Review by Colin Humphrey

I quote Keats to describe this beautiful album. I think if the first Hayley Sings Japanese Songs was the aperitif, then this is the gourmet main course. While it is not as easily accessible as the first album, it is far, far more complex. I think it shows a huge leap in maturity for Hayley and may even be seen as the first album of the second phase of her career. Certainly if this heralds the direction her international albums are to take then we are all in for the ride of our lives. While each and every song has its merits, for me the standout track is Many Times Always, a song to rival any of the best that Hayley has sung to date. The album as a whole is more personal and perhaps more melancholic than her previous ones, with themes about being apart from her mother and the sacrifices they've both made for Hayley's career. The production is more lavish and her voice as always is breathtaking. The DVD is in NTSC format without any regional encoding. I recommend this album without hesitation to her fans while newcomers are probably better advised to come to it after her earlier albums.

This is undoubtedly the most beautiful album I have ever bought. Throughout her career, Hayley has always delivered the finest quality in all the projects she undertakes, whether it be her live performances, her books or her CDs. And here she has surpassed even herself. This album is full of beautiful, melodious songs, with tremendous arrangements backing Hayley's breathtaking, and here more mellow, voice. Some of the songs she co-wrote herself, and each of the twelve tracks is a winner, while the CD presentation with a lyric book and a photo book is beyond reproach. And to think, there is another new international album due from her in the autumn. Life sometimes can be wonderful. Hayley has given us a dozen jewels to treasure here, with a voice as pure as always, and her odyssey goes on...