Album Review: Ronan Keating – Time Of My Life
2 min read
The incomparable crooner Ronan Keating has finally released his highly anticipated 10th studio album, Time Of My Life. And although he’s spent the majority of his life in the business, his time is now, and he’s pouring his heart out once more, delivering one of his rawest and most heartfelt records to date.
One of the key themes at work on the record is love, and with his signature croon he can turn the simplest of tunes into the grandest of ballads, but some of the brightest moments come from both musical and emotional depth. Take Let Me Love You; the opener and one of the more intricate on the record, blending a light melody with subtle electronic hooks as a background. And the addition of a backing layer of angelic “oohs” to frame the sweet chorus as Keating belts out, “So let me love you, should have told you long before, now I know what love is for”. To follow this sound, As Long As We’re In Love takes some of the significant elements from the track before and presents them in the form of a striking duet. Keating’s voice comes together with the angelic chords, harmonising on the chorus, crooning the stunning line, “Two faithful lovers, one single heartbeat” / “No one can touch as us as long as we’re in love”. Although closing track, Falling Slowly, with a feature from The Shires, deserves an honourable mention also, as their sounds bounce and blend with one another, soaring above the melody and becoming the ultimate closer to this utterly heartfelt album.
It seems that Keating certainly found his groove in the creation of these tracks because quite a few contain a thoroughly similar theme and structure. She Knows Me, Time Of My Life and Keep It Simple in particular are all quite soft, delicate tunes that make the use of a slow building melody as the backdrop for Keating to croon a love fuelled ballad. While they’re tunes that hold alone, in the grand scheme of Time Of My Life they just don’t leave the instant impression that others do.
