Christian Bautista

Just a Love Song... Christian Bautista Live!
Released 2006 under Warner Music

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars!

Christian is off to start 2007 with a bang, coming up with his newest project under Warner Music. "Just A Love Song, Christian Bautista Live!" is, as its title dictates, a live album filled to the brim with heartwarming ballads that have been passed down from one generation to another. With 19 cuts performed and recorded live in front of an all-female audience at the Teatrino in Greenhills, Christian is sure to captivate the hearts of his many fans in Asia and around the globe.

Starting of with Barry Manilow's "Trying to Get the Feeling Again," Christian calmly sweeps his way through the song, with a few off notes here and there. I would have preferred something else to take the spot of the first track in the CD, but this song is passable.

Christian reinvents the overused "More Than You'll Ever Know" by kicking-in a few fresh lines of his own in the beginning. Christian maintains his placid vocals throughout the song, with a variety of decorative falsettos.

"Only Reminds Me of You" has quite a repetitive melody, and it seems as if Christian is struggling with the song's key. With a slightly lowered key, he could've made this song more pleasant to listen to.

On the brighter side, "Beautiful In My Eyes" is a potential hit, set in the right key to reveal Christian's exquisite crooning ability.

"Make It With You" is another one of the album's better cuts, with Christian's colorful vocals, lovely lyrics, and a romantic saxophone backup to top it off.

David Pomeranz's "Got to Believe in Magic" gets a colorful makeover--thanks to Christian's distinct ability to amplify a song's love notes and effortlessly pluck everyone's heartstrings.

"Fixing a Broken Heart," originally sung by Indecent Obsession, can easily be identifiable among this album's rich wealth of potential hits. Christian glides through the challenging falsettos with ease.

To add some alternative spice, Christian sings "I Could Not Ask for More" next. This crooner is better off singing songs of this caliber, rather than experimenting with more intense rock songs such as "She Could Be" from his previous album, which I just found nearly impossible to appreciate.

"Of All the Things" is a great song to listen to while laying back and setting aside worries, as this song doesn't have a very intense climax.

Another beautiful addition to this album, "Nothing Can Stop Us Now" is a bold statement of Bautista's ability to capture his listeners by the heart. It was a prime decision to add this song to his repertoire.

"Be My Number Two" is a great combination of vocals and an impressive instrumental to beat. Originally by Joe Jackson, this song has been well-crafted to fit Christian, and undoubtedly, it did.

A little on the uninteresting side, "Finding Out the Hard Way" is slightly repetitive and minimally catchy.

"Blue Eyes Blue" has a few notes that were off, most especially on the high parts. Other than that, the song is okay.

Rick Astley's "Cry For Help" will leave you snapping fingers and tapping toes to the beat, with a touch of soul, gospel, and funk. This song is a little icebreaker from the majority of slow ballads in this album.

"Heaven Help" is acceptable, but could have been opted out for some other more interesting cut. Christian also faltered in a few spots throughout the song.

Toto's "I Won't Hold You Back" is another great addition, although Christian resorted on his falsettos too much, reducing the song's impact and resulting in his vocals being drowned by the band. A few times in the end, Christian missed high notes while trying to reach them.

Fortunately, Christian comes back with his brilliant rendition of "If Ever You're In My Arms Again," a refreshing and lively deviation from the previous slow picks.

Finally, I see a Filipino love song revived in this album in the form of Basil Valdez's "You," which Christian renders beautifully.

What other way to end the album than by singing the title track, "Just a Love Song," which is interestingly simple yet romantically pleasant. In the end though, Christian barely misses his notes as he was about to finish.

To sum up, this album is a treasure trove of great love songs from the yesteryears which have been remade for this generation to enjoy. Although it is a tough challenge to come up with a live album, considering that an artist is more prone to flaws this way, Christian pulled it off and came up with his very own masterpiece.

Like his previous albums, Warner Music is set to launch this album all-over Asia, which will undoubtedly become another one of Christian's big hits this year. Now that Christian has found his niche in the Asian music industry, and that he has chosen to stick to his dulcet ballads and preferred to lay away on the 'rock' experiment that is "She Could Be" (Thank goodness!), this romantic balladeer and pop idol has transformed himself from a tall, lanky contestant back in Star in a Million, to a now full-fledged Asian hit-singing sensation. All the best, Christian!

I mostly agree with the reviewer but with the exception of "Finding Out the Hard Way" (I dunno, I found it catchy) and "Heaven Help", (I guess this song does not have that "love at first hearing" effect, you got to play it over and over again to be appreciated. Ian's rendition is soulful and groovy! His interpretation of this Lenny Kravitz original is just so coooooool!)

Nina Soul Siren