Review Summary: Christian Walz's self-titled debut album wasn't going to be the big waltz he hoped for.
Swedish singer-songwriter Christian Walz released his first album in 1999 at 20 years of age. Previously, he had studied at Adolf Fredrik's Music School in Stockholm before Sony BMG (now Sony Music) came knocking on his door. Later on he was to become one of Sweden's biggest pop enigmas, following the release of "Paint By Numbers" in 2004 with hits such as "Wonderchild", "Never Be Afraid Again" and "Maybe Not". But first he had to write the self-titled album that was going to launch his career and make "Paint By Numbers" possible. While his debut wasn't going to be his best work, there were some subtle hints of what to come: a lot of soul, a lot of pop and a lot of singing in falsetto.
Walz was heavily influenced by the soul genre and often tried to combine it with the mainstream pop sound. Together with his unique voice and catchy melodies, it proved to be a winning concept. The first single, "Lovin' Is All Right", is driven by a simple drum beat while relying almost entirely on Walz's clever vocal melody. He also showcases his impressive range with the high falsetto in the chorus and the low sneering in the verses. Although the song failed to make the charts in Sweden, it's by far the strongest one on the album. "Sentimental", the second single, isn't nearly as good as "Lovin' Is All Right". Walz uses a forceful and more aggressive singing style for the verses this time. The chorus has him singing in falsetto; he hasn't fully mastered it and made it his trademark on this album, like he has on "Paint By Numbers", which can make it seem forced and generic at times. What redeems the song is the catchy verses and Walz's vocal performance. Nevertheless, it becomes clear that the main focus was to deliver two strong singles and then use the album to market them. Apart from these two singles there aren't that many songs that catches your attention.
"EP" is one of the album tracks that doesn't sound completely unoriginal. With an infectious chorus it grabs you out of nowhere after a rather mundane intro. Walz isn't the greatest lyricist but he knows how to choose his words. They tie up the vocal melodies in a great way which makes the song much stronger. "EP" could've been one of the better songs had the verses not been as mellow and forgettable. The track that follows it is definitely the worst song on the album. With a title like "Spend The Night Together" it's easy to deduct what it's about. And, sure enough, Walz opens the song with the following lines:
It's your hands
That will make it happen
It's your lips that will make me smile
It's your sounds that will sooth me
Through nights of happiness
When I've been inside of you
Now I know you long for me
You know I saved my soul for thee
That the lyrics are anything but poetic is to be expected on the self-titled debut. Lyrical qualities aside; "Spend The Night Together" is a soul ballad that meanders on until you skip it out of a mixture of boredom and anger. The ballads on the album are all mediocre and don't give Walz the chance to utilize his singing voice. He's at his best when the songs are uplifting, catchy and -- quite frankly -- well written. The neat, catchy vocal melodies together with his singing style is a concept that should've been used a lot more on this album. When we get songs like "Fertilize", where this concept is used to the fullest, we also get songs like "Dancin' To" which sounds like the concept was thrown out the window. "Fertilize" is your typical pop song but at least it shows Walz playing to his strengths. "Dancin' To" does none of the above and feel flat. The rest of the album tracks follow the same type of mistakes and are extremely average. Fortunately, this was going to change in the follow-up album "Paint By Numbers" where Christian Walz was going to find out where he wanted to be musically.
Recommended tracks:
"Lovin' Is All Right"
"Sentimental"
