Chris Mann "Roads" Album

I am in love with the Chris Mann "Roads" album!!! The music is awesome and I have been listening to it nonstop. Chris Mann was on "The Voice" last season and I loved him then! I recommend everyone at least listen to a sample of his music. The album realesed on 10/30/12 and can be purchased on on iTunes and/or Amazon.com

ChrisMannMusic.com

Roads boasts a wildly eclectic assortment of songs, ranging from Willie Nelson’s “Always on My Mind” and Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now” to “Ave Maria” and Damien Rice’s “The Blowers’ Daughter,” with the latter featuring a special guest appearance from Aguilera.
About “The Blower’s Daughter” and singing with Chris, Aguilera says, “It's a beautiful song and I really respect the way he’s expressing himself on the album. Everything from his tone, to his richness, to his soulfulness comes through loud and clear.”

Mann co-wrote two songs, “Cuore,” based on Bach’s “Air on a G String,” and the contemporary ballad “Falling.” A widescreen take on Coldplay’s anthem “Viva La Vida”—which sounds like it was written expressly for Mann to sing—provides the album with an ecstatic climax. 

While Mann chose most of the material himself, it was Fair who instigated what would become the album’s centerpiece, hooking up with Paul Anka, who was so taken with Mann’s voice and story that he reworked “My Way” specifically for Chris. Anka tweaked the lyrics so that instead of being about a guy looking back, this new version is written from the point of view of a young man looking hopefully ahead—a notion central to the theme of Roads. 

That Anka would, for the first time ever, massage this Frank Sinatra-associated standard for him to sing meant a great deal to Mann, whose late grandfather had himself once headed toL.A.in an attempt to make it as a Sinatra-influenced crooner, only to shelve his dream, return toKansasand start a family. “I was raised on Sinatra by my granddad, so I have a strong connection to him as I’m pursuing my own dream,” says Mann in a particularly emotional moment. “If he’d known that I’d one day be working with Paul Anka, and that I’d be recording the only other official version of ‘My Way,’ he would be so proud and excited. 

About Mann’s take on the classic song, Anka says, “"It’s uniquely special.  [Chris has] now established a whole new level.  [My Way] has a whole new life to it.  The arrangement is amazing." 

“‘My Way’ is the anchor of the album, but [lead single] ‘Roads’ is the cloth from which I want everything to be cut,” he continues. “It was given to me by Keith Thomas, who produced it, and I connected to it immediately. The concept is about how life can throw you a curveball or it can change everything overnight, but either way you have to stay on this road and it will lead you home. That’s exactly how my road has been—a marathon that’s brought me to this new beginning.” 

Having realized one lifelong dream, Mann acknowledges there are more dreams still unfulfilled. “I would love to sing on an ancient amphitheater stage somewhere inEurope,” he says, “and I’ve always fantasized about winning a Grammy.  I can’t wait to see where this road I’ve been on for so long leads me next.”

This is a review post from One2One Network. I was provided with a copy of the album and I am eligible for a prize drawing. All opinions stated are my own.