Rating: - Loved it! Loved it! Loved it!
For months I had been waiting for some new kind of music to place on my ipod and I became bored of most mainstream chart music.
Blake is a breath of fresh air. Okay, so it is a bit operatic, but they are far better than Il Divo. My own personal favourites is their version of "Take My Breath Away", "Gladiator" and "Vide Cor Meum" (which is from the movie Hannibal). The songs that are sung in Italian are a treat, especially if you like to romance things up with your missus... I would say this is a great CD for Christmas as well.
Rating: - Voices like melting chocolate!
What a stunning album! I requested it for Christmas after seeing Blake at the Festival of Remembrance, and what a delight the album was... my only criticisms are first - a few naff tracks (God only knows - Beachboys did it better) and too many female sopranos in some (Swing low). If I buy a CD for men singing harmony, I don't want screeching women!
I do hope that a second album (and a website??) will soon be available.
What would initially appear to be an overnight rise to fame, assuming a best-selling debut album qualifies for that title, is more an inevitable result of the hard work, enthusiasm and an abundance of talent from these four male singers.
Each have a background of academic musical studies and live performances, as soloists and with choirs, which led to degrees of success as individuals even before meeting up on the Facebook website - although they do admit to knowing, or knowing of, each other before that.
Their career took a swift upturn after they made an impromptu performance at a house party and realised that they had a natural chemistry which created a unique sound in terms of vocal harmony. Soon after, the four approached manager Daniel Glatman (Blue and Fron Male Voice Choir) who promptly recognised their talent and found them a record deal with the Universal label.
The result is this debut album, named `Blake' after the English poet William Blake "because he was a man who embraced so many different styles of art and language" says band member Dominic Tighe.
For me, the most surprising aspect of the album is its constant emphasis on the harmony vocals which tend to drive the orchestral accompaniment to the rear of the sound mix. This is in contrast to many of the recent pop/classical artists who often allow the orchestral aspects of the song to be bought to the fore. This vocal emphasis produces a distinctive sound which lends a more personal feel to many of the songs.
Of the songs, they are all chosen by the band themselves and range from the romantically sung (in Italian) `Yo Te Voy a Amar' (I'll Make Love to You) to the dramatic Gladiator film score adaptation `In Paradisum'.
This is a band which has the looks to please a young fan base and the talent to satisfy the demands of a classically critical audience.
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