Michael & Alfie Boe

Week 46: Michael Ball & Alfie Boe- Together at Home

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It’s Christmasss! Hahaha, as Noddy Holder from Slade once bellowed. I find it wholly appropriate to say that because, once again, Michael Ball and Alfie Boe sit atop the album chart, and it always makes for a great Christmas present. The duo first teamed up in 2014, and six records on have been quite a success. This album is also a poignant milestone—it marks a decade of their beautiful collaboration.

I am also surprised to discover that I might just well be the FIRST individual to review this new record. No pressure, then, eh? One of the first tracks I would like to highlight is their cover of Heather Small’s ‘Proud’. The song represents the duo’s pride in their roots, welcoming people from all backgrounds into their world and feeling proud of their families.

‘Homeward Bound’ was chosen because it is about being on the road and longing for home. The great American sonwriter Paul Simon also wrote it in Widnes train station.

‘Welcome Home’ is by a small American band called The Welcome Home, which is from the same place as R.E.M. The song combines a modern hymn with a Southern American style of Coldplay. Boe discovered it while trawling through Spotify.

Seeing ‘Ferry Cross the Mersey’ by Gerry and the Pacemakers on the album was a personal highlight for me. As a fan of Liverpool, and knowing that Boe is also a red, it’s a special connection. Another standout is the timeless ‘Baker Street’ by Gerry Rafferty. The album is a treasure trove of classics like ‘Dirty Old Town’, Take That’s ‘Rule the World’, The Hollies ‘He Ain’t, He’s My Brother’. But my heart belongs to the closing track ‘What’s the Craic? (An Irish Medley)’. This track, a medley of traditional songs from Mother Ireland, including ‘The Irish Rover’, is a perfect ending to a brilliant album. It’s a medley that’s perfect for any celebration or festivity.

Song recommendations: ‘What’s the Craic? (An Irish Medley)’, ‘Dirty Old Town’, ‘Welcome Home’

8/10

Week 48: Michael Ball & Alfie Boe- Together at Christmas

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There we have it. We now know what the fourth instalment of the next Michael Ball & Alfie record Boe will be called. We should have known that they would do one around the Christmas theme to freshen up the “Together” series. This has also been adapted for the West End and will feature a limited but socially distanced audience during this god-awful worldwide virus currently circulating. I am unsurprised; the lads have again hit the acme of the album chart. The dynamic works well, and it is a joy to listen to them perform covers or traditional songs in their unique way. It has also been bought out as a Christmas present for our loved ones. It is accessible on the ear and lifts our spirits, which we need more than ever.

Of course, the songs have been covered as often as the stars in the sky, but it’s the way Ball & Boe, the orchestra, and that Disney-esque sound have done them.

The album can switch up the mood with tracks ranging from “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” to “Mistletoe & Wine”.

Just by listening, you can tell the duo had tremendous fun recording this in the studio, and I loved the track “My Christmas Will be Better Than Yours.” you can hear a cheeky and smug tone in Michael’s vocal. The song made me laugh just by hearing Michael’s delivery alone. 

We then have the melancholic tones used for “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and the showcasing of why this duo works sublimely on “White Christmas”. The closer, “Once Upon a December”, is very dreamy, as I have mentioned about the album as a whole is Disney-esque. Another super record by the lads, the perfect present for the one you love. An album to fill our hearts with joy in one of the most fucked up Christmasses since the second world war.

Song recommendations: “My Christmas Will be Better Than Yours”, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, “White Christmas”.

8/10

Week Forty-Four: Michael Ball and Alfie Boe- Together Again

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I have heard of both singers and know that they are tenors. Michael for various game shows and theatre shows plus, “Love Changes Everything” (Upon my research, I also discovered he was briefly in Coronation Street in 1985.) and Alfie Boe for his performance for the Who’s “Quadrophenia: the Musical”. I wouldn’t say I am not a fan of Opera, but I tend not to listen to it regularly. I can tolerate it and marvel at the vocal ranges when I hear it. 

“Together Again” is the follow-up to their 2016 album, “Together” (I bet you weren’t expecting that to be the title, did you?), and I have to say that I did indeed marvel at the vocal ranges and found the record quite impressive. Although there were usual cheesy Christmas songs chucked in like “White Christmas”. Another cheesy song I am not impressed by that featured on the album is the theme song played at Luton Town Football Club’s ground shortly before kick-off, “Bring Me Sunshine”.

I was impressed with the “the Prayer” and the unique way both delivered it. Also, the new song written for the live-action version of Beauty and the Beast, called “Evermore”, will raise the roof upon any auditorium they embark on.

There are songs, however, that are saturated or just are not made better in any way on this record, like, “You’ll be Back”, “You’re the Voice”, and even a song that I do love usually, “New York New York” (When I’ve DJ’d, I have tended to close out the night with this as it gets everyone up and singing.) I also could have been more impressed with the West Side Story medley. Don’t get me wrong, it was a different angle, but it didn’t work.

My favourite off the record is “As if We Never Said Goodbye”. You can feel the bromance as they sing the song at each other. This record is probably better than the debut (I wouldn’t know as I have not heard it yet.), I say that because the first record doesn’t have that much versatility. In contrast, this record has unique ways of delivering songs that usually are sung traditionally and would not add flavour or any other form of creativity for fear of ruining the original version.

Overall: It was a smooth listen. As stated in the article, I may not listen to Opera daily, but I have no qualms about listening to it. Indeed, what I know of Alfie Boe, he is a highly regarded tenor in England, and Michael Ball is a versatile, expressive artist. I enjoyed their creativity on songs regarded as classics and that they dared to venture into unknown territory. This is a three-album contract with Decca Records, and I look forward to whatever the lads will name their follow-up to, “Together Again”. Unfortunately, my mark out of ten is mediocre due to the West Side Story Medley and an overcooked “New York New York”. 7/10