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Michael Bolton – Spark of Light

Florian Buechting Media Review No Comments

Michael Bolton - Spark of Light

Michael Bolton - Spark of Light
3.7

Rating

 3.7/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Nice song performances
  • Songs with on-stage potential

Flyctory.com Cons

  • Songs rather similar
  • Not too many superb songs

Michael Bolton is one of the most successful US-American musicians of the early 1990’s. However, he is regularly releasing music until now. On 14th July 2023, he is releasing the album Spark of Light. I had a listen to his current sound.

 

Michael Bolton – About The Artist

Michael Bolton is the artist name of Michael Bolotin, who was born on 26th February 1953 in New Haven, Connecticut. The US-American artist released his very first album in 1975. The most successful time of his career was in the early 1990’s. On the singles side, songs like Love is a Wonderful Thing (1991), To Love Somebody (1992) or Said I Loved You… But I Lied (1993) had Top 10 single chart positions in multiple markets globally. His most successful album was the 1991 release Time, Love & Tenderness, which has been sold 16 million times worldwide. However, Bolton has been releasing music regularly since then: Thus, Spark of Light is already Bolton’s 25th studio album. Bolton also had quite some appearances as an actor.

 

Michael Bolton – Spark of Light – Track by Track

The ten song album lasts 34 minutes.

1 Spark of Light

The title track has been released just a few days before the album. The drums are dominating the song, which feels like a soft adult contemporary dance track. Very pop-ish listen, which does not connect to his greatest hits, but opens his 2023 album with a nice vibe.

2 Running Out of Ways

These 2:37 minutes concentrate on Bolton, an acoustic guitar and some backing vocals. Many of his most successful songs have been gentle love songs – and even in 2023, this kind of track is absolutely in my comfort zone while listening to the album. Nice one.

3 Eyes on You

Eyes on You definitely keeps me smiling on. The song is the first very straight and typical ballad by Michael Bolton on this album. The sound is rather timeless, you would neither clearly identify it as a 2020’s song nor as a reference to former eras of his career. Lovely one.

4 Beautiful World (feat. Justin Jesso)

Chicago-origin Justin Jesso had a big hit in 2017, performing Stargazing with Kyro. In 2023, he released the feature single of Spark of Light with Bolton. This song definitely has modern pop qualities. Unfortunately, I feel that the song could be more catchy – despite the really nice chorus and the good vocal collaboration.

5 Whatever She Wants

Whatever She Wants starts as a piano ballad, but then adds strings and other orchestral instruments later in the song. The song is branded by a very dramatic and intense vocal performance by Bolton. Very nice and memorable listen.

6 Just The Beginning

‘Cause in the end your love is just the beginning – these are the first words of the sixth song of the album. I indeed enjoy listening to this song. The snapping kind of rhythm creates a rather unique and characteristic sound from the very beginning of it. Very nice listen, which is also adding quite some variety of sounds to the set of ten songs.

7 Safe

The plot of Safe is very similar to Whatever She Wants. The song starts like a piano ballad, but then is steadily increasing its volume and arrangement. However, safe is rather developing towards a powerful pop track. The song is predictable, but not too bad.

8 Home

This one could be a great one on a future Michael Bolton show. The song has a bit of a touch of How am I Supposed To Live Without You to me. The gentle beauty of Bolton’s voice has faded slightly and Home feels more modern. It is a good listen, though.

9 We Could Be Something

The ninth song is another ballad. Driven by the piano, the song also has a slight touch of soul music. Beautiful listen. Again, I feel that the real potential of We Could Be Something could be on stage.

10 Out of the Ashes

The finale is more dramatic indeed. Forceful drumming and an intense arrangement close Spark of Light with a bang – and one of the best songs of the album as well. Very e energetic song.

 

Michael Bolton – Spark of Light – Spotify

Here is Spark of Light on Spotify:

 

Michael Bolton – Spark of Light – My View

Spark of Light is a good listen. It is not average, but also not very good. There are too many similarities and too few songs which add an individual and contrasting flavor in this long play. Hopefully, Bolton is also presenting his songs on stage – I feel that this might be a truly magical experience.

 

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