Valensia - that's the singer, not the incorrectly spelt orange, hails from Holland and has offered a platter of fruity delights that attempt to imitate the immortal Freddie Mercury from Queen. You've got to admit this guy can really sing. He has an amazing range, versatility to make most of the best cringe in embarrassment and a delivery that is fully charged with emotion and sincerity. While he succeeds on most occasions, there are a few songs where he simply doesn't cut the mustard. "I'm In Love With My Car" is one such example whereby the song sounds like the vocals are done by a female. Nothing wrong with that except that the vocal tonings on this song are so highly pitched as to make it slightly tortuous to listen to for more a few minutes. The instrumentation consists of your standard, pedestrian type of affair with guitars, bass, drums, vocals and a few other assorted items when the need arises. All songs have been performed perfectly well and feature a strong emphasis on the excellent harmonies.
There are a few songs such as "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Killer Queen" that have been given totally different arrangements and help to break up proceedings from what you were expecting to hear. To attempt to alter in any way, shape of form, such immortal and timeless classic like these, however, is an exercise in bravado so one has to be really confident in pulling it off convincingly. While the vocals are really smooth and overall pretty well up there with Freddie's best, the arrangements have relegated dear old Queenie to a mere maid in waiting. Rather than being the "killer" track it should be, this one is about as inspiring as watching young children eat their porridge.
Tribute albums are becoming more common than UFO's sightings from the Roswell area but to these ears at least, I prefer to hear the originals. Perhaps its me or perhaps the sound of the originals were so firmly entrenched within the nether regions of our subconscious minds that any attempt to emulate the same sound, only decades later, falls a bit flat. With the latent talent that is evident on this album, you'd wish Valensia could move forward from paying homage to the greats and simply devoted his time to writing some of his own music. Make no bones about it, Valensia does have a great voice. It's strong, emotive and draws upon a large range of styles that fit this music very well. Being associated with the Lion Music label, you could be assured Valensia has plenty of professional musicians to assist him with any new project. He is a talented singer in search of some talented new songs writers. Applications closing soon!
Track Listings:
1. Data Track
2. Sheer Heart Attack
3. Man From Manhattan
4. Bohemian Rhapsody
5. Polar Bear
6. I'm In Love With My Car
7. We Will Rock You
8. Liar
9. Dear Friends
10. All The Young Dudes
11. Killer Queen
12. Love Of My Life
13. My Fairy King
14. You Take My Breath Away
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