Gary Vincent reviews Ronan Keating's latest offering 'Fires'

So, Ronan’s back, with an album of all new songs, incredibly his first such collection in six years.
 
The big question is, after all those cover versions he’s been releasing of late, is he back to his original best ? The answer is an emphatic yes !
 
This is a cracking album, with plenty of diversity, and a range of tempos. If you think back to his great sing-along hits like ‘Life Is A Rollercoaster’ and ‘Lovin’ Each Day’ you’ll find more like that on here. Big choruses are the order of the day on tracks like ‘I’ve Got You’ and the wonderful ‘Nineteen Again’, which must surely be a single in the coming months. The first single, which is the title track, is the album opener here.
 
If you want pure funk ( I know, funk – on a Ronan album) then ‘NYC Girl’ will definitely make you move.
 
Equally there’s plenty of Ronan balladeering going on here, all beautifully done. ‘The One You Love’ ‘Love You And Leave You’ and the very slow ‘Easy Now My Dear’ are all traditional smoochers, whilst ‘Wasted Light’ and ‘Lullaby’ take it up a notch into mid-tempo territory.
 
He’s touring the album in the New Year, and I should imagine a mix of these great new songs together with all his old classics will make for a great night.

The Ronan Rollercoaster shows no signs of slowing down just yet…..

Gary's verdict: I give this album 5 out of 5