With The Rising's schedule of a new release every 6 weeks or so I suppose it was inevitable that one would slip through the cracks, and "You Had It All" was that one, so very much approaching this review in reverse.
Fresh from his recent BCMA nomination, half of The Rising, Chris Logan almost seems to have taken a well earned rest apart from Production duties as this new version of the song is mainly just Chantelle McAteer with a piano and strings, with just occasionally a bit of guitar seeping through, although truthfully that description barely does it justice.
The piano playing by John McCullough is simply superb, as is the sympathetic cello playing from Danny Boyle but it is Chantelle's vocals that steal the show.
For the last single forinstance, the revamped rocker from the earlier incarnation of The Rising "Highway To The Lost & Found" she was having to compete against something of a wall of sound, but here she is left centre stage and does a spectacular job, full of emotion offering a much more subtle side to the band.
The song finds Chantelle in a state of turmoil
"Today feels like the worst day of my life
Today I can’t seem to get it right
I cant sleep a stranger sleeping next to me
I cant breathe the words they run away from me"
The realisation that the person you are with no longer feels the same way about you as you do about them is a heartbreaking one and the route forward from here is never easy
"You only saw what you needed to see
and it's clear now that you don't see me"
It says a lot in remarkably few lines and is all the better for that leaving it direct and from the heart. It naturally then sent us spiralling back in time to check out the original which is a different beast entirely.
The original finds itself with a more traditional band sound, with a prominent drumbeat, the more expected guitar sounds and some additional backing vocals on the chorus
The biggest change comes in at the start of the second verse after the guitar solo with the appearance of Stephen a Quinn. Nothing wrong with that per se and the song becomes a duet of sorts however it does dilute the power of the lyrics for if they both feel the same way then the emotional drama fades away.
So both definitely have their merits, the original, more of a Lady A style presentation, probably more radio friendly slightly blurring the power in the lyrics or, the reimagined version, with Chantelle given the spotlight to pour her heart out to a more intimate subdued backing. It'll be interesting to see which version they choose to play at their next live show.