Amazon.co.uk Review
Having proved with
MTV Unplugged that they are more that just a bunch of pretty faces and that they can actually play their instruments, The Corrs returned to the studio for their third "proper" album. Owners of
Unplugged will already be familiar with two of the tracks on here, "At Your Side" and "Radio", which are given the full studio treatment and endowed with a much fuller sound. Unfortunately, this is not necessarily a good thing, as the album as a whole tends to be overproduced--taking the raw folky qualities and turning them into a far more sanitised sound. The stand-out tracks, as a result, tend to be the more up-tempo ones--"Breathless" and "No More Cry"--and to be fair, when they're good, they're very, very good; but when they're bad, they're just dull. There are also some strange changes in direction--the reggae-lite of "Give It All Up" is a dramatic new sound that doesn't quite work. Unlike previous albums,
In Blue doesn't seem to be quite so flowing--with several different producers working on it (including Mr. Shania Twain, "Mutt" Lange), maybe it was a case of too many cooks spoil the broth.
--Mel Roberts
CD Description
Those who revere the sunny female harmonies of classic pop groups like Abba but want something more contemporary-sounding and danceable will find just what they're looking for in the music of the Corrs. Every song on IN BLUE is an airy popconfection held aloft by bubbling synths, reverberant guitars, and of course, the heavenly vocals of the Corr sisters. It's a well-established pop phenomenon that siblings get that extra something special when harmonising with each other (a fact that goes all the way back to the Everly Brothers). That's certainly true here, but the Corrs take it a step further, as their instrumental abilities intertwine with equal alacrity, especially in the case of guitarist/keyboardist JimCorr. The whole package is topped off by some production assistance from pop maestro "Mutt" Lange, who puts the final, seamless sonic touches on this instantly appealing album.