Michael Bolton: One World One Love CD Review

One the first big name artists I remember really liking as a young girl was Michael Bolton, Soul Provider being the first time his music appeared on my radar. While his ballads like "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" tend to make the biggest impression on me, "How Can We Be Lovers" remains one of my all time favorite songs.

Yes, Bolton has long been a voice that I've enjoyed, and the long blond hair that has been the brunt of commedien's jokes never bothered me. While I'll admit that for awhile Bolton's music wasn't played on my stereo, while I flirted with other more "hip" kinds of music, now I'm finding myself returning to his collection of songs. They've held up and stand the test of time.

Which is no wonder, because Bolton has sold over 53 million records. He has been the recipient of multiple Grammy trophies for Best Male Vocalist and countless other honors, including six American Music Awards. He's performed with powerhouses such as Luciano Pavarotti and Ray Charles, written songs with Bob Dylan, and penned hits for the likes of Barbara Streisand, Cher, and KISS.
Music Moms gave me the opportunity to review his newest release, One World One Love. Release in May, it's a collection of twelve tracks, Bolton says that "Every song had to make you feel good, because people have enough hardships to think about right now. They need to feel good. 'No heartbreak songs' became our mantra."

On that he succeeded, with the overall musical feel light and it's a good album to relax too. Plus it's one that would set a nice casual tone to a gathering, it's perfect to pop in the stereo while hanging out with friends or to play in the car with the windows down on a long stretch of open road. One World One Love is an album the whole family can enjoy and the lyrics are ones you won't mind hearing your three year old repeating.

Some of my favorite songs by him have been his takes on classics like "Georgia On My Mind" and "When A Man Loves a Woman" from previous albums. Those remakes are joined by Bolton's take on the Terence Trent D'Arby hit "Sign Your Name". The Latin tinged version and his stripped down cover of Van Morrison's "Crazy Love" both stand out as two of the best tracks on the album for sure. As does "Invisible Tattoo" the first song I had to immediately replay, while listening to it for the first time.

My absolute favorite song was his collaboration with Ne-Yo, whose contribution is instantly felt as the song starts. I can't listen to it just once at a time, I have to replay over and over. There is also an exciting collaboration with Lady Gaga, "Murder My Heart", for which she also sings back up on.

In my opinion One World One Love doesn't quite reach the same level of Bolton's previous releases and it doesn't feel as packed with potential radio hits. However, it's a good addition to his discography and one his fans will like. It's a nice more modern and contemporary feel sound, while not deviating too much from his classic sound.

You can learn more about Michael Bolton on his website, Facebook, and Twitter. He'll be on a 6 month World Tour with stops across the US and Europe through September 2010.



A reviewers copy of Michael Bolton's One World One Love was provided by Universal to me as a member of Music Moms. This post relates my own personal and unbiased opinion of it. Your may differ.