Great review from Fireworks & quite unexpected! To those who haven't got the album yet, head over to the shops or you can get it at Walmart.com, Amazon.com, Amazon UK , Amazon.de, Amazon.ca and other online shopping sites  It's really a gem of an album that should've gotten more press than it did

 

 

Hear Audio Clips Here!

 

PUBLICATION: Fireworks Magazine (UK rock mag)

ARTIST: Nick Carter

ALBUM: Now or Never

 

By Gill Hosie

 

Most of us shouldn't know who Nick Carter is and those of us who do
are probably wondering why he is getting reviewed in Fireworks. Well,
Nick Carter is a member of the Backstreet Boys and this is his first
solo album and it rocks with the best of them!

The album kicks off with his debut single, "Help Me." This is a
catchy pop/rock tune (co-written by Von Grooves' Matthew Gerrard)
which had caught my attention several times while channel surfing
through the music channels on satellite.

 

The next track is "My Confession" and you now start to gradually feel
the album going along a more rockier road. By the time I reach track
3, I was gobsmacked - "I Stand For You" is an out and out rocker with
catchy chorus and power chords. "Girls in the USA" is absolutely
amazing. Imagine a mix of Def Leppard ("Pour some sugar...) with
early Danger Danger and throw in a touch of nu-breed. Pure stadium
rock.

 

The rock vein continues all the way through with the likes of "Is it
Saturday yet?" and "Blow Your Mind." One thing to mention - on
several of the tracks the first 30 or 40 seconds sound a bit weird,
but once they get going they do literally blow your mind!

 

Things do lighten up slightly, however, with a few ballads thrown
into the mix. Do not expect Backstreet Boys type ballads. These are
pure power ballads. "Do I Have To Cry For You" is reminisent of early
Bryan Adams whilst the awesome "Heart Without a Home" is a pure AOR
(Album Oriented Rock) classic. "Miss America" is another one of my
faves. Lyrically not one for the teenyboppers, but it has a slightly
sensual sound to it - kinda reminds me of Prince circa "Purple Rain."

 

My only criticism of the album is Nick's voice which is a bit weak
for my tastes. I much prefer a more manly voice, and had the ballads
of "Miss America" been sung by the likes of James Christain or Stan
Bush, then the whole AOR scene would have been raving about them.

 

But this IS a great album. Don't let the fact that he is in a boyband
put you off. I don't know if he's just trying to be trendy since
rock's on a comeback or if he's finally getting a chance to do the
kind of songs that he likes. The latter I hope and I look forward to
the next one.

 

Try it. I made the editor listen to it for awhile before I told him
who it was. He was so shocked that he asked me to review it!