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Illuminations
by
Illuminations Image
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 4 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
6.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 7 Ratings

  • Summary: Stars hire Rick Rubin for one thing: to achieve a purity of essence. When it comes to singers like Johnny Cash or songwriters like Neil Diamond -- even rock bands like Weezer -- Rubin’s approach feels natural, as he strips away the varnish that’s clouded over the years, but Josh GrobanStars hire Rick Rubin for one thing: to achieve a purity of essence. When it comes to singers like Johnny Cash or songwriters like Neil Diamond -- even rock bands like Weezer -- Rubin’s approach feels natural, as he strips away the varnish that’s clouded over the years, but Josh Groban is an odd choice for the Rubin maneuver. Not a singer/songwriter in the classic sense but rather a classical singer who dabbles in pop, Groban doesn’t need to be stripped to his essence because bombast is a crucial part of the equation. Smart guy that he is, Rubin doesn’t eliminate surging melodrama from Groban’s bag of tricks but he does limit and mute the palette, making sure the strings don’t soar so high and that the singer doesn’t bellow. These subtle adjustments, which include hiring Semisonic’s Dan Wilson as a co-writing partner for Groban, wind up having a drastic effect on the flavor of Illuminations, turning it into something warm, burnished, and intimate, a spell only briefly broken by the cacophonic clatter of the Portuguese “Você Existe em Mim.” Its presence is a testament to Groban’s curiosity but Illuminations is best when he plays close to the vest, which means this is another instance where Rubin succeeds by illuminating his subject’s essence. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine… Collapse
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  • Record Label: 143/Reprise
  • Genre(s): Adult Contemporary, Vocal, Pop/Rock, Euro-Pop, Classical Crossover, Film Score, Vocal Pop, Classical Pop, Easy Listening
  • More Details and Credits »

Top Track

If I Walk Away
Lately I've been the quiet one Waiting, searching the lines of the songs you played for me Sailing into the misty air Fading, bound for I don't know... See the rest of the song lyrics
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. Entertainment Weekly
    Nov 22, 2010
    83
    If you can get past lyrics bloated with dark nights and winter moons, Illuminations might be Groban's handsomest effort yet.
  2. AllMusic
    Nov 18, 2010
    80
    Smart guy that he is, Rubin doesn't eliminate surging melodrama from Groban's bag of tricks but he does limit and mute the palette, making sure the strings don't soar so high and that the singer doesn't bellow.
  3. Boston Globe
    Nov 22, 2010
    70
    If not quite a renaissance, Illuminations at least suggests Groban is finally ready to let some more light in.
  4. BBC Music
    Dec 1, 2010
    60
    If Rubin managed to find the core of Groban, it's a sad fact that what remains after the layers have been removed is an incredible vocalist and a one-note songwriter.

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