I won’t be listening to the Christmas song…

Oh do, it’s not particularly Christmassy.

My heart is heading home, again not a bad song but im ballad drained at this point.

Overal:

 

+ Claire doing her own thing!

+ Her target audience is very clear. You either enjoy this album or not.

+ The upbeat songs really work for me.

 

- Not that original.

- 10 tracks would be fine by me.

 

Go Claire but I’m not the biggest fan of this album.

 

6.5/10

Its good Claire fulfilled her ambition to record and release a solo album as its something she wanted to do for a long time so its good that she achieved it and also got a top 10 album it, but going forward i would prefer for her to put all her efforts in steps as it works better, well for me any way.

The Christmas track is very pretty :heart:

Overal:

 

+ Claire doing her own thing!

+ Her target audience is very clear. You either enjoy this album or not.

+ The upbeat songs really work for me.

 

- Not that original.

- 10 tracks would be fine by me.

 

Go Claire but I’m not the biggest fan of this album.

 

6.5/10

 

I would agree with this entirely.

Its good Claire fulfilled her ambition to record and release a solo album as its something she wanted to do for a long time so its good that she achieved it and also got a top 10 album it, but going forward i would prefer for her to put all her efforts in steps as it works better, well for me any way.

 

Agree with all this too.

The deluxe just didnt work for me as it was too much of the same and it kind of made the album feel boring, its a very Claire album to be fair but give me a steps album anyday, even with steps im not a huge fan of their slow numbers i much prefer upbeat steps and i think Claires album for me suffers from having very little upbeat on it.

I really disagree :lol: Clearly I’m hearing something different, but tracks 13/14 are not particularly similar to the main album.

Thanks for doing this, it was good that a few could join in, but have to head now,

Thanks for starting the party James and I hope you get well soon!

 

Also, thanks to everyone else for joining. It’s great to read your thoughts!

 

For now..have a lovely evening :heart:

Thanks all for joining! Glad we finally got it smashed!

Thank yooooooou

 

I think there’s so much to appreciate about this album. I don’t think there was enough praise regarding how strong yet varied her vocals are throughout this album. She changed it up depending on the mood of the track, which for me is the main quality that prevents the album from becoming samey. She could have easily belted the entire thing, but there’s some truly pretty and delicate vocals in particular songs, a side of her that she never really got to show off in Steps.

 

The album feels authentically Claire and I think that’s important. She may not have contributed to the writing of the album (bar one song) but it certainly comes across to me that she connected with these songs.

 

I do agree it's very authentically Claire and I think she made an album true to herself. I think she released the album more for own ambition rather than chasing solo success so she deserves a lot of praise for that.

I'll be catching up on this later today and I'm looking forward to doing so.

 

I've got a few things I need to do first but I'll be listening through and contributing as well. :)

Getting my listen through underway now! :)

 

 

On My Own:

 

The debut single solo single from Claire and it's a perfect fit for her. I loved this from the first listen and it had me eagerly awaiting the album that would follow.

 

 

End Before We Start:

 

This is my favourite song from the whole album, it's utterly brilliant. It's that ballad type song we'd all expect Claire to sing and she does it extremely well. I feel like had have this been released 3 to 5 years earlier by someone like Paloma Faith it would've been a top 5 hit.

 

 

7 Billion:

 

Another one of my favourites from the album, which is off to a very solid start by the way. One of the more upbeat songs on the album it's a very enjoyable listen and one I go back to regularly.

 

 

These Wings:

 

This is a very beautiful songs, the one Claire sang on Graham Norton if I remember correctly.

 

 

Deep Waters:

 

The first one I'm not completely sold on. It's ok for me but not up to the same level of the other songs so far. It is nice to hear stuff other than ballads though.

Liar:

 

I quite like this song, it's not what I'd quite expect from a Claire ballad but it's really nice. Really enjoying the ordering of the tracks so far.

 

 

Brave:

 

I like this one, the end part in particular when the choir kicks in it's very nice.

 

 

Shame On You:

 

A big step up in energy in this one. I feel like this could've potentially led the album campaign but saying that On My Own really was the perfect choice. It's great to see Claire belt out an up tempo track though.

 

 

Ruins:

 

I forget how much I like this song until I listen to it. I do feel that this album is starting to feel a little samey though.

 

 

My Wildest Dreams:

 

The title track of the album, this is quite nice. Is this the Diane Warren penned track? It feels a prefect fit for Claire.

For Now:

 

It's ok but I'm afraid it's all starting to sound to familiar. I do enjoy it but it's one I wouldn't go back to much.

 

 

Don't Leave Me In This Love Alone:

 

Ah so I looked, this is the Diane Warren song. I remember that now. It certainly sounds like it is, not sure why I got confused. Anyway back on topic, it's nice enough without being spectacular.

 

 

Forever Ends With You:

 

I'm really enjoying this, mainly because I think it's a change of pace on the album. It's not something I'd expect from Claire.

 

 

If I Didn't Have You:

 

I actually like this one, I know it goes against the majority here. It feels different enough to not get lost in the ballad heavy parts of the album.

 

That 'whistling Dixie' line though...

 

 

My Heart Is Heading Home (This Christmas):

 

I really like this one, it's very subtle but in a good way. I think what makes me feel connected to this song is the mention of Manhattan and the fact I was in New York for Christmas 2018, the time this song was released.

 

 

 

Overall I like the album but I do feel it could've been a little shorter maybe 11-12 with the three deluxe tracks replacing songs from the standard. It is a little ballad heavy at time which make it drag a little but I do enjoy this album every time I listen to it. I'm also so glad we finally got a Claire solo album after wanting one for so long.

 

Thanks for setting this up James and to everyone who commented. I've really enjoyed reading through all the posts. :)

 

Nice to read your opinions as well PL :)

Thanks Hazelnuts. :)

Totally giving this forum the credit as “On My Own” hit 1 million streams this weekend :)

 

Claire, you’re welcome.