Will Young - Hits (BMG)

TV talent show success doesn't mean critical acclaim or longevity of course, so Will Young's music career is impressive. He's arguably the best artist to come from the noughties' reality revolution. Girls Aloud have had more hits, but don't write their own songs, and while Leona Lewis maybe global, she hasn't been around long enough to judge.

Despite his nine top ten hits since 2002, this seems a bit early for a retrospective. However Young has come a long way from those 'Evergreen' days and the tracks take you on an interesting journey. Listening is helped by it being in chronological order, something many Best Ofs get terribly wrong.

Inevitably, 'Evergreen' and 'Light My Fire' sound rather lightweight now, as they came immediately after that Pop Idol victory. But listening to 'Leave Right Now', you realise just how important it was in keeping his career going. The Eg White written track could have ended up in any pop star's hands, but Young made it his own and it's one of the best British pop songs of the decade. To his credit, on the second album Young was already doing some of the writing.

'Friday's Child' would have done George Michael proud on his last album. 'Your Game' also sounds strong still, but on ballads, 'All Time Love' and 'Who Am I', Young's voice sounds weaker and a bit too twee.

Upbeat tracks like 'Switch It On' are more interesting (and the Top Gun fashioned video is included in an extra DVD version) with 'Grace', which Young says is the track he's most proud of, the best here. Worryingly though for Young, it didn't even dent the singles top 20 last year.

New material is inevitable with these compilations and here there are two, the first of which is single 'Hopes & Fears'. It's a great driving pop song based on a silky hook at the chorus and strong vocals and shows the direction he might be going. The second new song, 'If It Hadn't Been for Love', is a typical Will Young ballad, that never really gets going, but does show off his voice.

This look back might be a turning point for Will Young, he could move into the part of the market left vacant by George Michael. But the pop industry is so fickle, he could just as easily sadly fade away to do more acting and end up in C Rate movies alongside Danny Dyer (now there's a combination!).

Rating: 4/5

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Artist: Will Young Title: Broadway, My Way Released: 18/02/2003 Buy Now \| View Details	Artist: Will Young Title: Friday's Child Released: 22/03/2004 Buy Now \| View Details

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Weblink

Will Young's official website
http://www.willyoung.co.uk/

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Will Young on MySpace
http://www.myspace.com/willyoung06

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