Finally Will releases his first single since 2005. ‘Changes’ without question represents him going back to the basics after the more experimental ‘Keep On’, with its radically different material like ‘Switch It On’, and it was co-written by ‘Leave Right Now’ writer Eg White. It’s been around for a few weeks, Will having performed it at Glastonbury and other music festivals this summer, but the first radio play just happened a few minutes ago. My first thoughts were of how different it was from the live version (as is customary with Will) and I’m mulling over what I think about the difference. The live version was very soul-orientated, very evocative of Mick Hucknall at his croony best, but risked being criticised as a little bland. The recorded version in contrast felt like it had a gospely edge, which is a good sign, considering that element was by far the strongest of the ‘Friday’s Child’ album. The breathy vocals and the belted chorus were a welcome return as well, after a little too much production interference in the ‘Keep On’ album. In short I liked it – it played to strengths he’d lost sight of around the ‘Keep On’ period – this man is Britain’s Pop Idol after all. We don’t want to hear overproduced stuff, we want to hear him sing!
I suspect it’s a grower – I’m not mad about it, but then I didn’t instantly like ‘Leave Right Now’ either and look what happened with that! Get a good performance video with it and have him perform it live everywhere (and he can easily sing this, which wasn’t the case with ‘Switch It On’ early enough) and it should not just sell well in its own right, but get albums shifted too. And from what I’ve heard so far, ‘Let It Go’ is going to be even more worth the wait…
Bring on late September please…
4 responses so far ↓
cosmodaddy // July 28, 2008 at 7:51 am |
And on second and third listenings it’s starting to grow already. The contrast of ‘Leave Right Now’ is repeated here, with a disarmingly familiar musical refrain over the top of bittersweet lyrics. Will’s always been at his strongest when conveying his understanding of the human condition to us, and this follows richly in that vein. That may sound like an obvious thing to say, considering that’s largely what singers do, but as Britain’s Pop Idol he’s always had a disproportionately empathic relationship (often two way) with his audience, and he’s been at his strongest when his choice of song (and the delivery of it) has reflected that. ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ on Pop Idol showed what he could do, ‘Leave Right Now’ proved it once more, and ‘Switch It On’ didn’t (although I loved it and still do). ‘Changes’ appears to be an acknowledgment of his unique place in the British music field, and although it’s impossible to tell how anyone’s singles will do anymore, this one really is likely to do well.
cosmodaddy // July 28, 2008 at 12:34 pm |
And now there’s a clip on his official site:
http://www.willyoung.co.uk/letitgo/
I honestly can’t recommend it highly enough. The quality of the vocals are like nothing I’ve heard from him before. He really is the male talent of his generation, and it’s fun to watch him start to slowly realise it.
Will Young: Let It Go « Cosmodaddy // August 3, 2008 at 10:02 pm |
[...] loved within the media and without. Well he’s finally back with fourth album Let It Go, with lead single Changes. His record label, RCA’s write-up is nothing short of exciting, and with tasters like this [...]
McSpanky // August 5, 2008 at 6:55 pm |
ou can tell it’s written by the man who co-wrote “Chasing Pavements”, unfortunately, cause it’s structure is almost exactly the same…