Harry Styles

About This Product

Digital/Social Stats:"&"nbsp;Fantastic early press coverage surrounding "&"ldquo;Sign of the Times"&"rdquo; includes:"&"nbsp;TV Appearances:

Product Details

Brand

Harry Styles Format: Vinyl

Manufacturer

Harry Styles Format: Vinyl

ASIN

B06ZY1VXRB

Customer Reviews Summary

Before I write the rest of this review, let me begin by saying this is a good album. If you're into "electronicized", computer-generated and perfectly packaged music, then don't buy this album. If you want to listen to something honest that is a statement of the musician's inspirational influences and feelings, then this would be a good album to buy.To be honest, I really did not know anything about One Direction. I have been living in China since 2011, internet controls were stringent and most of the television stations were Chinese programs. I would see them on calendars when I came home during the semester break, and I laughed about them, calling them "One Dimension". I've been through a few rounds of boy bands (New Kids on the Block, Backstreet Boys, NSync, Westlife, etc.), and the product has tended to be the same. The only song I had known by them (until this summer) was "Kiss You". When I worked in Zhuhai, China, there were stations from Hong Kong that televised western shows, and I happened to see the video for "Kiss You" in 2014 and really liked the song. So I downloaded it on my pc. I listened to it once in a while, but that was all I knew of One Direction.This past summer (2017), I had been feeling really depressed, dealing with the stalled direction of my life. Remembering how happy that "Kiss You" video had been years earlier, I looked it up on YouTube and played it. And played it again. Other videos by One Direction popped up on the suggestion list, so I watched those as well. As a 46 year old woman, it might seem silly, but those songs/videos by One Direction really cheered me up and gave me the emotional lift I needed. And some of their songs are reflective/beautiful.... Of course, I could see that they were a very well-packaged product.Anyone who watched these videos couldn't ignore Harry Styles' enthusiasm for performing and singing. I happened to watch the One Direction Car Karaoke with James Corden, and I was impressed by Styles' way of singing. So....I looked Harry Styles up on YouTube, and found this album. I was just curious. I had no plan to buy any of this music, either by One Direction or Styles' solo album. Then I read a review of this album, and it convinced me to try it. First of all, I'm amazed at the obsessive level of knowledge Styles' fans tend to have of his life; nevertheless, that fan's review, telling how he is an "old soul" when it comes to his musical influences and how he loved artists from the 1970's was enough to push me to buy this album. I grew up in the 1970's, and I still mainly listen to 1970's music. The only modern artist I buy is Josh Groban - no one else.Well, I ended up buying Harry Styles' album and also the albums by One Direction. For One Direction fans, don't expect this to be a continuation of the music with which you have learned to cheer on Styles. There is a lot of influence from the 1970's in here, I can see it in the nuance of the instrumentation and also how he sings some of the songs. He did not go the techno-style route, nor are any of these the fun romps that One Direction typically recorded. It's not 21st-century style ballads, either. As one of the other reviewers said, there is some "old soul" in this music; for me, who does not like most of the music put out these past 17 years, these songs have more soul. I'm really glad I bought this.All that said, once Mr. Styles has lived a little bit more of life (his life with One Direction has been somewhat of a controlled production, I assume), I think he will be able to grow as a lyricist. I appreciate how all the songs on this album were written by him and are not all just a self-indulgent self-promotion of his personal life (like some current musical recording stars), but some are a bit more universal in scope. He just needs to bring a bit more poetry to his song lyrics in the future.... At least, this is what I think.This is a very good first solo album from Mr. Styles. I'm looking forward to seeing what he does with his second album.****Update on my impression*****Now that I've had this album for about 1 month, I wanted to update my impression. The more I play this album, the more I like it. I stick with what I said about the lyrical style, but the music and singing are really good to listen to. I hope other people can give it a try. Forget that Harry Styles was in One Direction and just listen to the music. It's really good.