Search - Jose Gonzalez :: Stay in the Shade

José does Kylie + four other tunes

Olukayode Balogun | Leeds, England | 03/08/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As much as I'm into González's music, I only got this EP because I heard his version of Kylie Minogue's 1989 #1 UK hit "Hand On Your Heart" somewhere and found out after some research, that this is the only place I can get it. The tune, written by Stock, Aitken & Waterman, a writing team that had incredible UK chart success back in the 80s, was huge on our dancefloors and is still one of my personal favourite tunes by the Australian pop princess. González's very cute version brings back many fond memories.



The other four tunes (three vocal, one instrumental) are all penned by the man himself and are well worth checking out. There's a bit more percussion on offer here than usual and Erik Bodin & Nicholas Sparding assist with that, and with backing vocals. Stephan Sporsen plays althorn on the instrumental track, actually titled "Instr.". It's interesting to hear González play without singing. The sound of his fingers moving over the strings is spine-tingling.



It's all quite interesting really, and the title track, though short, is divine, as is "Sensing Owls". But with only five tracks on offer, my guess is that this one will be for die-hard fans only.



PS. Speaking of fans, lovers of this type of music might want to check out a dude called Jon Allen. He has a website and a song on there called "Going Home" that is available to download for free. The song is currently being featured in an advertisement for a certain 4x4 vehicle here at the moment, and is causing quite a stir. It's definitely worth checking out and I'm just hoping he releases it as a single - or on his upcoming album."