Album Review: Keep On - Will Young (4/5)

Will Young returns this week with his third album, and he's now light years beyond his Pop Idol origins. Working again with Stephen Lipson, the producer responsible for his solid second album, Friday's Child, Will has crafted another great pop collection of both brassy, sassy numbers and winsome, tender ballads.

As the former reality star competition winner, Will was quickly mislabelled by the early release of a handful of milquetoast ballads, namely the remake of Westlife's "Evergreen," and the horrid Beatles remake, "The Long and Winding Road." As if to tease us, "Keep On" begins with gentle strings and horns--and then wham--cue the electro beats. This aint your granny's Will Young. "Keep On" is fast, modern, and flirtatious, building to a powerful musical climax of driving beats, horns, strings, and vocals. It's closest Friday's Child relative is "Your Game," but Young is clearly interested in pushing the limits of the his pop oeveur. The energy continues with "Switch it On," a loud, boisterous, almost messy number that also builds up the musical layers of drums, elecric guitars, and horns to a satisfying conclusion. There's even a screeching cat sound effect. If Will's coy about his sexuality in his lyrics, his song's musical structure make his intentions clear.

After the album's frenetic opening, "All Time Love," arrives with Will's gentle falsetto over slow piano chords and strings. It's a lovely ballad, and excellent choice as second single for fans who weren't ready for the bombast of "Switch it On." From there, we move on the jazzy swagger of "Ain't Such a Bad Place" and "Think it Over," before being treated with another winning ballad, "Who Am I." "Happiness" is also enjoyable, brimming with loungy bossa nova beats, strings, and guitars. In fact, there's not a bad track in the bunch, even the weird "All I Want" delivers. The album closes with "Home," a downbeat-flavored, six-and-a-half minute meditation of acoustic guitars, low beats, strings, flute, and piano, that Young wrote during an unhappy period last summer.

The promise of Pop Idol (and American Idol) was the creation of a new generation of iconic pop musicians. Contestants that have shown the greatest willingness to grow beyond the show's roots and show their own colors, namely Will Young and Kelly Clarkson, are the ones that have delivered on that promise.