New Dawn [Enhanced]

The Libera boys and all those who work in the background behind the songs have once again pulled out a masterclass in vocal choral wizardry. Moving away from the usual well known hits, which they have become synonymous with in recent years, they have provided fresh songs with new material, and a few inspired versions of some old classics. And what an amazing collection it is. 14 scintillating, beautifully composed tracks, which puncture your senses and leave you full of nothing but admiration for their young precocious talents. All 24 of the boys credited on this album are worthy of much praise for their efforts in contributing to an exceptional musical CD. Even more so when you realise that they do all this in their own spare time. Staggering. A few highlights....

Orinoco Flow - A fresh and invigorating interpretation of Enya's classic, and a great way to start the CD. Libera have evolved Enya's song into an up-tempo, fast paced single that's bursting with energy from start to finish.

Ave Maria (Caccini) - Tom Cully's solo during Ave Maria is breathtaking, and undeniably Tom at his very best. He really hits some beautiful high notes during the song, and proof needed if any that he's still blessed with an exceptional treble voice.

Secret - Joshua Madine's lovely, melodic voice washes all over this song. It's a great little effort that suits his voice very well. This track is a soft, slow tempo ballad, which is performed at a perfect pace and is a great new addition to Libera's collection.

Sancte - It's a song that lasts for just over 5mins and you wish it could go on for another 20. This is for me, their jewel in the CD Album. Unbelievable solo work from Liam Connery, an epic song, that flows seamlessly from one part to the next. Breathtaking in every sense of the word.

Tallis's Cannon & Gloria (Saint-Saens) - These are the two songs that Libera have been opening their recent live concerts with. Many of the fans who have attended their concerts will be made up to find these two songs included on `New Dawn'. You can hear Edward Day's solo to start Tallis's Cannon and then bear witness to overlapping vocals from other boys as the song progresses. Gloria is just full in your face, powerhouse Libera at their very best, which finishes on a brilliant decant.

Never be Alone - A brilliant little track. Some exquisite solo work and a catchy main chorus that will stay in your subconscious long after you have stopped listening. An inspired new arrangement.

Love and Mercy - A masterful interpretation of Brian Wilson's classic. Josh and Tom combine beautifully with their solos, and the combined harmonies in the middle and throughout the song are incredibly poignant and moving.

Air - I really can't describe how amazing an arrangement of Bach's Air on a G string this is. No lyrics, no words, just beautiful, heart stopping vocals. Tom's voice predominantly features, but there are also great contributions from the other soloists named as; Ed, Josh and Liam.

Just a few of the great songs contained within this CD release. All of them are more than worthy of their inclusion, and each play their part in what is a thoroughly enjoyable listening experience. I recommend this CD to any music fan, without hesitation.

Having written reviews on here for all of Libera's previous albums, I sit here following the usual formula. I first of all award the mandatory five stars and then try to think up some suitable words to describe what I've just heard. But there I have a problem. All of the suprlatives that I wanted to use I have utilsed in previous reviews. Magnificent, brilliant, superb, fantastic, unbelievable...all of these have I used in my previous contributions. And yet they all apply to this amazing album. Fortunately, a previous reviewer has described a number of the tracks in detail and I can do no more than agree wholeheartedly with him. My personal favourite is probably the brilliant arrangement of former Beachboy Brian Wilson's "Love and Mercy", although "Gloria" would perhaps tie for second place with Enya's "Orinoco Flow". But it is pointless trying to make an order of preference. Each and every track on this album is a masterpiece. Yes, I know that some of the pieces appear on previous Libera collections and yes, I know, I was a little critical about the 'repeats' in my review of their previous cd. But whereas the duplicated tracks on "Angel Voices" were little more than carbon copies of what had gone before, these are complete re-recordings and therefore have a wonderful sense of freshness. Reading the sleeve notes, it is interesting to see the names Sam Coates and Steven Geraghty in the credits. These Libera 'Old Boys' appear to have assisted in everything from production to the playing of keyboards. Steven (arguably one of their best ever soloists) even wrote the music to "Never Be Alone". So to sum up, this is a brilliant album that sits right up there alongside "Free" - for my money, their best cd until now. I can heartily recommend "New Dawn" to lovers of all types of music. There is something for everyone - and I guarantee that you will not be disappointed!

Yet more from Libera for my survival kit of their so peaceful, soothing and incredibly accomplished music. Every voice has, as ever, clearly been trained to perfection for its contribution to the overall fabulous blend, and in their skill the soloists really do defy belief, especially for singers who are so young. My only concern is the complexity of some of the solos and therefore the pressure for those who will be singing them live in high-profile concerts, etc. However, these appear always to have been risks that were carefully calculated by Libera's Director thus far, and I guess the same will be true again. New Dawn equals the very best of Libera to date, and that is praise indeed.