Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Harrison Craig, Independent 2019.
Harrison Craig is a name new to me despite him being apparently one of Australia’s biggest selling artists.
Even If You Say So is his latest single and it is a remarkably powerful song about defiance and people telling you it is all going to be OK, despite their knowledge that there will be hurdles to overcome and they may not be there to help you overcome them.
It’s been four years since his previous single More Than A Dream was released and achieved Platinum accreditation.
The production on Even If You Say So has been kept to a minimum with Harrison accompanied by piano only.
This was a clever move because it puts the emphasis entirely on Harrison’s wonderful voice and the well-crafted lyrics.
I don’t usually review singles however the song came as part of a three song EP which included his Platinum selling single More Than A Dream (2013) and a fantastic cover of the old Righteous Brothers song, Unchained Melody.
These two songs have racked up more than 17 million YouTube views between them so you get some idea of Harrison’s popularity.
Harrison Craig credits his vocal influences as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, The Righteous Brothers, and Elvis among others.
He doesn’t sound like any of these artists but he does have a magnificent voice.
His version of Unchained Melody is probably the best cover of that song I’ve ever heard.
Once again, the production is tastefully understated.
The piano is accompanied by an orchestra but where in many other versions the orchestral power dominates, it doesn’t in this case.
Even If You Say So was launched in the USA and Canada on 1 May and Australia and the rest of the world on 2 May.
