We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks

Continuing my trip back through the 2006 album charts.

24/12/06 : The Love Album - Westlife

Take That last week, Westlife this - 2006 is spoiling me so far!  I hmmmed and haaaed over this one because it's an album of covers and I'm pretty sure it's going to be dreadful, so I think I'd be perfectly within my rights to reject it.  But for some mad reason I'm curious as to how dreadful it's going to be, so I'm going for it.

Hmmm - it is dreadful, but it's exactly the sort of dreadful you'd expect and exactly the sort of dreadful their fans love.  If you hate Westlife, then you have absolutely no need to listen to this - if you love Westlife then you'll already have your copy on repeat play on Alexa.  However, there was a very peculiar moment - their version of "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" is done in a style reminiscent of Foreigner, which left me thinking "I reckon Foreigner would do a good version of this".  Which wasn't an outcome I was expecting at all - apart from that, it was all exactly as I'd imagined it would be.  It's interesting to compare my views on this and Take That's effort - whilst time has definitely softened my opinion of Gary and the boys, it has had absolutely no impact on my opinion of the Irish "stand up for the key change" lads - I'd rather poke my eyes out than listen to this again.

We're at #2 in the charts this week on its fifth week of a thirteen week run, with it having debuted at #1 before being deposed by Take That.  Who are still #1 this week, with the rest of the top five being Oasis, Il Divo and George Michael (two best ofs and a cover album).  Unlike last week, we do have a new entry in the charts - just the one, which is Nas's very festive offering of Hip Hop Is Dead.

Wikipedia has a surprisingly large entry, but most of that was listing the people involved with the album - there are a LOT of them!  There are some very bizarre facts listed though - it had the highest weekly sales for the #3 position in 2006 and appeared in Hong Kong's list of best selling albums in 2007.  Amazingly, it was the eighth best selling album in the UK this year (having only come out at the beginning of December) but, horrifyingly, it was actually the best selling album in Ireland.  They really did lurve those boys over there and still do, although their last album ONLY got to #2 over there in 2021 - which, depressingly, was the same position as it managed over here, so lucky old me got to listen to it,

"Customers also listened to" a load of people who look remarkably similar but the pick of the crop has to be Boyzlife, which was a "supergroup" consisting of Keith and Brian and I'm pleased to say I was blissfully unaware of them before now.  Unfortunately, I've been aware of Westlife for quite a few years now and they've refused to go away, no matter how rude I am about them.  So I'll just admit defeat and give up.

17/12/06 - An album I'd completely forgotten about
31/12/06 - My faves to start a new year off

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