by Sharon Mawer
Striking while the iron was still relatively luke warm, if not actually hot, came the second album from X Factor finalist (and second season runner up) Andy Abraham, his second release during 2006. This time, having exhausted the songs he had sung on the show, he came up with new material (for him), 13 tracks that could easily have been sung by him on the show instead of the ones that were chosen and had already featured on his debut album. Therein lay the problem with Andy Abraham, with 12 easily recognisable songs from the 1960s and 70s, he released an album that was no more than a Karaoke night in, no original songs, which is fine for there had always been a market for soft soul cover versions, but no original arrangements either, all tracks sounding identical to the versions known and loved so well, with only Abraham's nice but unexceptional voice to distinguish them from the original hits. The one new track was the final song, December Brings Me Back To You, written by Abraham along with Cliff Masterson, Mark Reid and Michael Underwood, a sentimental Christmas ballad, released in time for the holiday market, but with X Factor series three already capturing the same audience, neither the single nor its parent album could break into the top 10.