Review - Josh Groban - All That Echoes

It isn’t typical for this blog to write about operatic pop, but there is one key word in…those two: pop. Pop! Bang! Boom! aims to cover all kinds of pop, and while classical/operatic pop might not be the most exciting genre, certain artists and releases certainly deserve some attention, don’t they?

In the case of Josh Groban, perhaps we can all agree that a little bit of column space can be put aside. After all, this is his sixth album, and it is his third #1 on the Billboard 200, so it’s important to at least some people.

‘All That Echoes’ is exactly what you’d expect from Groban, only without quite as much gravitas. Sure, his vocals are strong as ever (from what one can tell at least) and he hasn’t yet dipped his toes into the dubstep lake (AKA the music is akin to what we’ve come to know and love him for), but the whole collection just lacks that special something.

His past albums have contained original tear-jerkers like “You Raise Me Up” and “When You Say You Love Me”, songs that are modern classics; the kind of songs that are used in commercials and promos and an endless stream of love scenes. In the past, Josh has worked with songwriters that could stand next to those who wrote “I Will Always Love You” and “My Heart Will Go On” and make them weep.

So, what happened here? Nothing in particular, it just seems they didn’t strike gold. “Brave” is the closest we’re going to get out of ‘All That Echoes’, which is still all around a very well written and tightly-produced (thanks, Rob Carvallo) CD.

Listen to: “Brave”, “Below The Line”, “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress” and “I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)”

Buy