Duet

Album Review

Following in the footsteps of fellow Irish boy bander Brian McFadden, Boyzone frontman Ronan Keating appears to have adopted the land down under as his second home after becoming the winning mentor on the Seven Network's version of The X-Factor, with his seventh studio album, Duet, recorded specifically for the Australia and New Zealand market. As its title suggests, its 12 tracks are each performed with a guest vocalist, from the hugely established (Elton John on a live 2000 performance of "Your Song" at Madison Square Gardens) to the lesser-known who have yet to find an audience outside their homeland (fellow talent show judge and Australian Idol winner Guy Sebastian on "All for One"). His third covers-heavy album in a row following Songs for My Mother and Winter Songs, Duet isn't exactly poles apart from the kind of karaoke performances Keating has recently been judging on The X-Factor. "Islands in the Stream" is a bland and unremarkable take on the Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers standard featuring sister country music trio the McClymonts, "Say Say Say" is a cheap-sounding rendition of the Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson '80s classic with R&B singer Adeaze, while "Wild World," a duet with Marvin Priest, whose father also covered the Cat Stevens original, adds nothing new to either version. The rest of Duet is a curious affair which acts as an alternative retrospective of the Dubliner's 11-year solo career. "Believe Again" is a trashy Euro-pop reworking of the track he penned for Denmark's 2009 Eurovision Song Contest entry with Fijian-born vocalist Paulini; "The Long Goodbye" is a newly recorded version of his 2004 hit ballad with country star Lee Kernaghan' while "To Love Somebody" is an interpretation of the Bee Gees' soulful ballad with Brian McFadden, formerly one-fifth of the band Keating used to manage. Elsewhere, there are also more familiar past releases, including "Father and Son" (a rather touching duet with Cat Stevens), the LeAnn Rimes-featuring "Last Thing on My Mind" (one of Keating's best singles) and "We've Got Tonight" (a surprisingly restrained take on the Bob Seger classic). But with the best material already available elsewhere, and Greg Wells' inoffensive production rendering the brand new covers rather pointless, Duet does little to dispel the feeling that Keating is simply going through the motions. ~ Jon O'Brien, Rovi