When my mother came home with the G4 and Il Divo albums, I was mortified! “You’re just putting more money in that over-paid Louis Walsh’s pocket!” I cried. Let’s face it, any group or individual who goes on a program like “X-Factor” can’t be very good because no talent scouts have picked them up yet and they’re desperate- although how many talent scouts would actually go to Butlins looking for talent!? The album cover is quite boring- plain white with a picture of the four chappies and a big “G4” above them. Hmmm… I’m sure every other debut album as a result of a TV talent show looks just like that! On the back, plain white background again and grey font, fairly large but it doesn’t jump out and say “Hey! Listen to me!” Inside the album cover, there are pictures of the four boys (the fat one annoys me… I think it’s his double chin!) and the lyrics to “their” songs. One thing that does annoy me about this is the lack of translations on songs such as Nessun Dorma. So on with the music itself. (Pause for a moment here to get into Simon Cowell mode). WHY???????? WHY????????????? WHY???????????? Bohemian Rhapsody could never be as good as when Queen performed it- or indeed when the guys in “Wayne’s World” head-banged to it, but G4 have officially ruined it! The formula for this song is identical to that of every other manufactured musicians- you have the lead singer and his stooges, sorry, backing singers. “Jonathan” (I wouldn’t know that had I not looked inside the CD sleeve) is like the Ronan Keating of Boyzone and the other three guys are like Mike, Keith and Shane (we discount Stephan Gately because he sometimes got to sing words instead of just “ooh” and “ahh” like the other minions). Manufactured rubbish! Yes, they have to place their own take on it and not sound totally like Queen but I would like to hear some of those high notes on “Meeeeeeeeeeeee” like a mouse on speed. Another memorable song would have to of course be “Everybody hurts”- another terrible cover. When I hear the REM version, I cry but when I hear the G4 album, I want to die. It doesn’t have that same uplifting, somebody else knows how I feel, feel. In fact, it’s fairly depressing. “The Circle of Life”- you mean these guys are gonna keep coming back and back and back like a boomerang? Oh God no! But yes they will- when we the public get bored of them the manufacturers will use the same formula on another group and the same will happen again and again. For the record the lyrics in the CD sleeve do not cover the African bit at the beginning. Again, it just doesn’t have the same feeling as when Elton John sang it and all the animals in “The Lion King” looked up at Mufassa and Simba. Nessun Dorma- perhaps a song the boys are most suited to because of their ability to sound quite operatic. I still think REAL opera singers are better at things like this. Just like every other song I’ve mentioned so far, I just don’t get the tingles! On the opera front again I shall confront “The Flower Duet”. This misses out the introduction of classical instruments. Having been brought up on classical music, I’ve listened to the song at nearly every “Opera in the Park” since I was six and I’m afraid, boys you missed the boat on this one too. The flower duet is meant for GIRLS! It sounds like a pitiful attempt to do opera and misses that “good line” by about 100000 miles! “You’ll never walk alone”- you will boys when the public and your record label have gotten bored of you and you’re working in McDonalds for a living! Mwahahaha! “Jerusalem”- this song will ALWAYS give me tingles. Not this time. I think I’ll stick to my annual dose at the “Last Night of the Proms” thanks very much. “My way”- no boys, Louis Walsh’s way! There are a few other songs on the album but these are the ones that spring to mind- notice they’re very famous songs! I’m sure that “Creep” was originally by TLC but I think it’s a totally different song. If you’re after a group that has jumped on the Il Divo (don’t really like them either but the one with long hair would be fit if he was a bit taller!) bandwagon with the manufactured pop element, then this is the group for you. Let’s all allow that poor, poor Louis Walsh to laugh all the way to the bank; I’m sure he’s really a bit hard-up at the moment…
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G4 -
Are G4 pop, are they opera or are they indeterminately heterogeneous enough to be
... more
identified as a new species called popera? Runners-up in the compellingly addictive television talent showX-Factor, this young and classically-trained male vocal quartet ...
G4 -
Are G4 pop, are they opera or are they indeterminately heterogeneous enough to be
... more
identified as a new species called popera? Runners-up in the compellingly addictive television talent showX-Factor, this young and classically-trained male vocal quartet ...
