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| CD cover of The Acoustic Chapel Sessions Courtesy of JB Hi-Fi |
Yes! I bought it on Friday and have been listening to it repeatedly ever since! The CD is by Australian artist, John Farnham, and I've loved his music ever since 1996 (the year after I discovered Elton John's music), and each successive album is just as good as the last. The new CD is called "The Acoustic Chapel Sessions" and it is great! This CD features 11 great hits from John's music career from 1984 to 1996, and is redone with acoustic, not electric, instruments! This CD has been released in celebration of the 25th Anniversary of "Whispering Jack", John's comeback album of 1986.
I was worried that the acoustic songs would not be up to par but I was wrong. John Farnham and his great band really did pull it off! Not only that, the CD was released as a combo CD/DVD set with the DVD featuring behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with John and the band, along with 8 video recordings of songs on the CD! Great stuff!
The first highlight off the CD for me is "Pressure Down", which I think is even better than the original version! "Playing To Win", which John originally recorded with Little River Band in 1984, sounds strange without its synth and electric guitar sound but it really does sound great as an acoustic song too! I also love "Two Strong Hearts"...the backing vocals go so well with John's voice! The acoustic version of "A Simple Life" also sounds terrific! "Hearts On Fire" was my least favourite song on the CD but then it grew on me the more I listened to it. "You're The Voice" was also great but I do feel the original version had more power!
Over all, I think the CD/DVD set is fantastic and well worth buying. It gets a 5 out of 5 star rating from me. For anyone who wants to know more about this great Aussie singer, I've included some links to sites I'd recommend! Back in his heyday, John Farnham decided against going to the US to seek his fame and fortune and opted to stay in Australia and tour here instead. That said, he has had Number One hits and Top 10 hits in other countries. When I listen to John Farnham sing, it makes me proud to be Australian! His great sense of humour gives his fans many, many laughs during concerts and he is so well loved by us all!
If you've never heard of John Farnham and you have iTunes, I'd recommend you check him out. If you don't have iTunes, try checking out the John Farnham links in the sidebar! Hopefully, next time he tours I just might get the chance to see my 2nd favourite singer LIVE in concert!
