Soul Man

Album Review

Striking while the iron was still relatively lukewarm, if not actually hot, came the second album from X Factor finalist (and second season runner-up) Andy Abraham, his second release during 2006. This time, having exhausted the songs he had sung on the show, he came up with new material (for him), 13 tracks that could easily have been sung by him on the show instead of the ones that were chosen and had already been featured on his debut album. Therein lay the problem with Andy Abraham, with 12 easily recognizable songs from the 1960s and '70s, he released an album that was no more than a karaoke night in, with only one original song, all tracks sounding identical to the versions known and loved so well, with only Abraham's nice but unexceptional voice to distinguish them, which is fine for there has always been a market for soft soul cover versions. The one new track was the final song, "December Brings Me Back to You," written by Abraham along with Cliff Masterson, Mark Reid, and Michael Underwood, a sentimental Christmas ballad, released in time for the holiday market, but with X Factor series three already capturing the same audience, neither the single nor its parent album could break into the Top Ten. [The CD was also released with a bonus track.]