Monday, December 30, 2019

Harry and Liam both release albums -- only one's a classic

One Direction, a British band, was an international phenomenon.  For us, the only song that ever registered was "Kiss You" with its echoes of the theme to THE BANANA SPLITS and Yes' "Owner Of A Lonely Heart." But they were huge.  Even in the US where they had five studio albums that each sold over a million copies.  They also notched thirteen singles on the US top forty.

Currently, the band is said to be on a hiatus.  Members have pursued solo careers.  Harry Styles released his second album FINE LINE this month.  Liam Payne released his first album LP1 this month.



 Dec 5
My debut album is out now! So excited to share this with all of you! 🙌🏼
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Listening to LP1, we missed the song from two years ago "Bedroom Floor."  We loved that song and thought, in 2017, that it might lead to a George Michael type career.  We were surprised when a prudish woman we knew took her daughter to Chicago to see Jojo Siwa on NICKELODEAN's SLIMEFEST tour in 2018.  We were surprised because Liam was part of that concert and we knew she'd hit the roof at little precious (her daughter) hearing "Bedroom Floor."

But as we listened, we were thrilled to discover that the two-year-old song was included on LP1.  That's good in terms of purchasing power, it's bad in terms of LP1.  The album isn't a true album, there's no mood to be set, no statement to be made.  It does make clear that Liam is a strong singer.  It also makes clear he's not a songwriter.  17 tracks, only four of which he gets a co-writing credit.  Did he earn any of those credits?  When a song like "Strip That Down" has Liam as one of among 18 songwriters, we seriously doubt it.

LP1 works better as a minor hit collection.  The strongest song you haven't already heard for months and years would be "All I Want (For Christmas)" which will probably remind you of Taylor Swift's "New Year's Day."


 Dec 12
FINE LINE. THE ALBUM. OUT NOW.
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By contrast, Harry's delivered a real album.  FINE LINE is 12 strong tracks -- all of which Harry co-wrote.  The best song on the album is "Falling" which he wrote with Thomas Hull.  The other eleven, however, are rather amazing in their own way.  The album is an instant classic.

LP1 offers moments of pleasure while FINE LINE provides consistent pleasure and real adventure while LP1 offers a lot of frustration, a little pleasure and one big question: Why did Liam name his album LP1 after Joss Stone had already used the title for her 2011 release?



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