Hayley Westenra - Odyssey, Special Tour Edition

HAYLEY WESTENRA is currently on a world tour with operatic colossi Il Divo and to celebrate is re-releasing her gold album ‘Odyssey’ on April 10, 2006. With three new tracks, this unique ‘Tour Edition’ is a fitting gift for Hayley, who also turns 19 on the same day.  ClassicalX’s Tracey Bell joins the party and unwraps the details of this special present…

For me, Hayley’s first album 'Pure' was created with the beautiful voice of a young child. So when Hayley released 'Odyssey' less than a year later, my expectation was that it wouldn't show a great deal of vocal progression.

I was wrong!

Hayley’s voice had matured at an amazing rate and it was the album of a talented young woman, but still managed to retain the innocence of a child.

When I listen to 'Odyssey', I hear Hayley sing with a sense of calmness and serenity that I know others have perceived as lack of emotion and depth. But they should hang around though, because as the album title suggests, this is the beginning of a musical journey for her that is going to see her travel great distances.

'Odyssey's' opening track 'May it be' is instantly recognisable as the Enya song from 'The Fellowship of the Ring' movie.

'The Water is Wide' follows and is one of the three new tracks on this ‘tour edition’. While the song is not a personal favourite, Hayley’s voice does improve my opinion of it.

The next new track is 'Dell'Amore Non Si Sa' a duet with Andrea Bocelli and I love it! The two vastly contrasting voices surprisingly compliment each other perfectly.

'Lascia ch'io Pianga' sees Hayley's voice soaring beautifully. This is one of the tracks I'd love to hear Hayley sing in a few years, when her voice has fully matured.

Following on is 'Prayer' which continues the peaceful tone of the album, as does 'Ave Maria (Caccini)' which is heavenly and it sounds perfect with Hayley's pure and clear pitch.

'Scarborough Fair' is a song I must admit I could easily live without hearing again, but as with 'The Water is Wide' my opinion was altered enough to keep my finger away from the 'skip track' button.

'Quanta Qualia' is peaceful and also beautifully arranged as is Puccini's emotional 'O Mio Babbino Caro'.

'What You Never Know (Won't Hurt You)', co-written by Hayley, is a wistful song I enjoyed the first time I heard it and it's catchy enough to have you humming the tune all day long.

Nearing the end of the album are 'Mists of Islay' and 'She Moves Through the Fair' which are lovely, although it was strange to hear Mozarts 'Laudate Dominum' sandwiched between them, even if it was one of the best tracks on the album, it was just an odd musical jump.

With 'Odyssey' Hayley manages to embrace classical, pop, hymns and folk in fairly equal measure. I'll never manage to be a fan of folk music, but with such a wide range of genres covered, who can be expected to appreciate them all.

If I was to make one major criticism though, it would be that the entire tone of the album is... well, I don't want to say ‘bland’ but I can't think of a better way to describe it. Hayley has an incredible voice, but I think a few up-tempo moments and vocally challenging pieces would have helped to turn this album into the great showcase 'Odyssey' should have been. As it stands, this is a very 'safe' album for someone who clearly is capable of so much more.

I'm looking forward to the next step for Hayley and hope that the album that follows provides that something extra to make it truly spectacular.

‘Odyssey – Special Tour Edition’ is released April 10, 2006.

Added: April 10th 2006
Reviewer: Tracey Bell
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