Perry Blake - California (2002)

California continues to be the fountain of something for a lot of people. Whether it be youth, riches, stardom, or happiness; California is something that only dreamers know about. Perry Blake is one of those slumberers, and his third album is named after the place of hope and fantasy. He and Italian producer Marco Sabiu arrive at a classy, smooth set of songs for Blake's most realized style and sound yet. California finds Blake at ease with himself as a singer and as a songwriter; the "freeness" of each song is impressionable, as Blake surrounds himself in his own modern pop world. Blake allows his own genre-blending sound to fully take shape without too much production. He and Sabiu have redefined conventional pop music to suit themselves, carefully crafting an album suited for those sophisti-pop fans, with songs like "Saying Goodbye," and "This Life" highlighting Blake's fresh confidence. His wavering falsetto has matured on songs such as "The Road to Hollywood" and "A Face in the Crowd," while also hinting at California's wildly imaginative set of songs. Blake has made a solid pop album, and it's fit to fight off other pop crooners like Ronan Keating and Robbie Williams, but it's manicured and suited for an adult contemporary audience, as well.