{"id":38690,"date":"2018-07-30T09:03:04","date_gmt":"2018-07-30T08:03:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=38690"},"modified":"2018-07-30T12:07:01","modified_gmt":"2018-07-30T11:07:01","slug":"rick-astley-shares-his-beautiful-life-with-new-album","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2018\/07\/rick-astley-shares-his-beautiful-life-with-new-album\/","title":{"rendered":"Rick Astley Shares His &#8216;Beautiful Life&#8217; With New Album"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"38693\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2018\/07\/rick-astley-shares-his-beautiful-life-with-new-album\/rick-astley-credit-rankin-1-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rick-Astley-credit-Rankin-1.jpg?fit=860%2C1148&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"860,1148\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;16&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;IQ260&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1522262577&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;50&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0028571450592663&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Rick-Astley-credit-Rankin-1\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rick-Astley-credit-Rankin-1.jpg?fit=640%2C854&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"size-full wp-image-38693 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rick-Astley-credit-Rankin-1.jpg?resize=640%2C854&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"854\" \/><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Rick Astley was known in the 80s for his almost impossibly sonorous voice, rich and full, and incredible considering at the height of his fame in those days, he was only in his early 20s. He retired in 1993 to devote time to his family, but returned to musical life in 2001. Rick hasn&#8217;t looked back since, with his album, &#8217;50&#8217;, released in 2016, hitting the top spot on the official UK album charts.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">His latest release, &#8216;Beautiful Life&#8217;, released earlier this month, could as easily have been named &#8216;Beautiful Album&#8217;. In fact, we had difficulty reviewing it, because, rather than writing down our thoughts, we just kept listening. Eventually we managed to put it down on paper however.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">&#8216;Beautiful Life&#8217; is an album all about love, and specifically the love Astley has for his wife, Lene. He&#8217;s in a very good place these days, and the record illustrates this, with a confidence that&#8217;s well deserved.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Opening with the title track, we&#8217;re struck by how different Rick&#8217;s voice sounds. Gone are the deep tones, replaced with a slightly more accessible production. The track has the merest hint of disco about it, and it segues nicely into &#8216;Chance To Dance&#8217;, with its upbeat, tropical tempo.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<!-- Random Ad stuff --><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-2076862002005673\" data-ad-slot=\"3107208401\" data-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins><\/p>\n<p><script>\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Track three, &#8216;She Makes Me&#8217;, is possibly our favourite on an album where every song is a winner. A love song, it&#8217;s here we first really get into Rick&#8217;s new sound. There&#8217;s still some of the original timbre, but overall his sound has very pleasingly mellowed.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">&#8216;Last Night On Earth&#8217; has a mellow, laid back guitar-led sound, and some well crafted lyrics, such as, &#8216;Can&#8217;t see the wood for the plastic trees&#8217;. Astley has written, produced, and played on all twelve tracks, which he recorded in his home studio. All over it&#8217;s a lyrically clever album, that definitely deserves a chance from anyone who thinks he was a mere creation of Stock Aitken and Waterman. This is proven again in &#8216;Every Corner&#8217;, the halfway point of the album, where Astley&#8217;s voice is rich, powerful, and a near return to the &#8220;blue eyed soul&#8221; of his youth.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">&#8216;I Need The Light&#8217; is a gospel-infused songs, and it&#8217;s at this point in my review that I realised I&#8217;d stopped writing about the tracks and was lost instead in listening. &#8216;Better Together&#8217; is a lyrically simple track but the words are nonetheless perfectly put together. There&#8217;s some slightly twee parts (&#8220;Feels like I&#8217;ve been up for days\/I&#8217;ve been in a purple haze&#8221;) but Rick is in fine voice, and the falsetto parts are very appealing.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">&#8216;Empty Heart&#8217; feels like an appeal to those who loved the &#8220;old&#8221; Rick to come back and listen to him yet again &#8211; it contains a beautiful bridge, &#8220;So what do I give and what do you get\/I don&#8217;t think love is dead just yet\/I&#8217;m holding on, I&#8217;m hanging on\/I know that I can be so strong for you, yeah you&#8221; that would soften (and fill) the coldest of stone hearts. It certainly would have won me over if I hadn&#8217;t already been sold on Rick from the first track.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">&#8216;Rise Up&#8217; sees Rick&#8217;s voice take on two different levels: a nice deep one, and his lighter, near falsetto tone. His vocals are immense, and we see that again on penultimate track, &#8216;Try&#8217;, where the richness and power of his voice is shown to its fullest. He&#8217;s been in full control of this album, and it&#8217;s exciting to see what he&#8217;s been able to produce.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Finally, &#8216;The Good Old Days&#8217;. An homage to the influences of his youth, Rick recounts his life growing up the youngest of four children, listening to their music, on vinyl, tapes, and the CD players &#8211; that came later, so much later. There&#8217;s some nice lyrical mentions for artists and songs; &#8220;Down the yellow brick road\/I drive a yellow taxi to a yellow submarine\/Just for fun, a super tramp sign for me\/A full beggar&#8217;s banquet or a night at the opera&#8221;, while sonically it&#8217;s just as much a dedication to those artists he grew up listening to.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">There&#8217;s a certain cynicism to the song as well. Astley sought solace in the words and music of the songs he grew up with, and to a point credits their music with his current Beautiful Life. They were after all, The Good Old Days &#8211; can the youth of today take similar refuge? It&#8217;s a sobering thought.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">&#8216;Beautiful Life&#8217; is available now. <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.rickastley.co.uk\/\" xlink=\"href\" rel=\"noopener\">See Rick&#8217;s official website for further details<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rick Astley&#8217;s latest release, &#8216;Beautiful Life&#8217;, released earlier this month, could as easily have been named &#8216;Beautiful Album&#8217;. 