Customer Reviews
Out of this world - By: Ian Wotherspoon, 22 Mar 2008 
Where does one begin. The latest album from LIBERA (new dawn) is out of this world. The selections are wonderful & Robert Prizeman as usual, has given us more of his wonderful music, that I personally feel, comes from God. The harmonies are breath taking & each solo is beautiful. I would like to say something about every soloist, but that would take way too long. From the six soloists I have chosen two to tell you about. The first is Tom Cully. Tom's voice will send shivers all over your body. He has a beautiful voice & his range will astound you. He also hits a few notes that will amaze you. In my opinion, his voice gets better every time I hear him sing. The other soloist I enjoy hearing, & watching is Josh Madine. Josh has a beautiful voice, well suited to the songs that he sings, but what I also enjoy about him is his infectious smile. He always looks so happy & everytime he smiles, I smile, I can't help it, it just happens. As I said before, I could say something about every soloist, but it would take too long. So, now it's up to you, buy this CD & while your at it get a copy of the DVD, & you'll get to know the boys as I have, &in no time you will get to know their individual voices. When you listen to a song over & over as I have with "In Paradisum," you will find that the soloist (Edward Day), who was chosen to sing this particular song, was the right boy for the song. When you hear him sing, you will understand what I am saying. In my opinion, it was like this song was written for him, or you might say, for his voice. When you hear "In Paradisum"in its intirety you will also fallin love with the harmonies, which are just spectacular, but you could say that of every song that LIBERA sings. There is one other song that I would like to say something about, & that is my favouite Enya song that the boys sing, "Orinoco Flow." Well, the boys do a great job with this song, & as I just said a moment ago, the harmonies will amaze you. I must tell you that on April 4th, I will finally get to see & hear LIBERAin person, & I can't wait, I'm so excited. It will be a 7-8 hour drive to get there, but it will be well worth it. And to keep me company, I own every album that LIBERA have recorded, so I will enjoy my trip. If you are reading this & have never heard LIBERA before, you will not be disappointed if you buy this CD.
Brilliant as expected - By: W. Long, 20 Mar 2008 Pre-ordered this when I saw it listed on Amazon, & could not wait for it to arrive. As usual when it did arrive it was straight on the Cd player for uninterrupted bliss. I don't know how you could beat these lads for pure perfection, I will never tire of listening to them. At times of stress they are by far the best tonic & I would thoroughly recommend them for everyone to ease a tired mind. Can't wait for the next one which I'm sure will be just as brilliant. Well done & thank you to all those involvedin making it.
SERIOUSLY SUPERB - By: M. Prouse, 06 Mar 2008 Yet more from Libera for my survival kit of their so peaceful, soothing & incredibly accomplished music. Every voice has, as ever, clearly been trained to perfection for its contribution to the overall fabulous blend, &in their skill the soloists really do defy belief, especially for singers who are so young. My only concern is the complexity of some of the solos & therefore the pressure for those who will be singing them livein high-profile concerts, etc. However, these appear always to have been risks that were carefully calculated by Libera's Director thus far, & I guess the same will be true again. New Dawn equals the very best of Libera to date, & that is praise indeed.
Another Five-Star Masterpiece! - By: Jeff Carter, 05 Mar 2008 Having written reviews on here for all of Libera's previous albums, I sit here following the usual formula. I first of all award the mandatory five stars & then try to think up some suitable words to describe what I've just heard. But there I have a problem. All of the suprlatives that I wanted to use I have utilsedin previous reviews. Magnificent, brilliant, superb, fantastic, unbelievable...all of these have I usedin my previous contributions. And yet they all apply to this amazing album. Fortunately, a previous reviewer has described a number of the tracksin detail & I can do no more than agree wholeheartedly with him. My personal favourite is probably the brilliant arrangement of former Beachboy Brian Wilson's "Love & Mercy", although "Gloria" would perhaps tie for second place with Enya's "Orinoco Flow". But it is pointless trying to make an order of preference. Each & every track on this album is a masterpiece. Yes, I know that some of the pieces appear on previous Libera collections & yes, I know, I was a little critical about the 'repeats'in my review of their previous cd. But whereas the duplicated tracks on "Angel Voices" were little more than carbon copies of what had gone before, these are complete re-recordings & therefore have a wonderful sense of freshness. Reading the sleeve notes, it is interesting to see the names Sam Coates & Steven Geraghtyin the credits. These Libera 'Old Boys' appear to have assistedin everything from production to the playing of keyboards. Steven (arguably one of their best ever soloists) even wrote the music to "Never Be Alone". So to sum up, this is a brilliant album that sits right up there alongside "Free" - for my money, their best cd until now. I can heartily recommend "New Dawn" to lovers of all types of music. There is something for everyone - & I guarantee that you will not be disappointed!
Choral Masterclass - It very rarely gets better than this... - By: RJ, 02 Mar 2008 The Libera boys & all those who workin the background behind the songs have once again pulled out a masterclassin vocal choral wizardry. Moving away from the usual well known hits, which they have become synonymous within recent years, they have provided fresh songs with new material, & a few inspired versions of some old classics. And what an amazing collection it is. 14 scintillating, beautifully composed tracks, which puncture your senses & leave you full of nothing but admiration for their young precocious talents. All 24 of the boys credited on this album are worthy of much praise for their effortsin contributing to an exceptional musical CD. Even more so when you realise that they do all thisin their own spare time. Staggering. A few highlights....
Orinoco Flow - A fresh & invigorating interpretation of Enya's classic, & a great way to start the CD. Libera have evolved Enya's song into an up-tempo, fast paced single that's bursting with energy from start to finish.
Ave Maria (Caccini) - Tom Cully's solo during Ave Maria is breathtaking, & undeniably Tom at his very best. He really hits some beautiful high notes during the song, & proof needed if any that he's still blessed with an exceptional treble voice.
Secret - Joshua Madine's lovely, melodic voice washes all over this song. It's a great little effort that suits his voice very well. This track is a soft, slow tempo ballad, which is performed at a perfect pace & is a great new addition to Libera's collection.
Sancte - It's a song that lasts for just over 5mins & you wish it could go on for another 20. This is for me, their jewelin the CD Album. Unbelievable solo work from Liam Connery, an epic song, that flows seamlessly from one part to the next. Breathtakingin every sense of the word.
Tallis's Cannon & Gloria (Saint-Saens) - These are the two songs that Libera have been opening their recent live concerts with. Many of the fans who have attended their concerts will be made up to find these two songs included on `New Dawn'. You can hear Edward Day's solo to start Tallis's Cannon & then bear witness to overlapping vocals from other boys as the song progresses. Gloria is just fullin your face, powerhouse Libera at their very best, which finishes on a brilliant decant.
Never be Alone - A brilliant little track. Some exquisite solo work & a catchy main chorus that will stayin your subconscious long after you have stopped listening. An inspired new arrangement.
Love & Mercy - A masterful interpretation of Brian Wilson's classic. Josh & Tom combine beautifully with their solos, & the combined harmoniesin the middle & throughout the song are incredibly poignant & moving.
Air - I really can't describe how amazing an arrangement of Bach's Air on a G string this is. No lyrics, no words, just beautiful, heart stopping vocals. Tom's voice predominantly features, but there are also great contributions from the other soloists named as; Ed, Josh & Liam.
Just a few of the great songs contained within this CD release. All of them are more than worthy of their inclusion, & each play their partin what is a thoroughly enjoyable listening experience. I recommend this CD to any music fan, without hesitation.
