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Vanessa Amorosi: Somewhere In the Real World

Editorial Review

Editorial Review

Release date: 24 May 2008 (Universal)
Aside from a couple of dodgy cash-in compilations released by her (now former) record company, Vanessa Amorosi has been mysteriously absent from the public eye for the better part of the 21st century. This may have been a wise move: remember how quickly we all got sick of those other stars of '99, Killing Heidi? Now, she returns with her second album proper, a full decade since the release of her debut. Gone is the slightly dorky teen who burst onto the music scene with the poppy hit Absolutely Everybody. In her place is a toned and heavily tattooed woman.

Current top 10 single Perfect is Amorosi's best song yet, and shows that, in an ideal world, she would be bigger than Delta. She pulls off a sweeping power ballad and similarly themed epic video far better than Delta did with the dated Believe Again and its tacky accompanying 'overdose on body glitter' clip.

But with the huge gap between albums, it would appear that Somewhere spent too long in incubation, allowing a lot of rough edges to be smoothed off. Amorosi is at her best when she really lets loose - be it on a bluesy ballad or a balls-out rocker. Tracks like The Simple Things and Send Me the Manual are solid, but you can't help thinking she would be better suited to soulful, gritty productions by the likes of Mark Ronson or Bernard Butler than the occasionally anodyne FM fodder that populates a good portion of this album.

She has arguably one of the most astonishing voices in music today - if you haven't seen her live, do so immediately - but perhaps Vanessa Amorosi is destined to be one of those singers, like Alison Moyet and Dusty Springfield before her, whose material only occasionally lives up to her spectacular voice.

Tracks:
1. Kiss Your Mama!
2. Perfect
3. I Want Your Fire
4. Somewhere In the Real World
5. My House
6. A Little Love
7. The Simple Things
8. 19 Turning Point
9. I Thought We'd Stay Together
10. Send Me the Manual
11. Start It
12. Who Am I?/My Problem Is You

Nick Bond, May 2008