There is something strange going on in the American music industry. Record companies over the water appear to have been using scientific methods to produce their unit shifting, chart busting acts. Recently, in the pop world, blonde haired, blue eyed clones have been sprouting out of petri dishes and entering the top 5 at an alarming rate. First there was Britney, then Christina, then Jessica and now Mandy. Young, white clean-cut boys are also a specialty and there seems to be an endless supply.
The world of adult orientated country rock is no exception as Faith Hill is almost certainly the product of an experiment involving DNA taken from Shania Twain and LeAnn Rimes. And those responsible have done the perfect job; the big voice, good looks and suggestive but inoffensive sleeve are all here. In fact the photos of her resemble a cross between a men's magazine shoot and the Littlewoods catalogue.
So what of the music? Well if the above hasn't already given you a very big clue then all you need to do is read the song titles and you can pretty much guess the rest. Opener 'What's In It For Me' might as well be Shania accompanied by Garth Brooks' backing band, essentially light pop rock with a pinch of good ol' fiddle and slide guitar to please the country fans. 'I Got My Baby' carries on in exactly the same vein, followed by the equally similar, 'Love Is A Sweet Thing'. The first of many ballads, title track and single 'Breathe' is then upon us with its fragile verses, rousing clinical chorus and bland delivery.
These four tracks provide the blueprint for the next nine songs which are a mixture of turgid overblown ballads ('Lets Make Love', 'If I'm Not In Love') and light, airbrushed, MOR country rockers, ('You're Bringing Out The Elvis', 'If My Heart Had Wings') making this a real test of endurance. In fact 'Breathe' runs out of puff the minute it leaves the starting line.
The lab technicians may have created another Stateside success with consummate ease and pinpoint accuracy but there is only so much of this sort of thing that we Brits can take. Perhaps next time they should add a dash of Ozzy Osborne's urine sample and one of Keith Flint's hairs into the mix. It may not turn out to be as pretty but it would certainly be more interesting.
