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Brian goes solo
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Brian McFadden, alumnus of Westlife, goes solo
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Irish Son debuted at number one and the first three singles are still going strong.
CLOSE ON the heels of Darren Hayes and Beyonce, Brian McFadden, an alumnus of the popular U.K. boy-band Westlife, has gone solo with the album Irish Son (Sony BMG, Rs. 135 for the cassette). The trend of individual band members pursuing their solo careers is not new, but hitting the jackpot with their very first album definitely is. In the U.K., Irish Son debuted at number one and the first three singles are still going strong.
Westlife for starters was formed in 1999, much later than other successful acts like Boyzone and Backstreet Boys. But the band's music got a thunderous response around the globe when it had seven number one singles back to back. This means a total of 30 million copies of its albums sold, of which 1.5 million units come from India. Though Westlife's music was getting repetitive and predictable, the individual band members had already created a considerable fan base for themselves, which ensures a remarkable level of success for them.
Brian's album, in comparison to Westlife's bubblegum pop music, is more mature, both lyrically and musically. Westlife's music talks of teenybopper love, but Brian talks of love of a higher level, not of girlfriends breaking up, but of loving oneself at a deeper level. The lyrical inspirations come from a broad spectrum of emotions and reflect a certain sense of maturity. According to Brian, the lyrics in his songs bring out his ambition and expectations from life.
Musically speaking, Irish Son has heavy soft rock influences and unlike someone like Darren Hayes, who prefers to stick to electronic sounds, Brian goes a step further and ensures a blend of feel-good music with his lyrics, and graduates from pop music sounds to something that is powerful, yet subtle to the ears.
The first single, "Real To Me" has an anthemic feel to it and launches Brian as an artiste in a powerful, here-to-stay person, while "Almost Here", a duet with Australian singer Delta Goodrem has impressive guitar accomplishments that stay in your mind long after the song has finished. The title track is mellow, but the energy level increases as the song proceeds. Other tracks in the album (total 11) expose Brian's vocal range to the fullest.
All in all, a very impressive debut by Brian, who graduates from the Westlife brand of music to something musically and lyrically mature.
A. VISHNU
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