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Westlife - Greatest Hits (Album Review)
Thursday, 24 November 2011 Written by Heather McDaid
Westlife - Greatest Hits (Album Review)

Time and time again we see boybands fleetingly entertain the masses, disappear from view and – if they’re lucky – milk a comeback a few years down the line. So, imagine the sadness the music world faced when the lead success in longevity as a boyband announced their plans to disband in 2012. We are, of course, referring to the Irish wonders, Westlife.

ImageAs a lover of rock and metal, people meet this sadness in my case with certain disbelief. Westlife were one of my favourite bands as a little girl and, regardless of how far my musical tastes have varied over the years, they still hold that soft spot for nostalgia’s sake. Their final ‘Greatest Hits’ release is just a really nice, simple 18 track trip down memory lane.

Opening this final soiree with the opening track of their self-titled debut in 1999, the fans are guided through a musical tour of the band’s acclaimed catalogue, from ‘Swear It Again’ all the way through to their new numbers including ‘Lighthouse’. Featuring covers that proved to become prominent hits for the band, they have wisely included ‘Mandy’ (Barry Manilow) and ‘Uptown Girl’ (Billy Joel) in this compilation.

Rightfully, the band rejected the option put forth by their label to re-record Brian McFadden’s vocals on earlier tracks and have kept their song list true to their studio releases; this decision is also a testament to the band’s integrity not to remove him from his key part in their history. While tracks such as ‘When You’re Looking Like That’ and other enormous numbers didn’t quite make the cut, the named being a personal favourite, the band have concisely documented one of the most lucrative and seamless careers in boyband history for fan’s to revel in.

Although their new tracks are good and will both please and satisfy fans of the band, it does somewhat defeat the purpose of a ‘greatest hits’ release. We spend a good while singing along to a string of classics, resisting the urge to dance and, if you’re sitting on a stool, standing up for the key change; then at the end we’re met with fresh music. Having said that, give the album a few listens and the sense of unfamiliarity will soon dwindle, ‘Beautiful World’ being a key one to look out for.

All stool quips aside, this is a nice send off to the band that have seamlessly shown boybands how it should be done; going from their sleek dance routines to stepping up the suave factor with a rat-pack inspired release. The band refused to change with the trends, sticking to what they knew and loved and, in turn, became a staple of mainstream music in the UK.

While it is sad to say goodbye to Westlife, it is nice to see they ended things naturally instead of in a blazing break up like we’ve come to see and expect repeatedly from others. If you’re a fan of Westlife and want something to relive their fantastic career by, you’ll relish this release, I swear... and I swear it all over again.
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