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CD: Donny Osmond - Love Songs of the 70s
Review

CD: Donny Osmond - Love Songs of the 70s

By Damian Madden
May 1 2007

For a lot of people (outside legions of loyal fans) the news of a new Donny Osmond CD simply means it’s almost Mother’s Day. Closer inspection reveals it to be a collection of oldies under the title Love Songs of the 70s. Hold with the groans, however, because it turns out to be extremely listenable and fulfils the essentials of a classic cover in that he doesn’t murder the originals, pretty much does them proud and even brings his own freshness to these versions. And, really and truly, you can’t ask more than that.

Donny Osmond, for anyone who has been living under a rock (or outside the USA) is a former child star who shot to international fame in the 70s as lead singer of his family group The Osmonds and then as a solo artist. Since then he has maintained a steady career mainly via television and musical theatre, trying just about everything and, for the most part, succeeding.

However, he is first and foremost a singer and it is a testament to the voice that he, after something like 55 albums, he is still releasing records. His last disc, 2005’s What I Meant To Say, was a collection of pop songs largely written and produced by former boybandsman (Take That) Gary Barlow.

On Love Songs of the 70s Osmond comes across as someone who isn’t just releasing albums in the hope of making money but rather for the love of singing and performing. He carefully selects material and then approaches each track with a deliberately fresh perspective. He recorded Love Songs during his stage run in Beauty and the Beast on Broadway and spent a lot of his off-stage time getting it right.

CD: Donny Osmond - Love Songs of the 70s

As you’d expect from the title, the songs are all other singers’ classics, but none the worse for that. He multi-tracks himself beautifully on the Bee Gees’ How Deep is Your Love, is plausibly roughly-romantic on Joe Cocker’s You Are So Beautiful, and his take on Johnny Nash’s I Can See Clearly Now - the album opener - is tasty, classic reggae. Barry Manilow’s Mandy gives the Osmond pipes a real work out while the mawkish When I Need You and Alone Again, Naturally remain irretrievably horrible. Billy Preston’s Will It Go Round In Circles wasn’t ever very interesting and isn’t here but Neil Sedaka’s Laughter in the Rain gives Osmond another excuse to do what he and his siblings always did best: terrific close harmonies.

Altogether, it’s an album you can buy Mum without blushing - and end up listening to yourself.

 

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