Track Listing

1. Place in My Heart
2. Sun Goes Down
3. Set the Mood
4. Love Song
5. Move On
6. Sweet Prince
7. If I'm in Love
8. Glorious Day
9. Only Living Soul
10. Fight the World
11. Fight the World

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #255764 in Music
• Released on: 2009-01-06
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Album Description
UK version includes one bonus track, 'On the Money'. David Jordan delivers contemporary British pop in an exciting new direction with searing rock guitars, throbbing party rhythms and blissful melodies. He draws influences from Marvin Gaye, The Jackson Five, James Brown, Prince, Lenny Kravitz and even Guns & Roses. Each song in the album exudes a different flavor, bringing you on an eclectic journey. Universal. 2007.

Amazon.co.uk
22-year-old Londoner David Jordan, a former Starbucks employee, is the latest singer to be touted as the saviour of British soul. His good looks and savvy dress sense immediately place him in the style-over-substance category, but Set the Mood shows he's got some talent to back it all up. Produced and recorded by Trevor Horn (Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Pet Shop Boys) Set the Mood sees Jordan mix up a few different styles--r & b, rock, electronic, soul--and come off like a cross between Terence Trent D'Arby and Prince. Kick off track "On the Money," a huge, guitar-drenched track, is more showy than it needs to be, but Jordan soon finds his métier on tunes such as single "Place in My Heart", "Glorious Day" and the title track. These songs are more catchy and Prince-like (especially when Jordan pulls out his impressive falsetto), although they all pale in comparison with "Sun Goes Down," which pulls off the quite admirable feat by merging Olde English folk music with a modern soul sensibility. It sounds awful on paper but it's the most infectious jig this side of the 16th century. Unfortunately ballads like "Sweet Prince" and "Only Living Soul" are much more clichéd, while others such as "Move On" aren't anywhere as innovative as they could--and should--be. Though David Jordan is undeniably talented, Set the Mood suggests he has a while to go before he reaches his creative peak. --Danny McKenna

Customer Reviews

Classy soul from the UK.
Tracklist for this CD is as follows:

1. "On The Money"
2. "Place In My Heart"
3. "Sun Goes Down"
4. "Set The Mood"
5. "Love Song"
6. "Move On"
7. "Sweet Prince"
8. "If I'm In Love"
9. "Glorious Day"
10. "Only Living Soul"
11. "Fight The World"

David Jordan is a British Pop/Rock/Soul singer, and his debut CD, "Set the mood" was produced by the legendary Trevor Horn. released in October 2007 when it barely caused a ruffle (debuting at #98 in the UK), it climbed into the UK top 20 last week, due largely to his #4 UK hit "Sun goes down".

"Sun goes down" sounds different from everything in the UK singles chart and is difficult to categorize. It starts off sounding like some Jewish or Irish folk jig with a thumping bassline, hand percussion coming in, and even a brilliant choir/horn break, with David reminding one a wee bit of Michael Jackson or Terence Trent D'arby.

The 21 year old is of mixed parentage; his father is from Calcutta, while his mother is from Montserrat, and he was heavily influenced by the music of Marvin Gaye, Prince, Lenny Kravitz, and James Brown among others, and this is reflected in the musical variety exhibited in the 11 brief tracks. Electric guitars a-plenty, and lots of classy harmonizing and vocal layering. Vocally, he is mesmerizing (John Legend comes to mind) while stylistically, Terence trent D'arby comes to mind.

There are rock/funk influences ("On the money" with fuzzy/jangly guitars and thundering beats, and the angry "Fight the world"), a light reggae feel (the falsetto sung "Place in my heart" with a nice rocky bridge), and brilliant retro soul ballads (the swinging organ laced "Set the mood", the fiddle filled "Glorious day" with lovely tinkling pianos and a gritty vocal performance).

"Move on" is an extremely catchy upbeat song with lyrics asking an ex to move on, set to a throbbing beat and brief bursts of electric guitar. This is scheduled to be the next single. "If I'm in love" sounds a bit like John Legend's "Save room" and has a lovely flamenco-style bridge and excellent vocal layering. The upbeat "Love song" chronicles a tumultuous relationship and he gets to display his impressive vocal range (it has a nice thumping drum break).


"Only living soul" is an awesome ballad with dramatic strings (Trevor Horn is known for that), delicately tinkling pianos and raging guitars adding to the drama in the chorus. "Sweet prince" is a moving acoustic father-to-son ballad with chiming lullaby effects in the chorus, and sweeping strings.

It's rare to come across an album like this where every song stands out and could be a hit single, while still sounding original and classic. He apparently puts up a fantastic live show too. Here's hoping he makes it big in the near future, and also hoping he doesn't do a "Craig David" and change his sound to an anonymous American R&B sound, losing his individuality.