Yahoo! Music Album Review

Released on 21/11/05
Label: SonyBMG

That Will Young's made a good album shouldn't come as a surprise. He's always had it in him. Even his debut, the majority of which was hijacked by the obligatory "Pop Idol" nonsense, had a handful of decent, intelligent songs which suggested there was more to him than a polite exterior and pleasantly jazzy voice. That his third album is such a fantastically mature and strong collection of grown-up pop, should however, catch even his staunchest supporters off guard.

Graceful, stylish, fun; "Keep On" is, as with previous albums, all of these. A certain carefree affection and a little old fashioned charm have been the cornerstones of Young's ever-so-slightly unfashionable act from the start, and there's plenty of both here. Disarming piano ballad "All Time Love", twinkling daydream "Who I Am" and sweet Riviera shimmy "Happiness", all brim with the effortless soul-pop which last album, "Friday's Child", saw him perfecting. Meanwhile, "Ain't Such A Bad Place To Be", with its exaggerated Broadway strut, is this album's "Your Game".

Yet while building on his previous achievements, "Keep On" is more than just a reminder of what we already know about Will Young, the jazzy crooner with one foot in the charts and the other in the musicals. In fact, it's a redefining moment. To his huge credit, he's stepped out of his mid-tempo comfort zone, and dedicated half the album to cracking danceable pop. Where his last album's up-tempo moments were half-hearted token gestures, here they're attacked with conviction and the imagination needed to transform them from the cringeable extras to highlights. The horn-toting grind of the title track and the swagger of first single "Switch It On" are instant showstoppers, and finally bury the notion of Young as a cosy singer with only one gear.

It's not perhaps the most helpful of things to say - it didn't do Gary Barlow much good - but Will Young could well be the new George Michael. Not that he sounds like George Michael - although the acoustic rock'n'roll belt of "Switch It On" is a lot like "Faith" - but he's thinking like him. He knows the formula for a great song, but he's not afraid to bend it to make it more interesting. He's the rounded pop star, as capable of the big anthem, melancholic lament or the irresistible floor-filler, and he makes everything from the sweeping orchestration to the glitter covered funk feel like an event.

If "Friday's Child" was him working his way from "Pop Idol" winner to genuine artist, "Keep On" is the finished product. A now fully functional, dynamic character, with a natural instinct for how to rise above the humdrum; it's time to start taking Will Young seriously.

    by Dan Gennoe