Charlotte Church
Prelude: The Best of Charlotte Church
Columbia
(I will say this only because Ink 19 is the most liberal magazine that I write for, and I’m pretty sure no-one reading this review will be a huge Charlotte Church fan:) the back cover of Prelude’s booklet made me violently ill. I wanted to vomit my fucking guts up. Is that too harsh? Well, maybe, but seriously, the photo is just the most hideously sugar-coated thing I’ve seen in a long time. Church looks like a 1930s Broadway child-actor gone horribly wrong. And the rest of the packaging’s not much better. It’s so bad, in fact, that it’s almost worth buying the CD just for the gasp-factor. (Almost.)
So. Charlotte Church is a great, umm, “church” singer. There’s nothing particularly distinctive or passionate about her voice, or her interpretations of these songs (maybe the hideous photos are supposed to add spice), but really, were you expecting any more? She’s a human-interest singer; she’ll be filling the stockings of grandparents for years to come. That’s what she does, and she does it admirably: she sings well, she looks pretty, and she has a great team of publicists. Success for everyone, except those with weak stomachs.
Charlotte Church: http://www.charlottechurch.com
