Album Review: Matt Goss – Life You Imagine
2 min read
45 year old singer/songwriter Matt Goss has been on the scene for nearly two decades now, his career began as being part of the 1980s pop group Bros; his solo career kicked off in 1995 with his debut album The Key, from which the title track enjoyed some chart success. Now, with three other albums under his belt as well as award-winning live shows, the Goss returns with album number 5, Life You Imagine.
After all his years in the biz, Goss’ voice is still in fine form; you hear its maturity throughout the album. Opener Mustang gives us a taste of Matt Goss the performer, it gives off the vibe of watching him perform live at a casino in Vegas, the big band does his style some favours. Lovely Las Vegas also shows off the showman in the singer, the track sounds very similar to something Michael Buble would tackle, it is very uplifting. The album also features a big band version of Bros smash hit When Will I Be Famous, reminding us of the group that started it all for the Goss and giving us a refreshing take on the classic. Leading single Strong is just that vocally, the definition of the word could best be compared to the chorus, there’s a lot of power behind it and is a worthy single choice for the album.
The sentimentality of Goss’ jazzy vibe returns with I Do, following the typical album formula by including a soppy love track, and is followed by boppy Face My Fears which actually grew to be a bit tiring. Life You Imagine temporarily evolves into darkness with the bitter break-up song Evil, the band behind the song really brings the message home; we are soon serenaded again, however, with airy track The Day We Met and proves completely different sonically compared to the rest of the album so far. There’s Nothing Like This is different vocally to what we’ve heard from Matt’s diverse voice and is a refreshing listen, and the album ends appropriately with All About The Hang which brings the showman vibe back for one last curtain call.
Life You Imagine is a wonderful insight to Matt Goss the singer/songwriter and Matt Goss the performer; it is as if he has magically combined the best of both worlds into one and the same world, a world of music and enticing entertainment. To say that an album such as Life You Imagine could still be enjoyable despite what’s going on with mainstream music is remarkable, Goss is right up there with Buble and he’s not coming down anytime soon. Listening to this album just makes you want to visualise what it would be like to watch the man perform.
