World5: Global Experience

World5 is an Internet collaboration effort with members as wide spread as New Zealand and Germany as well Sweden and the US). Clearly skilled musicians, they present their new LP Global Experience as a culmination of each members  greatest strengths with producer Randy Miller (Destiny’s Child ,Burt Bacarach) at the helm to bring it all together. World5 has produced a solid, relaxed, earnest and enjoyable work of adult contemporary pop that has a shiny gloss and some feel good moments. This LP had some quality touches. Sax, percussion and joyful harmonies were present on this collection of mostly love songs. Opening track “The morning light” contained some effective harmonies and a bold saxophone solo along with some intriguing percussion.  Standout first single “You and I” was an earnest love song and had an Island getaway feel that set the mood. A pretty melody and some fine acoustic strumming really stood out for me. “All my heart”, with its accapello opening and catchy chorus captured my interest as well. I really felt that the lead singer had a good grasp on the style of music being presented and his core audience and helps to promote that in his vocal style. “So sincere” was a bouncy track with a winning melody, one of my favorite tracks on the LP. “Bring your heart home” was a slow tempo love song that set the mood but I felt that the chorus was lacking a solid hook however, I felt the harmonies were decent. “The line”, a rocker morphing into a moody piece about infidelity, felt a little Cliché in terms of lyrics, but ultimately was effective in its message. “Jump and shout”, containing smooth sax and straight forward lyrics worked well in this writer’s opinion. Fine guitar work and a simple message brought it home for me. “Walk away” had a  pop sheen and some alluring keyboard work while the bouncy “Dream House” , with its soulful intro and shout along chorus was worth repeated listens especially for its fine guitar work. “A day for lovers”, clearly written for weddings with the pretty piano opening, was an earnest ballad and I would imagine could become a hit with brides and grooms this year. “Living” with its pretty acoustic guitar strumming and an acoustic version of “You and I” closed the LP in fine form. Overall I thought the LP was well paced, demonstrated some fine musicianship and production. The LP felt like it was recorded by all members in one studio which is a good indication of the quality production and mastering.  It was a cohesive work of adult contemporary pop that I feel could do well with the genre’s core audience as well as new listeners.

http://www.world5music.com/