10. SINGLE – Clean Bandit – ‘Rather Be’ ft. Jess Glynne

Hello number 10!

I’m writing this straight after finishing number 9, while listening to the song I’m going to review.

This time I’m just doing a single due to my lack of time to write a full review. This one needs to be out today….so yeah, it’s cutting it a bit close!

This is that single!

I love this artwork – it’s really strange, but very eye catching.
I love the shapes, each holding their own story and colour. Then with the main picture in the background. I also appreciate how the mountain continues through the central diamond shape, and the fact they didn’t put the fish in the water. It’s the small things that make it great!

Also, not having their name or the album name on the front cover – it’s rare to see that now-a-days – people are normally jumping at the chance to put their names all over a CD. But they didn’t.

Now, the reason we’re all here.
The music.

If you’re not here for the music, please move on. I suggest going on Amazon and doing a bit of window shopping, or going on Facebook and shouting at people, or you could even go out to your local town, do a bit of window shopping and then shout at people! Best of both worlds.

BUT, if you are indeed here for the music….or at least my opinion on music that I can’t link due to copyright reasons and I have to make sure to say that these are my personal opinions and in no way hating on the artist or music. People have different tastes.
But if it’s crap, I’ll say it is.

This however, isn’t! (Good segue, eh? ;) )

Now, those of you who are young and hip and listen to chart music will be telling me this song has been around for a couple of years. But I’m not aiming to review brand new albums (or singles in this case) – I literally just searched for singles in 2014 (because 2015 was crap), and had a look at a few of the artworks and this one stood out at me!
I then listened to it and immediately remembered it. But I’ve never sat down and listened to it…so I’ve never appreciated the music and vocals.

(I’m just thinking, should I do the normal “Next up is _____”? That would be weird right? Because it’s a single….there’s only 1 song, and it’s in the title of this post….)

It starts off beautifully – with violin and cello. I am a sucker for good orchestral instruments – piano, violin, cello, double bass, triangles (seriously – I don’t think I’ve ever seen a triangle played outside of an orchestra…).

Once the strings have started playing, the vocals come in.
Wow! She has such a beautiful voice! One of the best voices I’ve ever heard! Is this starting to sound like sarcasm?! BECAUSE IT’S NOT!
Synth then takes over from the strings, then a few little bongos and drums come in just to add to the sound.
Then piano comes in for the chorus and it’s great! I can imagine the whole band jumping around and being really energetic!

“If you gave me a chance I would take it. It’s a shot in the dark but I’ll make it. Know with all of your heart, you can’t shake me. When I am with you, there’s no place I’d rather be. No place I’d rather be.”

This track has been produced brilliantly with the mixture of orchestral instruments along with drum machines and synths. It wouldn’t work with any song less happy than this one – but for something upbeat it works brilliantly!
I can imagine this live and it would be amazing! Especially her voice!
Oh my god, when she gets to the final chorus and her voice raises for the crescendo, it’s absolutely stunning!

My wonderful girlfriend recently insisted I watched ‘Dreamgirls’ – a musical depicting the lives and careers of the all-female group; The Supremes. And I can safely say I thoroughly enjoyed it!
It stars Beyonce and Jennifer Hudson who are both absolutely amazing singers. And I think Jess Glynne can match them when it comes to soulful voices, which is a big claim to make, but I think it’s true!

This song is also proof that not all chart music sucks and is all the same. I mean, 90% of it is. But the other 10% is usually original, brilliantly made and sounds absolutely awesome!

As I said, sorry for the short post this time (I mean, it’s not THAT short, but it’s considerably shorter than previous ones), normal service will resume next blog!

Do you agree/disagree with anything I said? Like / dislike the review? Any constructive criticisms? Please leave a comment below! Would love to hear from you. Also, if you have any recommendations of albums I should listen to and review (as long as the artwork is awesome), let me know.

Thanks for reading, keep tuned for the next blog.

I will be reviewing ‘Baby Darling Doll Face Honey’ by Band of Skulls

Don’t forget to check out my website, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube below.

I’m doing these blogs alongside my better half; Fern Teather – she is listening to a new albums (doesn’t matter about the artwork, she’s trying to expand her musical knowledge and listen to new artists!). She’s also keeping a blog, and it’s nowhere near as long as this one, so go give it a read!!
Check it out here: 52-albums.blogspot.com

Fairwell!

Sam

www.bongoboy.co.uk
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