MUSIC-NEWS – COMPETITION
Win 1 of 5 Brian May & Kerry Ellis ‘Golden Days’ CDs
ENDS 26 MAY 2017:
To enter just send an email with GOLDEN DAYS in the subject line to comps@music-news.com Please list your name, EMAIL, home address and telephone number.
—
TOTAL MIX – COMPETITION
Competition: Win CD copies of the new release by Brian May and Kerry Ellis
To be in with a chance of winning one, simply RT & Follow @thisistotalmk or leave us a message HERE. Simple!
Competition is open to UK residents only Closing date for entries is Sunday, May 2, 2017
—
GAY TIMES
12:13 27th April 2017 by William J Connolly
Brian May and Kerry Ellis return with a new album we’ve struggled to stop playing since the second we clicked play!
We all know Kerry Ellis from her much-loved appearances on stage, but it’s the vulnerability of her voice here that appeals so greatly through each track on “Golden Days“. It feels like a new sound, without being too different to what we already love. It’s nice to hear a rock twang back in her tracks, and Brian’s sure to have urged on such a thing. It’s true that her stage music is a great success, and such theatricality comes soaring out in the likes of ‘I Who Have Nothing’. If ever a diva rendition was to be sought for, this is it.
Brian May’s ear for music comes through here in every heartbeat and rock chord. Orchestrated ideally and laced with his signature guitar twang wherever possible, you’d be forgiven for thinking these songs were somewhat new – such is the ever-changing twists that land unexpectedly on some classics. Such a thing even occurs on a rather melodic Carousel number for all the arts followers.
The mixing of ballads to rock anthems falls well on the 13-track album; you’ll find yourself back at the start rather quickly as you get caught listening to every one. Standout coming from ‘Love In A Rainbow’, ‘Amazing Grace’, ‘Born Free’ and the stunning ‘I Who Have Nothing’. Oh, and ‘The Kissing Me Song’ will be in your head for DAYS! Avoid at all costs as it’s on ‘Let It Go’ levels of addictive!
Once again, Brian May and Kerry Ellis’joining makes for a joyful album that’ll keep to to the top of your playlist in 2017. Just be careful to not get caught singing along out-loud in public spaces like we did!
Gay Times gives Golden Days – 4/5
Brian May & Kerry Ellis “Golden Days” TV Ad 06 Apr 2017
– https://youtu.be/vyE9wNVQPKw
MORE PRESS:
The Reviews Hub
CD REVIEW: Kerry Ellis and Brian May – Golden Days
26 April 2017
Reviewer: Helen Jones
In 2010 Brian May produced an album Anthems with West End star Kerry Ellis providing the vocals. The album was so successful that they toured together. Now, seven years after the first album, their second album Golden Days has been released. This time it is billed as a true collaboration between the two artists. It includes two new tracks written by May and three written by both of them. The rest is made up of a mix of their favourite songs and a very eclectic mix it is. Two are dedicated to their work on behalf of wild animals and a couple are reworkings of ones they have previously performed live.
The album opens with a new Brian May/ Kerry Ellis track Love In A Rainbow, and it is a typical May rock track showcasing his distinctive guitar style alongside Ellis’ soaring vocals. The following three songs are all new, Roll With You (May/ Ellis), title track Golden Days (May) and It’s Gonna Be All Right (The Panic Attack Song) (May). Ironically the title track is probably the weakest of them but all are immediately identifiable as having the May style.
There then follows a diverse selection of songs. The hymn Amazing Grace is given the Brian May touch but it Kerry Ellis’ vocals which give the song a soul. The two covers which work best though are a version of the Barry/Black penned Born Free and the Anderson/Ulvaeus Abba track Story Of A Heart. The former being evocative enough to send shivers down the spine while the Abba track is a homage to one of the biggest bands of the twentieth century.
Their cover of the iconic Gary Moore song, Parisienne Walkways, showcases Brian May’s guitar skills as he recreates the wailing feel of the original, but this is the one track where Ellis’ pure vocal sound jars, as Phil Lynott’s original rasping version is quintessential to the feel of the number.
There is one more self-penned track ‘The Kissing Me Song’, but it is ultimately a forgettable album track hidden among stronger songs.
The album finishes with a stripped down version of the Elvis Presley song Can’t Help Falling In Love (Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, George David Weiss). With a simple accompaniment, this final track allows the beauty of Kerry Ellis’ voice to be truly appreciated.
Overall this is a pleasant and easy to listen to album that has a couple of outstanding cover tracks, nice album but not the most memorable.
—
MUSIC RADAR
Kerry Ellis: 5 vocalists that blew my mind
21 April 2017 by Rich Chamberlain
INTERVIEW EXTRACT
KERRY ELLIS: “I don’t think we planned to come in and say, ‘Right, we’re going to do these songs,’” Ellis says on the eclectic mix of material. “It was organic. Some of the covers have come to us along the way.
“For instance, I Who Have Nothing – we went to Italy and performed at a huge festival and played with an Italian singer called Irene. That song then became very poignant to us and we had to put it onto the album.
“Then you have Born Free: we have worked a bit with Virginia McKenna, who is the founder of the [wildlife charity] Born Free Foundation, and we have gone over to South Africa and experienced a little bit of that and done some work over there. So we went on to do a version of Born Free that is completely different to the original version. It’s very special to us and it was a natural progression for that to go onto the album.”
And how about the original material, we wonder: was it a case of sending ideas back and forth over email, as is so often the case in 2017?
“Some of it developed on tour, some of it we have performed live on tour, some happened in the studio,” Ellis responds.
“Brian might bring in an idea and some lyrics or just a riff and a melody and we would develop it together… and then some of it just came over email!”
“Brian is great to work with. He does have ideas to push me in certain directions which I might not think of initially. Some things work and some things don’t work. He might suggest something and I’ll think, ‘Oh, I can’t do that,’ and it will turn out great and become one of my favourite parts of the song.
Don’t Miss
“He has a great ear as well and he encourages me to try different things. He thinks like a singer sometimes which is very helpful as well.”
“I get people telling me that they saw me in Wicked or on Broadway or whatever and it is lovely to have an impact on people, especially with young people and when children tell me that I inspired them to sing. That is lovely because it means that you have had an impact on somebody. Especially now that I am a parent, knowing that you can have an effect on another generation is wonderful.” READ MORE HERE
—
STEREOBOARD
Brian May And Kerry Ellis – Golden Days (Album Review)
21 April 2017 by Simon Ramsay
—
EAST ANGLIAN DAILY TIMES
Review: Kerry Ellis and Brian May, Golden Days, Sony Music
20 April 2017 by Andrew Clarke
—
YORK PRESS
CD review: Brian May & Kerry Ellis, Golden Days (Sony)
22 April 2017 by Andrew Simie
—
IPSWICH STAR
Review: Kerry Ellis and Brian May, Golden Days, Sony Music
20 April 2017 by Andrew Clarke