I’ve played this a few times now and remain undecided. There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with what Courtin does on ‘Foreign Country,’ make no mistake. It isn’t a bad record, and she has what is, undeniably, a decent voice. It’s an up-tempo, good-time tune, and I have to agree with Time Out New York when they say that her music is ‘old-fashioned, classic pop.’
Courtin’s enthusiasm shines through, and in my mind’s eye I can see her playing her heart out in a small pub venue and closing her set with this song. The punters have been getting into the swing and clapping along, and by the time she pulls out this country / jazz number, they’re all on side and stand on the tables and whoop heartily as she brings the set to its conclusion. They tell all their friends how good she was, how they must see her again because she was that good, and she should be huge and she’s so much better than pub venues and should have an album out.
|
The trouble is, the same happens in at least one venue in almost every town. I really don’t mean to sound incredibly harsh, but that’s he reality. So Courtin is good, and ‘Foreign Country’ is entertaining and fun. I’m just not all that convinced that it, or she, is special – or, more to the point, special enough.
|
