Album Review: Sharon Corr – The Same Sun
4 min read
Back in the nineties a band of 4 siblings emerged from the Irish music scene and became one of the most successful acts in music for a decade. The band was The Corrs and the four-piece – lead singer Andrea, violinist Sharon, drummer Caroline and guitarist Jim Corr – created a catalogue of Irish scented pop hits that made dancing along to an Irish jig suddenly a very cool thing to be doing. Ok, so that latter jig claim might be stretching it just a little but The Corrs were a very unique explosion of Celtic-meets-mainstream pop that took everyone by surprise when they released their debut album, 1996’s Forgiven Not Forgotten, a masterpiece that was peppered with some of the bands most internationally recognizable hits including The Right Time, Love To Love You and of course, their signature smash, Runaway and was the biggest selling record of the year after the Alanis Morissette juggernaut, Jagged Little Pill.
As the years went by, further successes followed with records like Talk On Corners and In Blue allowing the foursome to spread their wings and create a major dent on the international stage with their songs generating a buzz all over the world. A few more records into their career and the momentum began to slow down with their last studio release being 2005’s Home. With the band currently taking on a rather lengthy hiatus, band members have been able to focus on other projects including solo careers.
Coming from one of the most successful Irish exports in music and deciding to go at it alone has got to place an incredible amount of pressure on any artist’s shoulders. Combine that with the fact that the band you are coming from is one of a sibling set-up whose family name is as recognisable as the music they created, and expectations are understandably placed at an even higher level. This is the position that violin virtuoso and singer-songwriter Sharon Corr put herself in back in 2010 with the release of her debut solo record, Dream Of You. Thankfully the venture into solo territory has paid off for Sharon as the LP was met with open arms from fans of her previous work in The Corrs and was also able to pull in a whole new fan-base of her very own. The last year has also seen the release of a follow up record, The Same Sun, in various countries around the globe and it is now time for some of the larger music markets to have a taste of the singer’s most recent work and we got our hands on a copy of the record to see where the musician is at four years on from her solo debut.
The Same Sun follows a similar recipe to her debut. There isn’t anything too out of the ordinary or overly experimental going on here so fans of her previous record will be quite pleased with what Sharon has put together.
Its tracks like the opening Raindrops that have Sharon’s solo style stamped all over it. The violin has been put to one side for this track which opts for a slide guitar to gloss the track with a effectively minimalistic Americana dressing; nothing too over the top, just a swaying, rainy day slow-jam that is perfectly suited to the singer’s distinctively-Corrs vocal tones. We are then dropped into the following Take a Minute which serves the new album with its lead single. The track wouldn’t have sounded too out of place within a Carpenters record way back when the duo were at their peak with its beautiful orchestral backdrop which does nothing but compliment the cinematic feel of the number.
We Could Be Lovers is an early highlight; the melody bursting within the tracks uptempo chorus which, like many of the tracks on The Same Sun, carries a grand, orchestral characteristic while the verses reside in acoustic territory, gliding along as it waits for each chorus to ignite and create the numbers energetic hook. The track also allows for a raw vocal from the singer who delivers the song with persuasion and conviction.
Tracks like Runaround and the boppy, piano flavoured Full Circle more closely resemble the pop style Sharon became known for during her former Corrs years while the records title track provides a further reminder nearing the records closing of where she has taken her music in this solo era as she delivers the song with vocal finesse.
The Same Sun is a fine effort for Sharon who has made a very successful transition from chart topping pop band member to fully-fledged solo artist with a style of her own and a record produced on her own terms. These are qualities that shine through on The Same Sun and something that provides a sense of heart to a record that is both melodically nostalgic and lyrically genuine.
::: RenownedForSound.com’s Editor and Founder –
Interviewing and reviewing the best in new music and globally recognized artists is his passion.
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