I was hesitant when I heard that West End and Broadway leading lady Kerry Ellis would be releasing her latest album without really any musical theatre cover songs on it. Instead, this time around, an album of five self penned songs by herself and long time collaborator and Queen guitarist Brian May and a collection of other old-school pop songs.
I shouldn’t have worried. Golden Days is a brilliantly produced musical eargasm of perfect pop songs and a multitude of different cultural influences and styles.
Golden Days features the the 2012 single Born Free and 2013’s The Kissing Me Song. The title song, Golden Days, opens with African style instruments and has a great reggae vibe to it. Classic songs I Who Have Nothing made famous by Shirley Bassey and the Elvis single Can’t Help Falling In Love are great additions and Amazing Grace, whilst a slightly obscure choice, is very pretty.
Parisienne Days (originally by Gary Moore) features some great guitar riffs by Brian May and wonderful vocals by Kerry Ellis. This is where Kerry and Brian merge perfectly together in music, with her voice and his music, it feels as though they are playing each other.
There is one Musical Theatre song on Golden Days so don’t despair! A lovely version of If I Loved You from Carousel.
If I had to put this album into a particular category it would have to be 80’s Rock with hints of Chrissie Hynde and female rockers from one of the best decades of music in our history. Roll With You and It’s Gonna Be All Right (The Panic Attack Song) are just two examples of where this really works.
Golden Days is a brave departure from Kerry Ellis’s other albums but is a successful attempt at moving from purely musical theatre to a more eclectic mix of rock and pop, showcasing she is more than just a great stage performer.
Reviewed by West End Wilma
Golden Days is released this Friday, 7 April 2017. Pre order it here
