1. Inside Out
2. It's Gotta Be Love
3. You're Not Shaken
4. Sanctuary
5. One
6. With All My Heart
7. Into The Light
8. Some Kind Of Love
9. Glorious
10. Hard To Get
11. Bonus: Old Glory
I've got into quite a good routine with this reviewing thing. I listen to an album; as I'm listening I scribble down notes so I remember what I've heard and then I listen again as I write the review. When I was about three songs into Phil Stacey's album, I wrote my first note "Now here is an album".
I then went on to look for information on Phil so I know that I have a bit of background on where the album has come from. I have to say I was pretty surprised to learn he is a... Read More I've got into quite a good routine with this reviewing thing. I listen to an album; as I'm listening I scribble down notes so I remember what I've heard and then I listen again as I write the review. When I was about three songs into Phil Stacey's album, I wrote my first note "Now here is an album".
I then went on to look for information on Phil so I know that I have a bit of background on where the album has come from. I have to say I was pretty surprised to learn he is a former American Idol contestant, but I'm not really sure why. Listening to the album with this knowledge you can kind of hear the influence of the competition behind it even though this is a second album.
That makes it sound like I have a negative opinion of this album, but actually that's not true. Listening again to pick out the standout tracks actually turned out to be pretty tough and they pretty much changed with every song I listened to. See, this is a strong album of guitar driven, pop songs with positive messages behind them. It does sound like the album you would expect from someone coming from one of the many talent competitions around at the minute but, in this case, it certainly isn't a bad thing.
Lyrically there are some very strong moments and Phil's voice is soulful, passionate and beautifully controlled. Some songs veer off into a more Country sounding tangent but the fact remains that each song on this album is a gem. It's not the kind of album that I would comfortably listen to in a go but I would definitely have them on a play list on my mp3 cause, on separately, they are all great songs.
Review by Suzanne Physick
LTTM Rating 4 out of 5 Stars Standout Tracks
It's Gotta Be Love
Sanctuary
Into The Light