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Astley Announces New Album &#8216;Beautiful Life&#8217; And Massive UK Tour","author":"Essentially Pop","date":"01\/06\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Two years ago Rick Astley returned with an album that surprised everyone, even himself. His number 1 album \u201850\u2019 sold over 300,000 copies and was one of the biggest selling albums of 2016. What was even more incredible was that Rick wrote, produced and played every instrument on that comeback\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;New Releases&quot;","block_context":{"text":"New Releases","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/music\/new-releases\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/snapshot.jpg?fit=1200%2C444&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/snapshot.jpg?fit=1200%2C444&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/snapshot.jpg?fit=1200%2C444&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/snapshot.jpg?fit=1200%2C444&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/snapshot.jpg?fit=1200%2C444&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":39229,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2018\/08\/rick-astley-releases-new-single-try\/","url_meta":{"origin":38690,"position":1},"title":"Rick Astley Releases New Single &#8216;Try&#8217;","author":"Essentially Pop","date":"08\/08\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"After seeing his new album \u2018Beautiful Life\u2019 become his fifth top ten album and reach the No.1 spot in the Independent Album Chart, Rick Astley releases his anthemic new single \u2019Try\u2019, impacting September 21st on BMG.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Concerts&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Concerts","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/music\/concerts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rick-Astley-credit-Rankin-1.jpg?fit=860%2C1148&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rick-Astley-credit-Rankin-1.jpg?fit=860%2C1148&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rick-Astley-credit-Rankin-1.jpg?fit=860%2C1148&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rick-Astley-credit-Rankin-1.jpg?fit=860%2C1148&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":36650,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2018\/06\/rick-astley-reveals-title-track-from-forthcoming-album-beautiful-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":38690,"position":2},"title":"Rick Astley Reveals Title Track From Forthcoming Album &#8216;Beautiful Life&#8217;","author":"Essentially Pop","date":"05\/06\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\u2018Beautiful Life\u2019, the first new Rick Astley single and the title track of his forthcoming album, is the sound of the summer. Written and produced by Rick, who also plays every instrument, \u2018Beautiful Life\u2019 is guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Two years ago Rick released \u201850\u2019, a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;New Releases&quot;","block_context":{"text":"New Releases","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/music\/new-releases\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/snapshot.jpg?fit=1200%2C444&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/snapshot.jpg?fit=1200%2C444&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/snapshot.jpg?fit=1200%2C444&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/snapshot.jpg?fit=1200%2C444&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/snapshot.jpg?fit=1200%2C444&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":42443,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2018\/11\/rick-astley-releases-she-makes-me-video-while-surfing-the-wave-of-his-hugely-successful-uk-tour\/","url_meta":{"origin":38690,"position":3},"title":"Rick Astley Releases &#8216;She Makes Me&#8217; Video While Surfing The Wave Of His Hugely Successful UK Tour","author":"Lisa Hafey","date":"09\/11\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Rick Astley is currently touring the UK and has been on the up and up, particularly following his star appearance on last week's Graham Norton Show. Fresh from the first of two sold-out shows at Hammersmith Eventim Apollo in London, Rick's released the hilarious video for his new single, 'She\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Concerts&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Concerts","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/music\/concerts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Rick-Astley-credit-Rankin-2.jpg?fit=899%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Rick-Astley-credit-Rankin-2.jpg?fit=899%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Rick-Astley-credit-Rankin-2.jpg?fit=899%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Rick-Astley-credit-Rankin-2.jpg?fit=899%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":36653,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2018\/06\/gabrielle-premieres-beautiful-new-video-for-comeback-single-show-me-ahead-of-uk-tour\/","url_meta":{"origin":38690,"position":4},"title":"Gabrielle Premieres Beautiful New Video For Comeback Single \u2018Show Me\u2019 Ahead Of UK Tour","author":"Essentially Pop","date":"05\/06\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Today Gabrielle, the record-breaking, multi-million selling, chart-topping singer songwriter, has premiered the video for her new single, 'Show Me', from her 'Under My Skin', her first studio album in 11 years.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;New Releases&quot;","block_context":{"text":"New Releases","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/music\/new-releases\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/snapshot1.jpg?fit=820%2C312&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/snapshot1.jpg?fit=820%2C312&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/snapshot1.jpg?fit=820%2C312&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/snapshot1.jpg?fit=820%2C312&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":69037,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2021\/04\/twonique-releases-latest-album-factory-seconds\/","url_meta":{"origin":38690,"position":5},"title":"Twonique Releases Latest Album &#8216;Factory Seconds&#8217;","author":"Lisa Hafey","date":"28\/04\/2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Released on April 26, 'Factory Seconds' is the latest album from German artist Twonique. The singer, who calls to mind Rick Astley in appearance, he wrote, recorded and produced every song in his bedroom, and based them on his feelings at the time of writing.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Music&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Twonique-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Twonique-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Twonique-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Twonique-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38690"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38690\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}