Name: Where We Are by Westlife
Brand: Westlife
SKU: 884977430769
Price: 9.9 USD
Availability: OnlineOnly
Rating: 3.5 (98 reviews)

ALBUM

Westlife's ninth album, Where We Are, follows a yearlong sabbatical that the bandmembers took after celebrating their tenth anniversary with the concert video 10 Years of Westlife -- Live at Croke Park Stadium (2008). Where We Are was billed as a slight change in direction by the boy band, whose formula for chart-topping success had become overly predictable in recent years. In search of a fresh approach, they worked with a lot of American songwriters and producers, most notably Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, who co-wrote and produced two of the album highlights, "Shadows" and "Where We Are." They also worked extensively with the veteran American R&B hitmakers Louis Biancaniello and Sam Watters, who are credited with three songs ("How to Break a Heart," "Leaving," "Sound of a Broken Heart"). Another album highlight, "The Difference," comes courtesy of Anne Preven and Scott Cutler, formerly of the Los Angeles alternative rock band Ednaswap, whose song "Torn" was an international smash hit for Natalie Imbruglia in 1997. Moreover, the album's lead single, "What About Now," is a cover version of a hit single by American Idol winner Daughtry that was co-written by Evanescence bandmembers Ben Moody and David Hodges. Despite all of this American input, Where We Are sounds like any other Westlife album, in part because it's such an assembly-line effort (by one count there are 29 different songwriters and 17 different producers credited on the 13 songs). As always, the album is comprised of power ballads about love and heartbreak with soaring string arrangements and earnest vocal performances by the bandmembers. Fortunately, there are many first-rate songs here -- more or less the entire first half of the album -- and the production is polished to perfection. Fans content with more of the same should find plenty to enjoy on Where We Are, another in a long line of Westlife albums sure to generate one smash hit after another.
© Jason Birchmeier /TiVo

1. What About Now

by Westlife

Bass: John Garrison; Performer
Primary Artist: Westlife; Main Performer
Drums: Karl Brazil; Performer
Guitar: Luke Potashnick; Performer
Performer: Westlife; Performer
Piano: Paul Beard; Performer
Arranger: Will Malone; Composer
Composer: Josh Hartzler
Ben Moody
David Hodges; Composer
Lyricist: Josh Hartzler
David Hodges
Ben Moody; Composer
Engineer: Richard Flack; Production
Mastering Engineer: Dick Beetham; Production
Mixing Engineer: Jeremy Wheatley; Production
Producer: Steve Robson; Production
Unknown Contributor Role: London Session Orchestra; Other

2. How to Break a Heart

by Westlife

Primary Artist: Westlife; Main Performer
Guitar: Louis Biancaniello; Performer
Keyboard: Louis Biancaniello
Jim Jonsin; Performer
Performer: Westlife; Performer
Composer: Sam Watters
Louis Biancaniello
James Scheffer; Composer
Lyricist: Sam Watters
James Scheffer
Louis Biancaniello; Composer
Engineer: Damien Lewis
Rob Marks; Production
Mixing Engineer: Phil Tan; Production
Producer: Jim Jonsin
Louis Biancaniello
Sam Watters; Production
Programmer: Louis Biancaniello
Jim Jonsin; Production

3. Leaving

by Westlife

Drums: Josef Svedlund; Performer
Primary Artist: Westlife; Main Performer
Guitar: Esbjörn Öhrwall
Esbjorn Ohrwall; Performer
Keyboard: Louis Biancaniello
Andreas Romdhane; Performer
Performer: Stockholm Session Strings
Westlife; Performer
Piano: Peter Ljung; Performer
Vocals: Althea Edwards
Candace Johnson
Candice Mimi-appiah
Carol Riley
Hbns Choir
Subrina Mccalla
Vanessa Addo-yeboah
Bryon Jones
Priscilla Jones
Ian Pitter; Performer
Arranger: Ulf Janson
Henrik Janson
Lawrence Johnson; Composer
Composer: Bryn Christopher
Carl Falk
Steven Lee Olsen; Composer
Lyricist: Bryn Christopher
Carl Falk
Steven Lee Olsen; Composer
Engineer: Louis Biancaniello
Ian Agate
Quiz
Sam Watters
Neil Tucker
Larossi; Production
Producer: Larossi
Quiz
Sam Watters
Louis Biancaniello; Production
Programmer: Andreas Romdhane
Josef Larossi
Louis Biancaniello; Production