Not since his days with Belinda Carlisle had writer and producer Rick Nowels invested as much of himself into a singer's career. On Ronan Keating's Destination, his collaborations with Gregg Alexander, totaling nine tracks, offer more upbeat, guitar-infused pop confections, with background vocals to spare, than any listener of Ronan's very mellow debut album could have expected. But these songs with hard rock potential, in the hands of the neighborhood charmer from Ireland, are kept well-mannered; if Meat Loaf had gotten his clutches on them, we'd be discussing a very different album, but Meat Loaf's loss is Corned Beef and Cabbage's gain, or...where were we..."Pickin' Me Up" is a hip, indulgent, sparkling mix of theatrical pop and rock, with lyrics including "Fat farm, skinny school, we've lost the plot," and touches on CNN, African genocide, and "a world of plenty run by thieves," while sounding slick and joyful every bit of the way. Well, of course it's joyful -- how many depressing songs can you name that rhyme "Niagara" with "Viagra"? It's the best of the upbeat offerings, but there are others, notably the first single off the album, "Lovin' Each Day," "I Love It When We Do," and "Blown Away" all of which are as corny as Iowa, and as catchy as Yogi Berra. "Joy and Pain" is a pleasing soulful, gospel pop song, and because Ronan's voice tends to lull after several tracks, it's nice to hear him backed by strong female vocals. He makes room for breathing with Garth Brooks' "If Tomorrow Never Comes," a cover of "We've Got Tonight" sung here with Lulu, and his self-penned weeper "The Long Goodbye." The U.K. release features the R&B bonus track "I Got My Heart on You," which neither adds nor detracts from the quality of the other songs. ~ Peter Fawthrop, All Music Guide
Randy Wine (Engineer), Ash Howes (Mixing), Denny Fongheiser (Cymbals), Denny Fongheiser (Tom-Tom), Bill Padley (Vocals (Background)), Tracie Ackerman (Vocals (Background)), Steve Mac (Producer), Crystal Murden (Vocals (Background)), Liam Bradley (Producer), Charles Judge (Keyboards), Philip Rose (Assistant Engineer), John Themis (Guitar), Avril MacKintosh (Digital Editing), Alfie Silas (Vocals (Background)), Bill Padley (Musician), Angie Giles (Vocals (Background)), Charles Judge (Digital Editing), Denny Fongheiser (Percussion), Paul Turner (Guitar), Paul Turner (Bass), Gregg Alexander (Project Coordinator), Wayne Rodriguez (Editing), Wayne Rodrigues (Keyboards), Ed Colman (Engineer), Steve Mac (Keyboards), Rick Nowels (Vocals (Background)), Dave Arch (String Arrangements), Wayne Rodrigues (Drum Programming), Eddie Hession (Accordion Arranger), Charles Judge (Pro-Tools), Dave Way (Mixing), John Pierce (Bass), Daniel Pursey (Assistant Engineer), Rick Nowels (Piano), Greg Kurstin (Keyboards), Alan Veucasovic (Assistant Engineer), Tuff Session Singers (Vocals (Background)), Eddie Hession (Accordion), James McNally (Piano), Bill Padley (Multi Instruments), Rick Nowels (Producer), Bill Padley (Arranger), Calum MacColl (Guitar), Tony Matthew (Assistant Engineer), Charles Judge (Piano), Máire Breatnach (Violin), Julie Thompson (Vocals (Background)), Steve Lee (Vocals (Background)), Rick Nowels (Guitar (Acoustic)), Tim Pierce (Guitar (Electric)), Lulu (Vocals), Jem Godfrey (Producer), Wayne Rodrigues (Drums), Chris Laws (Drums), Tim Young (Mastering Engineer), Shari Sutcliffe (Project Coordinator), James McNally (Bodhran), Rob Jacobs (Engineer), Danielle Brisebois (Vocals (Background)), John Themis (Bazouki), Steve Mac (Mixing), Dave Dale (Engineer), Rick Nowels (Mellotron), Rick Nowels (Wurlitzer), Alex Brown (Vocals (Background)), Rusty Anderson (Guitar (Electric)), Pino Palladino (Guitar (Bass)), Liam Bradley (Drums), Dave Arch (Piano), Steve Mac (Arranger), Wayne Rodrigues (Digital Editing), Jess Sutcliffe (Engineer), Bill Padley (Producer), Rick Nowels (Keyboards), Rusty Anderson (Bazouki), Graham Dominy (Assistant Engineer), Avril MacKintosh (Remixing), Yoad Nevo (Programming), Pino Palladino (Bass), Avril MacKintosh (Producer), Kieron Menzies (Assistant Engineer), Kieran Kiely (Piano), Steve Pearce (Bass), Jeremy Wheatley (Mixing), Kieran Kiely (Organ (Hammond)), Calum MacColl (Vocals (Background)), Daniel Frampton (Mixing), Sue Ann Carwell (Vocals (Background)), Chris Laws (Engineer), Avril MacKintosh (Pro-Tools), Corinne Day (Photography), Liam Bradley (Vocals (Background)), Dan Vickers (Assistant Engineer), Charles Judge (Sound Design), Gregg Alexander (Producer), Aiden Foley (Assistant Engineer), Charles Judge (Engineer), Liam Bradley (Percussion), Bob Ludwig (Mastering), Avril MacKintosh (Vocal Producer), Tim Young (Mastering), Tim Lambert (Assistant Engineer), Chris Brown (Engineer), Avril MacKintosh (Engineer), Calum MacColl (Producer), Steve Pearce (Guitar (Bass)), John Themis (Percussion), Alastair McMillan (Engineer)
