Corrs - Borrowed Heaven

List Price: $13.96
Our Price: $1.95
You Save: $12.01 (86%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more new music releases

Music CD Cover

Free Music Notes for Borrowed Heaven

Free Music Review: BORROWED HEAVEN, Another Winner From The Corrs
Hit: 5 Stars

The album has debuted at number 1 in both Ireland and the UK. Early signs are for a top 6 entry into the German charts, with a potential for a higher debut.

The version I've gotten hold of is from Japan, released in late May, and featuring a bonus track, "Miracle."

"Summer Sunshine" is the first single of course and starts the album off in rousing fashion.

"Angel" follows, and according to Jim Corr, this catchy track and fan favorite will be the second single. After one or two listens, you'll find yourself humming this one.

"Hideaway", a song with an almost Shania Twain-pop-country feel to it comes next - great backing vocals on this one.

Supposedly the third single from the album, "Long Night", already a fan favorite, comes next. This one sounds like it has a lot of Karen Carpenter's influence in it - I can just hear her singing this tune. Sharon's violin solo in the middle of it is exceptional.

Another excellent track "Goodbye" continues this really strong album. More terrific overdubbed backing vocals and another soaring violin solo, along with some outstanding drumming from Caroline Corr.

The song that appeared in last year's IN AMERICA movie, "Time Enough For Tears" follows. It sounds like the same lead vocal track, with a different instrumental track, giving the other Corrs a shot at some of the backing tracks behind Andrea's exquisite take on this song. Though a lot of fans find this song too slow and out of place on the album, I think it fits perfectly.

The amusing "Humdrum" gets the album's pace back up. The lyrics to the chorus say it all:

I wanna take you for granted
Drift while you're talking
Bathe while you're downstairs
And chat on the phone.

Fall asleep before bedtime
Pass in the hallway
Forget your birthday
And shrink all your clothes!

Another uptempo track, "Even If", continues things along. More great vocal harmonies here.

The album's title track, Borrowed Heaven show up next. This one features backing work from Ladysmith Black Mambazo and has a funky beat underneath it all. The track builds from a relative quiet until the full force of Ladysmith Black Mambazos harmonies join in for the big finish. The track was recorded in South Africa and is an interesting blend of two cultures.

"Confidence For Quiet" sounds like a song that could have been on either TALK ON CORNERS or their first album FORGIVEN NOT FORGOTTEN. Yet another catchy chorus.

"Baby Be Brave", is my early favorite, and the biggest goosebump producer for me. I'd heard this one before as Terry Wogan on BBC2 premiered it a few weeks ago, and it's one terrific recording as it weaves its way through dramatic minor chords. It reminds me a bit of another favorite in the same vein from IN BLUE - "Rain".

"Silver Strand" concludes the main album. It's a Celtic-influenced instrumental with a few "Yaa-da-da" vocals from Andrea. Sharon's violin work is the star here though, and fans of the Corrs' instrumental work won't be disappointed at all. I can't wait to hear this one live in concert.

The bonus track (in Japan and Australia), "Miracle" is a song influenced by Caroline giving birth to her son. It's a gentle tune, remeniscent of the sound of "Judy" another bonus track from IN BLUE.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Borrowed Heaven Poster

It's difficult to pick standouts as the style is quite firmly set and the quality between songs unwavering, but the finale "Silver Strand" is a grandiose Celtic instrumental led by Sharon Corr's sadly under-used violin with Andrea chipping in the occasional "La la la" vocal. "Long Night" is a well-crafted 80s power-ballad and in contrast, "Humdrum" takes a contemporary slant on the Corrs sound with scratching, synths, and breaks creating the rockiest moment on the album. There may be disappointment that it veers towards the commercialism of Fleetwood Mac rather than the traditional folk of their earlier work, but this is the Corrs and has been for some time; so love it or loathe it, it's unmistakably their sound. --David Trueman

International Music CDs

• Music > Styles
• Pop
• Rock