Kimberley Walsh - Centre Stage

Kimberley Walsh - Centre Stage

Girls Aloud member Kimberley Walsh has issued her first solo studio release. After ten years of successful career with her bandmates, Kimba has finally decided that the time has come to show the world what she is able to do by herself. Centre Stage is a musical project made mainly by famed songs (most ballads) taken by musicals, both theatre pieces and films (there are also two original songs). The project is indeed intreresting, let's see if and how she's been able to carry it forward.


One of the tracks I want to dwell on is the first track and single taken by the album, the Moulin Rouge! track One Day I'll Fly Away. I love how the song's been slightly accelerated and rearranged, especially in the beginning, with the smoothy distorted vocals that reminds me some kind of arabic melody. I love the choice of this track, but I would have loved to hear her interpretation of other tracks of this amazing musical, especially Come What May and Nature Boy. Bad luck!

Another track I found really nice is Memory, from Cats. I've grown up with Barbra Streisand's cover of this song and I'm fond of it, I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical when I saw Memory in Centre Stage tracklist, but I have to admit that Kimberley does a good interpretation, maybe more pop and slavish and less felt, but I think it hasn't been a bad choice at all.

One song I cannot avoid talking about is Evita's song Another Suitcase In Another Hall. I love this musical and this song has a awkward effect on me, I find it strangely and extremely sad. It is a track I love, and I prefer Madonna's version, by the way, I was really surprised to see this song inside the tracklist, expecting other and more famous songs from Evita, like Don't Cry For Me Argentina (I admit I'm not able to imagine how a version of it made by Kimba could sound like!) or You Must Love Me (another song I'd love hear covered!)

A track that I think is really beautiful to hear is the lullaby Hushabye Mountain. I've always heard this song performed by male artists and hearing it sung by a female, it gives me chills, I simply love it. Kimberley's version is smoother, sweeter and maybe also more melodic, but without taking nothing away from the original version, also that little creepy mood it leaves after you listen to it. Amazing job!

The Verdict
Well, the album is perfectly arranged and the songs choice is very good indeed, by the way, it progresses really slowly, so it could result a little boring if you are not a ballad nor a musical lover. I would have loved to hear an album made of unreleased songs from Kimberley as her debut album, but you can't have everything, right?

3 ½ / 5