The Next Album

[stevemacdonald]

It may be a ways off, but I'm sure the right people are already carefully pondering Hayley's NEXT album!

That means it's once again time for our idle speculation on what they'll name it and what songs will appear. Our hopes will obviously play a part in this, but so should our sense of what will work best for Hayley in light of previous efforts. If, by chance, Decca are secretly taking the pulse of Hayley's fans, whether to gauge preferences or monitor listening trends, our input here might even have some value.

So without further ado, here are a few of my guesses:

Album title: "Magic"
Songs: "Memory"; "La Vie En Rose"; "Exsultate, Jubilate" (Mozart); "Stabat Mater" (Pergolesi); "A Taste of Honey"; "People"; "Suzanne".

That's all I can come up with ... now it's your turn.

[postscript]

stevemacdonald said:

It may be a ways off, but I'm sure the right people are already carefully pondering Hayley's NEXT album!

That means it's once again time for our idle speculation on what they'll name it and what songs will appear. Our hopes will obviously play a part in this, but so should our sense of what will work best for Hayley in light of previous efforts. If, by chance, Decca are secretly taking the pulse of Hayley's fans, whether to gauge preferences or monitor listening trends, our input here might even have some value.

So without further ado, here are a few of my guesses:

Album title: "Magic"
Songs: "Memory"; "La Vie En Rose"; "Exsultate, Jubilate" (Mozart); "Stabat Mater" (Pergolesi); "A Taste of Honey"; "People"; "Suzanne".

That's all I can come up with ... now it's your turn.

Steve,
May I suggest that planning is already underway. These things do not happen over night and I suspect many 'possible' songs are already booked for recording while the debate rages. She has to fit recording times in, not only with the studio and supporting band, but within her own live schedules. On top of which, since she increasingly wants artistic control, she will want time to consider orchestration and arrangement. That all takes a lot of thinking time.

Almost at the last will come the decision on programme balance. Remember her biography on the trauma of the Wuthering Heights debate. It wasn't a question of 'should it be recorded?', it already had been, with the others. it was a question of which existing recordings went in.

I think the decision on the balance of the programme and the nature of the overall programme stems from the choice of material. This, in my view, is perhaps the most important recording decision Hayley will yet make since rightly winning the Wuthering Heights debate. All this determines the 'mood' of the CD from which derives its title. I don't think one starts wth a title! It is like writing an opera. The overture is usually (there are notable exceptions) the last thing to be written!

Tied in with this is her feelings about her experience with the Il Divo tour. What 'new?' audience does she want, or 'merely'
to confirm her established audience?

I don't think the next CD is a 'make or break' career move for her, but I do think it is a major milestone as to whether she is going to meteor further on up, or plateau.

Peter

[Joe]

Hi all,

I'm also certain that specific songs are on the table of discussion. I would like the next album a little less classical...meaning the inclusion of several well-known folk songs. Perhaps several of Joni Mitchell's earlier works. Of course I'd love to see one or two classical favorites like "Stabat Mater" or "Be Still My Soul". I've come up with a brilliant title of the cd..."Harmony".

Joe

[postscript]

joe said:

Hi all,

I'm also certain that specific songs are on the table of discussion. I would like the next album a little less classical...meaning the inclusion of several well-known folk songs. Perhaps several of Joni Mitchell's earlier works. Of course I'd love to see one or two classical favorites like "Stabat Mater" or "Be Still My Soul". I've come up with a brilliant title of the cd..."Harmony".

Joe

I think you make a valid point, Joe, which at the time I thought of it I could not think of expressing myself other than very negatively.

Now, in contrast to your contribution, I can. In effect, I was wondering if she would give thought to the Il Divo dumbing down way. I think she has got to give some thought to that audience without overly 'dumbing down'.

She's too intelligent a girl and too good of voice. In fact i think it would be a travesty of that voice for it to be 'dumbed down' in the songs it sings. Also, her singular looks and character ooze CLASS through every aspect of her as a person that 'dumbing down' simply would not sit well with her.

But I do think, from a marketing angle, she does need to define what audience she is holding and where and of what type is the audience she needs to draw to her to expand demand for her work.

Peter

[Dave]

Hi guys,

I'm now starting to think that before Hayley's next all-new album there will be some kind of "Best of Hayley" album in all her major markets - including the UK, US and NZ. We already know about such albums released or planned in Japan and Australia; and to a certain extent in Germany where Odyssey includes some older tracks.

If Decca were to release "Best of Hayley" albums everywhere, it would neatly answer my next question: what will Decca do at Christmas 2006? There does not appear to be enough time in Hayley's schedule to record a new album until 2007 and having largely missed out at Christmas 2006, I'd have thought the new regime at Decca will not wish to make the same mistake this year.

Therefore, I expect a "Best of Hayley" album in the UK and quite possibly in the US later this year - perhaps in early November. I must add that I've heard nothing from Hayley or her management about this, I am guessing based on what's been done in some other Countries already and the fact that *something* needs to be done at Christmas to pick up on massively increased sales then. In the US, it could alternatively be a Special Edition of Odyssey as so far, there hasn't been one there.

Shall we have a new thread about "Best of" album track suggestions or leave it in here?

Cheers, Dave

[roger]

Hi Dave,

I would have thought the US stand a better chance of getting a "Best Of" album than we do in the UK, simply because there was no re-release of either Pure or Odyssey there whilst both have had Special Editions here.

As for our suggested tracklisting, we may as well keep it here (as it would be completely on topic). How many tracks are we going for?

Roger