Looking Up
By Simon Bailey
SimG Records
At the end of last year West End star Simon Bailey released his debut solo album, Looking Up. While Simon is known for starring in big West End shows including Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera, Looking Up has proven that he is also an extremely gifted song writer and recording artist.
Simon has written four original tracks for the album and has also developed a very identifiable sound. He sings each song as if it is his own, each song clearly has a personal meaning to him. This is quite an achievement as the album features a wide variety of songs by the likes of Luthor Vandross, Dolly Parton and Eric Clapton as well as musical theatre composers including Jason Robert Brown and Scott Alan. Simon has a distinctive tone to his voice which I would not expect to hear from a musical theatre performer, the tone is comforting and makes the album smooth and easy to listen to.
Looking Up begins with one of Simon's own songs 'Sing For The Angels'. Straight away the song puts the listener at ease as it sounds like a real old school classic. If you listen carefully you will discover that the song's lyrical content is quite touching.
When I saw 'Dance With My Father' was on the album I feared it could be a little cheesy. The song has been covered countless times but somehow Simon has re-invented the song, taking it back to basics. I think this is my all time favourite version of the song, the arrangement and orchestrations are stunning and Simon sings the song as if he wrote it.
'I'd Give It All For You' from Jason Robert Brown's musical 'Songs For A New World’ is one of the catchiest tracks on the album. It also marks the the first duet, Simon sings with Katie Hall who recently finished starring as Christine on the UK Tour of Phantom of the Opera. Katie shows off a different side of her voice and sings the melody effortlessly.
Simon's cover of Evanescence's 'My Immortal' shows off the higher register and he sings with a gentle rock tone. The West End star is then joined by Ramin Karimloo for a cover of 'Murder In The City' by The Avett Brothers. This is the perfect choice for their duet featuring calming harmonies, and it has been stuck in my head ever since. Simon's self penned song 'I Can't Stop The Rain' is one of my favourite tracks on the album. The song builds up nicely but I just wish it ended properly. I always think it sounds a little lazy when a song ends by fading out.
Recently I haven't been able to escape from the Oscar award winning song 'Falling Slowly' from Once, which recently opened in the West End. As well as seeing the show a couple of times, the song recently popped up on the Graham Norton show and last week as I walked through Covent Garden a busker started playing it just as I walked past, so I couldn't believe it when the song started playing on Simon's album. Falling Slowly is such a beautiful song and I could never become sick of it. Simon sings with fellow West End star Sabrina Aloueche and I enjoyed listening to a fresh version. Sabrina almost teases the listener with the softer side of her voice before building up to the song's more powerful conclusion. The track certainly left me wanting more and I would love to hear a solo album from Sabrina as there are so many sides to her stunning voice.
Looking Up ends with Simon's emotive song 'Goodbye'. The piano adds a mystifying sound to the track and the song gradually builds up before suddenly being stripped back. The sudden change is powerful and once again Simon's lyrics are extremely meaningful.
It is wonderful to see SimG Records encouraging exciting new talent, Looking Up is an exceptional album. Each song has been chosen for a reason and the album takes you on quite a journey.
Reviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)
Looking Up can be purchased by visiting www.SimGProductions.com
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