Echo

For a while, the only song by Leona Lewis that I had heard was the ubiquitious hit "bleeding love" from her album Spirit. I always liked the song, but for some reason I never checked out anything else by her. Recently, however, I was in a mood to listen to pop music, and so for several months I've been trying out various albums from different artists, Echo being one of them.Leona Lewis' vocals are superb. I think the timbre of her voice is distinct from other singers of her class, and I know of no other who has the ability to vary from bluesy and soulful to sophisticated opera-esque singing. Her range is also very impressive, and more importantly, her high notes do not sound strained or artificial.The songs themselves are quite good and consistent, ranging from arena-style ballads and anthems to dance pop. There is also an 80's flavored song that I find delightfully nostalgiac and memorable. There are a few tracks that I don't love, but which I still find very listenable. In fact, I don't think I feel compelled to skip any songs on the entire album, which is quite a feat for any record.In short, I find this to be an excellent album that should appeal to anyone who enjoys amazing vocals and catchy songs.

I love this album. Songs like "Outta My Head" should have at least debuted in the top 20 in terms of the dance chart. I feel like this album really showed that she can delve into other genres and do well. I just wish her production team at Syco had more confidence in her abilities and wasn't focused so much on one-hit wonder boy bands like One Direction who will be here today, gone tomorrow while Leona's records will remain timeless. "I'm Alive" and "My Hands" are also some of my faves. Will be buying the 3rd album and Xmas album soon. I am a Leona fan for life. *_*

It was really hard to rate this album because overall I do not like it so technically I should have given it "2 stars" according to Amazon's definition of a 2 star review BUT because there are some songs that I did like and some that I felt are "ok", I bumped it up to 3 stars.I read an earlier review in which the reviewer stated that after listening to ECHO for the 1st time, he/she felt sad. That's how I felt as I struggled to listen to it in entirety the first time - afterwards I switched up the order of the songs and didn't listen to the whole thing in one setting so that I could pay closer attention to each song. To me it seems that the formula for TPTB was "ok Leona, sing really low and soft on the opening, then the music will swell and you sing as loud as you can" - it was overpowering listening to some of these songs. A lot of these songs do nothing to enhance Leona's beautiful voice which is extremely disappointing.The tracks that I enjoy are: I GOT YOU, CAN'T BREATHE, ALIVE, HAPPY & LOST THEN FOUND.The tracks that I feel are just "ok" are: LOVE LETTER, OUTTA MY HEAD (nice change up to this uptempo dance/pop track), MY HANDS & FLY HERE NOW.The tracks that I really dislike are: YOU DON'T CARE, BRAVE, DON'T LET ME DOWN & BROKEN.I know that her handlers don't want Leona marketed to the r&b audience but perhaps on her next album they'll add a couple of r&b influenced tracks just to try to mix up the listening experience and pick tracks that show off her voice more.

Leona Lewis's first album Spirit was hit and miss, there were some fantastic songs, but many thought most of the songs on her album were mediocre. So, will her second album be better? In my opinion, yes, it is. Though I will admit many of her songs do sound similar on this album, I found quite a few to my liking. But before you say, "but, there are quite a few reviews that say Echo is dull, or average at best", remember, it all boils down to one thing, your opinion. Listen to a few songs from her album and then decide if you like it or not. My personal favorites are "Happy", "Brave" and my absolute favorite song she's ever written "My Hands." I think it's my favorite because it's the first song I had ever heard from her. I first heard it on a commercial for Final Fantasy Xlll (which I'm not a fan of) and it just was stuck in my head for days. So I finally decided to look up the commercial online to see who wrote the song and I've been a Leona Lewis fan ever since. I also love "My Hands" because I had never really appreciated music before that song and now I listen to music much more than I used to. So how many songs are on her album? There are thirteen in all, like her first album, and they are;Happy (4:01)I Got You (3:46)Love Letter (4:00)Can't Breath (4:14)You Don't Care (4:03)Outta My Head (3:39)Brave (3:36)My Hands (4:12)Alive (3:29)Don't Let Me Down (4:35)Fly Here Now (3:40)Broken (4:03)Lost Then Found (3:53)I also found the packaging to my liking, I thought the photos chosen for her album were excellent and the acquired lyrics were a very nice bonus. I just love everything about this album and I'm looking forward to her next one as well. Echo will always be a very special CD to me, and I don't know if anything will top it, so am I a Leona Lewis fan? You bet I am.

If your a fan of Leone Lewis this CD is for you!

Mariah Carey was wonderful when she started out, until we lost her to the Hip-Hop genre. Leona Lewis takes up where Mariah Carey left off. I was one of the Mariah fans who was left hanging when she changed her style, but Leona Lewis has a comparable voice with wonderful arrangements. Her two albums (so far) are very listenable and enjoyable, and Leona's voice and range are incredible. Thanks, Leona, for two excellent CD's!

Everything one looks for in a diva, great range and strong songs make this a must hve if you like strong powerful women singers, One of the best voices of this century, overlooked by most americans and better than a lot of the pop junk that's out there...best song on ECHO is "Can't Breathe"