Following in the footsteps of fellow Irish boy bander Brian McFadden, Boyzone frontman Ronan Keating appears to have adopted the land down under as his second home after becoming the winning mentor on the Seven Network's version of The X-Factor, with his seventh studio album, Duet, recorded specifically for the Australia and New Zealand market. As its title suggests, its 12 tracks are each performed with a guest vocalist, from the hugely established (Elton John on a live 2000 performance of Your Song at Madison Square Gardens) to the lesser-known who have yet to find an audience outside their homeland (fellow talent show judge and Australian Idol winner Guy Sebastian on All for One). His third covers-heavy album in a row following Songs for My Mother and Winter Songs, Duet isn't exactly poles apart from the kind of karaoke performances Keating has recently been judging on The X-Factor. Islands in the Stream is a bland and unremarkable take on the Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers standard featuring sister country music trio the McClymonts, Say Say Say is a cheap-sounding rendition of the Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson '80s classic with R&B singer Adeaze, while Wild World, a duet with Marvin Priest, whose father also covered the Cat Stevens original, adds nothing new to either version. The rest of Duet is a curious affair which acts as an alternative retrospective of the Dubliner's 11-year solo career. Believe Again is a trashy Euro-pop reworking of the track he penned for Denmark's 2009 Eurovision Song Contest entry with Fijian-born vocalist Paulini; The Long Goodbye is a newly recorded version of his 2004 hit ballad with country star Lee Kernaghan' while To Love Somebody is an interpretation of the Bee Gees' soulful ballad with Brian McFadden, formerly one-fifth of the band Keating used to manage. Elsewhere, there are also more familiar past releases, including Father and Son (a rather touching duet with Cat Stevens), the LeAnn Rimes-featuring Last Thing on My Mind (one of Keating's best singles) and We've Got Tonight (a surprisingly restrained take on the Bob Seger classic). But with the best material already available elsewhere, and Greg Wells' inoffensive production rendering the brand new covers rather pointless, Duet does little to dispel the feeling that Keating is simply going through the motions. ~ Jon O'Brien, Rovi

1		Say Say Say
2		All for Love
3		The Believe Again
4		To Love Somebody
5		Islands in the Stream
6		Wild World
7		The Long Goodbye
8		Last Thing on My Mind
9		Father and Son
10		We've Got Tonight
11		Your Song
12		It's Only Christmas

	Like us on Facebook
	@SoundHound	Follow