03 May 2014

Since the CD arrived in stores on Monday, songs of the Eurovision Song Contest for 2014 have been piped into the ears whenever the chance. All songs have been heard at least three times, all except Georgia, which got the obligatory one listen before being confirmed as the worst song this year. Just listening to the audio only, without all the visuals of presentation videos or lives performances, can affect the appreciation of songs.

Up

Switzerland – No visual of the creepy whistling. This is a really nice boppy song that has really grown.

Estonia – Without the dancing, you really hear the song and Tanja’s purring vocals. Eesti superb.

Latvia – The simple fun of this song is exposed when the scruffiness of the artists are not distracting you into thinking you’re watching some feral hippies in badly need of a shower, shampoo and a shave.

Moldova – Strong vocals and powerful sound shine without distraction of video.

Norway – Again, concentrating on music and sound, it really suits this song. Advice? Perform it in the dark.

Portugal – So bad live that it could only improve

Ukraine – Another song whose polish is appreciated

Down

Armenia – The presentation video helps this one so much to really convey the drama. It’s still good, just not as good.

Belgium – More the position on the CD, with so many ballads already, another one? With the allure of cute, chubby Axel not before your eyes, it does lower the song to not much more than standard ballad category.

Germany – Whatever funky vibe it had live is gone when just listening.

Georgia – Amazingly, this could get worse.

Malta – Really dreary and whiny without the vision to stop you snoozing off.

Rainmaker

This is the bonus song by last year’s winner, Emmelie de Forest, on the CD. Despite the odd start with some sort of voodoo chanting, it’s a really nice effort, and nice to hear Emmelie’s distinctive voice again. Is it enough to buy her CD? No.