Heigh Ho, dear lovely rainbow tribe, Bobby Patrick, your rainbow reviewer is back in CD-Land to offer another broken-down breakdown of a new music release. So, strap in and get ready, as Bobby goes on the record ABOUT the record. This week's album entry in the BobbyFiles comes from one of the most gifted, most handsome movie stars to come out of Jolly Old England (well, Wales) since Olivier himself. Luke Evans (he of the face and the physique wrapped around a whole bushel of talent), along with everything else, is a most accomplished singer, as the world found out from his turn as Gaston in Disney's live-action remake of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. Turns out, though, dear Bobby readers, that those vocals from B&B really told maybe half the story about Luke's pipes. Listening to his latest album, A SONG FOR YOU (his second, actually, after 2019's AT LAST), one gets the full measure of what the man can do, and what he likes to do is ballads... POWER ballads... a whole lot of them. With a clear, clarion voice that moves swiftly and easily from powerful rock tenor to heartfelt soul-singing on his soul songs, then over to 90s pop-sounding love songs with belllike tones and emotional objectives, stopping off, at times, to sing lilting lyrical and legato, this man's voice seems suited to many styles. You may be a fan or only heard his singing voice in BEAST but, either way, you are in for some really nice surprises. In fact, we were surprised right off the bat with his title tune, A SONG FOR YOU, where he stretched up to a voice so high and so bright in tone that he rivaled just about any other great rock tenor you can think of, and while we did find him to be a touch too ornate in his vocalizations near the end, it was a bang of a beginning. Cut number two, YOU RAISE ME UP is definitely NOT one of Bobby's fave songs, but Luke's IS our fave version of this song we don't really like. The sappiness inherent in the lyrics is mitigated by his straightforward interpretation, though his keeping his vocal tessitura SO high throughout the last 32 bars gives it an excessively "churchy" sound. However, HORIZONS BLUE (song #3) is so beautifully light and airy... a really nice use of his head voice throughout. A word or two must be said about Luke's wonderful taste in guest stars for A SONG FOR YOU. On cut number 5, SAY SOMETHING, Luke is joined by one of our favorite actresses of all time, Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman. With this farewell love duet, we have 2 passionate lovers standing at the crossroads of their sadly unavoidable goodbye, imploring each other to find a way back, but knowing they can't. The longing on this one is palpable and a testament to two of our finest actors, singing their forlorn emotions from the heart. Luke balances his powerful pipes in response to Nicole's gentler, dreamier choices. However, with song number 10, COME WHAT MAY, featuring Charlotte Church, balance does not seem too forthcoming. Now, one never knows how recording sessions go, in terms of more than one singer - each artist could record their tracks many days and even thousands of miles apart. In fact, vocalists getting into the studio at the same time to sing with, to, or at each other can be a rare luxury. On SAY SOMETHING, Nicole and Luke seem to be in proximity, as their performances certainly are, but it ain't necessarily so. With this track, Luke and La Church feel miles apart, but, again, it ain't necessarily so... His initial instincts at the top are spot on, but then the power button gets pushed as a default, and BOOOOOM! - here is another Power Ballad to go along with the previous four, and the mix of their voices, here, just does not do it for us. Both sing lovely, and both are singing wonderfully on this song, but, together, it lacks chemistry and, finally, is a struggle for dominance. The final regular cut on the album (there are 2 bonus tracks we will discuss in a minute) is EVERYBODY HURTS. Here, the wonderful opening strings lend a tremendous longing feeling, and Luke's softer vocal tone, throughout, is him at his most controlled and meaningful, making his final lines some of the most beautiful sounds on the album. "But what is your favorite song from this album, Bobby?" we hear you calling out, there in the wilderness. Well, my dearlings, this may surprise you, but it is his version of an old Welsh song, CALON LÂN (A Pure Heart), a beautiful, lilting, haunting hymn from his native Wales that he sings beautifully, in Welsh. We don't know what he's saying here, but we like the way he's saying it. Now to those bonus tracks - clearly, Luke needed a little Christmas, so he brings it along with LAST CHRISTMAS and SILENT NIGHT. For LAST, he adopts a slower ballad tempo but rather than going full-on power, he switches back and forth from his chest voice to his head voice production, filling this one, throughout, with even more meaning. SILENT is so lovely in its straightforwardness and unadorned beauty that it might very well have become Bobby's fave version of this song. These last two songs might seem a touch out of place on this album of love songs, but it leaves us wanting more for the holidays, and made Bobby want to ask Santa for a CD where Luke gets his Yule on. In any case, whether one finds these songs incongruous or not, it is the right time of year for them and you should all program them into your holiday playlist. And so, despite the minor raindrops that Bobby let fall on this rainbow review, where we added a touch of critic to this critique, Luke Evans A SONG FOR YOU, yielded much beauty, and he is a singer for whom we have become a real fan and so... This one gets 3 ¾ Rainbows Out Of 5 - Put it in your collection today. You Can See And Hear Everything About A SONG FOR YOU On Luke's Webbysite: HERE Or Put It In Your Spotifies: HERE
