DARREN HAYES
"Spin" [US limited edition]
Columbia Records (CK 86494)
Release Date: March 19, 2002

Spin is the debut solo album from Darren Hayes, former lead singer of Savage Garden.

The album opens with "Strange Relationship," a ballad about two people in a relationship who want out, but are unable to tear themselves away; the song is good, but the ending is too long. Lead-off single "Insatiable" is another ballad that uses strings and has a hint of a Latin feel; this song is about a man telling his lover that his love for them is insatiable. "Insatiable" sees Darren using his falsetto in the chorus, and it works; the song's main flaw is an overly-long ending. "Heart Attack" is an up-tempo number about a romantic partner who has backstabbed their lover; while it's a nice change of pace from the ballads, this is not a strong song. "I Miss You" is the most "commercial" of the ballads, and is a basic love song about missing the one you love; again, the ending is too long. "Creepin' Up On You" is a mid-tempo "stalker song" which features strings, and is a nice change of pace from the ballads. On "Dirty," I hear a 1980's influence on the music, with sexual lyrics from a man saying to his lover, "If you want me to, I can be dirty, too"; the ending, which is a percussion breakdown, is too long. "Crush (1980 Me)" is the most up-tempo song on the album, and is heavily influenced by the 1980's for both the lyrics and the music; this is my favorite song on the CD. "Good Enough" is another ballad, which has a man asking his love interest if he could be good enough for them, even though he doesn't like or appreciate the same things as the other person; again, the ending is too long. "I Can't Ever Get Enough Of You" is another ballad, a typical love song about liking someone so much that you can't get enough of them, and the music is reminiscent of the style of the late 1970's/early 1980's; but, again, the ending is too long. "Like It Or Not," another ballad on the album, has the speaker saying he's willing to pack his bags and come to another country to see his love interest, whether they like it or not. "What You Like" is a mid-tempo song, which is about a man asking his lover what they like about his style; musically and lyrically, this song is repetitive and doesn't go anywhere, and also suffers from a long ending. "Spin," the title song, is a mid-tempo song which talks about the world's problems in the verses, but the chorus talks about how music can help you temporarily forget about your problems. Bonus track "The Heart Wants What It Wants" is a mid-tempo song that features strings, and is about loving someone even if they don't reciprocate your feelings; again, the ending is too long.

This enhanced CD includes a link to a multimedia webpage, which has streaming audio and lyrics for the album. At this time, only one song ("Where You Want To Be") out of the original three is still available for listening; the other two songs were "Lift Me Up [Demo]" and "When You Say You Love Me."

Overall, there are some good songs on Spin, but Darren focused too heavily on ballads, and many of the songs had drawn-out endings (if there was more variety and shorter song endings, I would like this album better). But I would still recommend Spin to Savage Garden and Darren Hayes fans, and to people who like to listen to Adult Contemporary radio.

(reviewed by Lesley Muir on November 18, 2002)