CD: I Dreamed A Dream by Susan Boyle

Sony Music, $29.90

Reuters

TOP OF THE POPS: Susan Boyle has soared to the top of the US album charts with her debut album.

Relevant offers

Movie & Music reviews

Movie: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Movie: Transformers Dark of the Moon Movie: Bad Teacher Movie: Green Lantern Movie: Super 8 Movie: X-Men First Class Movie: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides 3D Movie: Source Code CD: Pay Your Dues by Simon Thompson Movie: Thor

Who really cares what the critics think of surprise star Susan Boyle's album, released just in time for the Christmas market.

The CD was a record smasher before it hit the shelves and sales have continued on that upward spiral. If it keeps up, half the presents handed over on December 25 will be I Dreamed A Dream.

Boyle will be remembered as the name of 2009, the 48-year-old Scottish spinster who turned up on a TV talent show and wiped the smug looks from the judges' faces with her voice.

This CD showcases that voice in a way that will delight all the mums, grannies and many of the elderly menfolk who will be given it.

But producer Steve Mac has been short-sighted.  The album is totally predictable, almost boring; no surprises. We've been here so many times. Boyle's stunning voice is the only saving grace.

She covers a broad spectrum of song choice – from Amazing Grace to the Rolling Stones' Wild Horses and the Monkees' Daydream Believer.

The arrangements, though, are all the same, and the same slow tempo. A couple drag dangerously.

Ditching a couple of the same-old numbers and lifting the speed with a couple of up-tempo arrangements would have put the album on the radar of much bigger audience.

I bought the album after hearing Boyle's version of Wild Horses on National Radio.

It dragged me in. I didn't hear the pre-talk and thought it was Barbra Streisand. Brilliant.

My favourite from the album has quickly become Up To the Mountain, a folk spiritual covered by Kelly Clarkson. Superbly sung.

The album leaves me wanting more of Boyle; intentional or not, it's a clever way to make sure we buy the next one.

Suggestion: buy it and delete the stuff you don't like when you load it on the iPod. You'll get at least four stunning tracks.

- © Fairfax NZ News