Customer Rating: 
Summary: Out of this world
Comment: Where does one begin. The latest album from LIBERA (new dawn) is out of this world. The selections are wonderful and Robert Prizeman as usual, has given us more of his wonderful music, that I personally feel, comes from God. The harmonies are breath taking and each solo is beautiful. I would like to say something about every soloist, but that would take way too long. From the six soloists I have chosen two to tell you about. The first is Tom Cully. Tom's voice will send shivers all over your body. He has a beautiful voice and his range will astound you. He also hits a few notes that will amaze you. In my opinion, his voice gets better every time I hear him sing. The other soloist I enjoy hearing, and watching is Josh Madine. Josh has a beautiful voice, well suited to the songs that he sings, but what I also enjoy about him is his infectious smile. He always looks so happy and everytime he smiles, I smile, I can't help it, it just happens. As I said before, I could say something about every soloist, but it would take too long. So, now it's up to you, buy this CD and while your at it get a copy of the DVD, and you'll get to know the boys as I have, and in no time you will get to know their individual voices. When you listen to a song over & over as I have with "In Paradisum," you will find that the soloist (Edward Day), who was chosen to sing this particular song, was the right boy for the song. When you hear him sing, you will understand what I am saying. In my opinion, it was like this song was written for him, or you might say, for his voice. When you hear "In Paradisum" in its intirety you will also fall in love with the harmonies, which are just spectacular, but you could say that of every song that LIBERA sings. There is one other song that I would like to say something about, and that is my favouite Enya song that the boys sing, "Orinoco Flow." Well, the boys do a great job with this song, and as I just said a moment ago, the harmonies will amaze you. I must tell you that on April 4th, I will finally get to see & hear LIBERA in person, and I can't wait, I'm so excited. It will be a 7-8 hour drive to get there, but it will be well worth it. And to keep me company, I own every album that LIBERA have recorded, so I will enjoy my trip. If you are reading this and have never heard LIBERA before, you will not be disappointed if you buy this CD.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Brilliant as expected
Comment: Pre-ordered this when I saw it listed on Amazon, and could not wait for it to arrive. As usual when it did arrive it was straight on the Cd player for uninterrupted bliss. I don't know how you could beat these lads for pure perfection, I will never tire of listening to them. At times of stress they are by far the best tonic and I would thoroughly recommend them for everyone to ease a tired mind. Can't wait for the next one which I'm sure will be just as brilliant. Well done and thank you to all those involved in making it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: SERIOUSLY SUPERB
Comment: Yet more from Libera for my survival kit of their so peaceful, soothing and incredibly accomplished music. Every voice has, as ever, clearly been trained to perfection for its contribution to the overall fabulous blend, and in their skill the soloists really do defy belief, especially for singers who are so young. My only concern is the complexity of some of the solos and therefore the pressure for those who will be singing them live in high-profile concerts, etc. However, these appear always to have been risks that were carefully calculated by Libera's Director thus far, and I guess the same will be true again. New Dawn equals the very best of Libera to date, and that is praise indeed.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Another Five-Star Masterpiece!
Comment: Having written reviews on here for all of Libera's previous albums, I sit here following the usual formula. I first of all award the mandatory five stars and then try to think up some suitable words to describe what I've just heard. But there I have a problem. All of the suprlatives that I wanted to use I have utilsed in previous reviews. Magnificent, brilliant, superb, fantastic, unbelievable...all of these have I used in my previous contributions. And yet they all apply to this amazing album. Fortunately, a previous reviewer has described a number of the tracks in detail and I can do no more than agree wholeheartedly with him. My personal favourite is probably the brilliant arrangement of former Beachboy Brian Wilson's "Love and Mercy", although "Gloria" would perhaps tie for second place with Enya's "Orinoco Flow". But it is pointless trying to make an order of preference. Each and every track on this album is a masterpiece. Yes, I know that some of the pieces appear on previous Libera collections and yes, I know, I was a little critical about the 'repeats' in my review of their previous cd. But whereas the duplicated tracks on "Angel Voices" were little more than carbon copies of what had gone before, these are complete re-recordings and therefore have a wonderful sense of freshness. Reading the sleeve notes, it is interesting to see the names Sam Coates and Steven Geraghty in the credits. These Libera 'Old Boys' appear to have assisted in everything from production to the playing of keyboards. Steven (arguably one of their best ever soloists) even wrote the music to "Never Be Alone". So to sum up, this is a brilliant album that sits right up there alongside "Free" - for my money, their best cd until now. I can heartily recommend "New Dawn" to lovers of all types of music. There is something for everyone - and I guarantee that you will not be disappointed!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Choral Masterclass - It very rarely gets better than this...
Comment: The Libera boys and all those who work in the background behind the songs have once again pulled out a masterclass in vocal choral wizardry. Moving away from the usual well known hits, which they have become synonymous with in recent years, they have provided fresh songs with new material, and a few inspired versions of some old classics. And what an amazing collection it is. 14 scintillating, beautifully composed tracks, which puncture your senses and leave you full of nothing but admiration for their young precocious talents. All 24 of the boys credited on this album are worthy of much praise for their efforts in contributing to an exceptional musical CD. Even more so when you realise that they do all this in their own spare time. Staggering. A few highlights....
Orinoco Flow - A fresh and invigorating interpretation of Enya's classic, and a great way to start the CD. Libera have evolved Enya's song into an up-tempo, fast paced single that's bursting with energy from start to finish.
Ave Maria (Caccini) - Tom Cully's solo during Ave Maria is breathtaking, and undeniably Tom at his very best. He really hits some beautiful high notes during the song, and proof needed if any that he's still blessed with an exceptional treble voice.
Secret - Joshua Madine's lovely, melodic voice washes all over this song. It's a great little effort that suits his voice very well. This track is a soft, slow tempo ballad, which is performed at a perfect pace and is a great new addition to Libera's collection.
Sancte - It's a song that lasts for just over 5mins and you wish it could go on for another 20. This is for me, their jewel in the CD Album. Unbelievable solo work from Liam Connery, an epic song, that flows seamlessly from one part to the next. Breathtaking in every sense of the word.
Tallis's Cannon & Gloria (Saint-Saens) - These are the two songs that Libera have been opening their recent live concerts with. Many of the fans who have attended their concerts will be made up to find these two songs included on `New Dawn'. You can hear Edward Day's solo to start Tallis's Cannon and then bear witness to overlapping vocals from other boys as the song progresses. Gloria is just full in your face, powerhouse Libera at their very best, which finishes on a brilliant decant.
Never be Alone - A brilliant little track. Some exquisite solo work and a catchy main chorus that will stay in your subconscious long after you have stopped listening. An inspired new arrangement.
Love and Mercy - A masterful interpretation of Brian Wilson's classic. Josh and Tom combine beautifully with their solos, and the combined harmonies in the middle and throughout the song are incredibly poignant and moving.
Air - I really can't describe how amazing an arrangement of Bach's Air on a G string this is. No lyrics, no words, just beautiful, heart stopping vocals. Tom's voice predominantly features, but there are also great contributions from the other soloists named as; Ed, Josh and Liam.
Just a few of the great songs contained within this CD release. All of them are more than worthy of their inclusion, and each play their part in what is a thoroughly enjoyable listening experience. I recommend this CD to any music fan, without hesitation.
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