Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

You can never have too much natural beauty in the world. The attraction of sitting back and being overawed by the sight of the sunlight bouncing of the droplets of water that drop in time to nature’s heartbeat off the sturdy Oak or the Mountain Ash and to the green grass below is matched in it vibrancy by the face of a young child when they finally realise the answer to a complex question.

Welsh Soprano Katherine Jenkins is admired quite rightly for her tremendous voice, it captures the thoughts in a loving repose and prepares the listener to be impressed and a little intimidated by the sheer power that resides happily in the lungs of the Welsh treasure. The abundance of albums and sell-out shows stand testament to that and in Home Sweet Home, the latest album by Ms. Jenkins, home is truly where the heart lies down and is comforted by those who have that particular spirit’s best interests at heart.

What makes Home Sweet Home so stirring, even for the uninitiated enthusiast, is the imagery it represents. The pictures that form in bright colours and depth feeling are vivid and glow with the intensity of the new moon’s light bouncing off a canoeist’s helmet as he skims Bala Lake.

There will be those that slyly suggest that the public know exactly what they are getting with a Katherine Jenkins album, that there is nothing the public doesn’t know. That is not the point; you may as well as ask those people if they stop being transfixed by the industry of a pollen collecting bee or the collective endeavour of the humble ant. Some things are not meant to be forgotten or sneered at just because we are aware of their worth.

What Katherine Jenkins brings to the music table is a voice that can carry tunes such as Land of My Fathers, Freddie Mercury’s sensational Barcelona, which features the fabulous addition of Alfie Boe, Segreti, Home!, Sweet Home, and We are the Champions with so much aplomb, so much vitality that if you love music of any form, it is perhaps inexcusable not to enjoy what is a rampant, fierce expression but cradled within the tenderness of a soothing and beautifully astounding voice.

Home is where they take you in when you have nowhere else to go, for Katherine Jenkins her latest album offers the listener a roaring fireplace, a feeling of security and the blanket of allure as they sit on the most comfortable chair. Home Sweet Home is as true a statement as it ever could be.

Ian D. Hall