Yahoo! Music Review

Released on 19/01/09
Label: Columbia/Sony BMG

While patience may be a virtue, for Daniel Merriweather it's been a necessity. The Australian born New Yorker who became a semi-household name lending his white boy soul vocals to Mark Ronson's "Stop Me", first met and recorded with Ronson as far back as 2001. But having a voice that would have got him laughed right back to the '80s even as recently as three years ago, has meant he's had to bide his time until his mentor managed to reverse the fashion for all things futuristic and make horns cool again.

Sounding more like Terence Trent D'Arby than even recent contenders Bryn Christopher and David Jordan, "Change" puts Merriweather at the forefront of the slick soul-pop revival, which is a mixed blessing. Despite plenty of highlights, it's one resurgence that's failed to surge and this isn't about to make it happen. While Ronson's production cleverly updates the Simply Red-ish groove with grittier beats to make Merriweather's crooning duly credible, the result is good but not exceptional. To succeed where everyone else has failed, nothing less than an indispensible anthem will do.

    by Dan Gennoe