The Acoustic Chapel Sessions

Album Review

Released to coincide with the 25th anniversary of his biggest-selling album, Whispering Jack, The Acoustic Chapel Sessions sees Aussie rock veteran John Farnham revisit three of its most famous tracks, alongside eight other stripped-back interpretations of classic material from his most successfully commercial period. Recorded at Melbourne's Chapel Off Chapel in the summer of 2011, his sixth live album and first solo one since 1999's Live at the Regent Theater spans 12 years of his record-breaking career, from an intimate reworking of 1984 drive-time favorite "Playing to Win" (originally recorded with the Little River Band) up to faithful renditions of tracks from 1996's Romeo's Heart ("A Simple Life," "Hearts on Fire"). Adhering to the latter's "if it ain't broke..." approach, the blue-collar country-rock of "Talk of the Town," the cover of Tom Kimmel's "That's Freedom," and the harmonica-driven hoedown of "Chain Reaction" offer little deviation from the originals. But elsewhere, Farnham uses the opportunity to reinvent songs that have formed the basis of his repertoire for nearly 30 years. He does so with conviction on "Pressure Down," which abandons its synth-heavy AOR sound in favor of a subtle and soulful gospel vibe, and "Two Strong Hearts," which transforms the impassioned MOR staple into a seductive slice of lounge-pop. But the acoustic setting means that some of his bigger and bolder tracks lose their anthemic appeal, in particular the cocktail bar arrangement of "Age of Reason" and the low-key treatment afforded to his only U.S./U.K. hit, "You're the Voice," which removes the bagpipe solo that made it so memorable. Following his recent big-band album and The Great Australian Songbook, his third consecutive unconventional offering suggests Farnham has started to forget what made him one of his homeland's musical legends, and while The Acoustic Chapel Sessions shows that he's still both in fine voice and a reasonable interpreter of songs, it's perhaps time that he got back to doing what he does best. ~ Jon O'Brien, Rovi