Turn It Up - the review

By far and away the best thing to have come from Australian Idol, Shannon Noll continues to widen the gap between himself and other Idol alumni with his third CD, Turn It Up.

Much like Kelly Clarkson, the inaugural American Idol winner, Shannon continues to up the ante. Not winning Idol was probably the best thing that ever happened to him.

I've got to admit he had me sold when he covered What About Me, the 1982 classic that I grew up with. His first album, That's What I'm Talking About, was good. His second album, Lift, was outstanding.

This third release has grown on me significantly between first and second listens and I expect it will continue to impress me further the more I play it (and it will get played a lot this coming week).

I'll get the neagtive out of the way first: Shannon, where are the lyrics? Printing the lyrics really helps you connect with the songs and just printing one verse or one chorus from each song is not good enough.

I've got to admit the opening track Loud still hasn't grabbed me. I like it, perhaps I was expecting another Lift which opened the previous album. Everybody Needs A Little Help is a solid track, earmarked as a surefire hit by some reviewers, but it's not a standout at this stage for me.

After two listens, the highlights for me are Breakdown, Only Thing Missing, Won't Let You Go and Sorry Is Just Too Late - all of which are on the second half of the album. So I guess I can say if the first few songs don't grab you initially stick around because it gets better.

As stated earlier, this is a genuine grower. It's just going to get better. Shannon can carve out a long career with the sound he has established for himself and the likeable Aussie country boy background, and just edge in the soft rock direction.

So when you pick this one up, Turn It Up!

(By the way, I believe it's Shannon Noll's birthday tomorrow so I hope it's a good one!)