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
Jem Godfrey (Instrumentation), Corinne Day (Photography), John Themis (Drums), Philip Rose (Assistant Engineer), Tim Pierce (Guitar (Electric)), Avril MacKintosh (Vocal Producer), Avril MacKintosh (Programming), Jem Godfrey (Arranger), Tuff Session Singers (Vocals (Background)), Kieron Menzies (Assistant), Alan Veucasovic (Assistant Engineer), Andy Bradfield (Mixing), Calum MacColl (Producer), Gregg Alexander (Producer), Wayne Rodrigues (Digital Editing), Wayne Rodrigues (Keyboards), Julie Thompson (Vocals (Background)), Bill Padley (Producer), Alex Brown (Vocals (Background)), Wayne Rodrigues (Drum Programming), Jeremy Wheatley (Mixing), Rick Nowels (Wurlitzer), Angie Giles (Vocals (Background)), Pino Palladino (Guitar (Bass)), Wayne Rodrigues (Drums), Liam Bradley (Drums), Steve Pearce (Bass), Ed Colman (Engineer), Steve Mac (Mixing), Aiden Foley (Assistant Engineer), Claudia Fontaine (Vocals (Background)), Graham Dominy (Assistant Engineer), John Themis (Bazouki), Daniel Pursey (Assistant Engineer), Tony Matthew (Assistant Engineer), Máire Breatnach (Violin), John Themis (Guitar), James Loughrey (Mixing), Shari Sutcliffe (Project Coordinator), Steve Mac (Producer), Charles Judge (Piano), James McNally (Bodhran), Dave Dale (Engineer), Chris Brown (Engineer), Alastair McMillan (Engineer), Rick Nowels (Mellotron), Rusty Anderson (Bazouki), Bill Padley (Multi Instruments), Paul Turner (Guitar (Bass)), Blue Source (Art Direction), Rick Nowels (Producer), Tim Lambert (Assistant), Charles Judge (Sound Design), Bill Padley (Arranger), Louise Riley Smith (Project Coordinator), Dan Vickers (Assistant), John Pierce (Bass), Alfie Silas (Vocals (Background)), Dave Pemberton (Mixing), Rob Jacobs (Engineer), Dave Way (Mixing), Chris Laws (Drums), Dan Vickers (Assistant Engineer), Bob Ludwig (Mastering), Chris Laws (Engineer), Charles Judge (Keyboards), Daniel Frampton (Mixing), Kieran Kiely (Organ (Hammond)), Denny Fongheiser (Percussion), Steve Pearce (Guitar (Bass)), Gregg Alexander (Guitar (Electric)), Beverley Skeete (Vocals (Background)), Tracie Ackerman (Vocals (Background)), Sue Ann Carwell (Vocals (Background)), Eddie Hession (Accordion), Tim Young (Mastering Engineer), Avril MacKintosh (Digital Editing), Daniel Pursey (Assistant), Philip Rose (Assistant), Liam Bradley (Vocals (Background)), Liam Bradley (Percussion), Crystal Murden (Vocals (Background)), Bill Padley (Instrumentation), Rusty Anderson (Guitar (Electric)), Graham Dominy (Assistant), Miriam Stockley (Vocals (Background)), John Themis (Guitar (Acoustic)), Rick Nowels (Guitar (Acoustic)), Jem Godfrey (Producer), Avril MacKintosh (Engineer), Danielle Brisebois (Vocals (Background)), Kieran Kiely (Piano), Paul Turner (Bass), Calum MacColl (Guitar), Tim Lambert (Assistant Engineer), Rick Nowels (Keyboards), Greg Kurstin (Keyboards), Jess Sutcliffe (Engineer), Randy Wine (Engineer), Lulu (Vocals), Calum MacColl (Vocals (Background)), Liam Bradley (Producer), James McNally (Piano), Bill Padley (Vocals (Background)), Tony Matthew (Assistant), Kieron Menzies (Assistant Engineer), Tim Young (Mastering), Dave Arch (Piano), Rusty Anderson (Guitar), Charles Judge (Engineer), Yoad Nevo (Programming), Wayne Rodrigues (Pro-Tools), Charles Judge (Digital Editing), Alan Veucasovic (Assistant), Aiden Foley (Assistant), Steve Mac (Arranger), Avril MacKintosh (Pro-Tools), Dave Arch (String Arrangements), Ash Howes (Mixing), Pino Palladino (Bass), Denny Fongheiser (Tom-Tom), Denny Fongheiser (Cymbals), Rick Nowels (Vocals (Background)), Steve Mac (Keyboards), John Themis (Percussion), Rick Nowels (Piano)
![Destination [UK]](http://content.answers.com/main/content/img/amg/pop_albums/cov200/drg300/g392/g39279uy58r.jpg)
