hope as she pleads with God, "You have to Be There," and dreams of her love's "Return." There's nothing Karaoke about this collection. Susan sings from the heart, with a passion that makes each song new. Bravo Susan, I'm hooked!