...Allow Us to Be Frank

...Allow Us to Be Frank
Studio album by
Westlife
Released8 November 2004 (2004-11-08)
Recorded2004
StudioRokstone Studios
(London)
GenreBig band
Length39:21
LanguageEnglish
LabelSony BMG, RCA
ProducerSteve Mac
Westlife chronology
Turnaround
(2003) 		...Allow Us to Be Frank
(2004) 		Face to Face
(2005)
Singles from ...Allow Us to Be Frank
  1. "Smile"
    Released: 4 November 2004
  2. "Fly Me to the Moon"
    Released: 20 December 2004
  3. "Ain't That a Kick in the Head"
    Released: 6 January 2005
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Entertainment.ie[1]
MTV Asia[2]
RTÉ.ie[3]
Rovi[4]
Stylus MagazineF[5]

...Allow Us to Be Frank, a Rat Pack tribute, is the fifth studio album, sixth major album release under Sony BMG and first cover album by Irish boy band Westlife; it is also the first album since the departure of Brian McFadden and as a four-piece. It was released on 8 November 2004, and peaked at number two in Ireland and number three in the United Kingdom. ...Allow Us to Be Frank was number twenty-four on the 2004 year-end album charts. The album features songs made popular by Frank Sinatra such as "The Way You Look Tonight", "Come Fly with Me", "Moon River", "Summer Wind" and "That's Life". It also includes the Nat "King" Cole song, "When I Fall in Love". It was recorded with a 60-piece orchestra at Phoenix Studios in Wembley, in the London Borough of Brent.

Singles

"Smile" was released as the album's first single on 4 November 2004. The physical single features the video and B-sides "White Christmas" and "When I Fall in Love".[6] It charted at number 37 in Sweden.

"Fly Me to the Moon" was released as the album's second single on 20 December 2004. The single was only released digitally, featuring the video, as well as an exclusive B-side, "Beyond the Sea", which does not feature on the album.

"Ain't That a Kick in the Head" was released as the album's third and final single on 6 January 2005. The physical single features the video, as well B-side "Moon River". It peaked at number 5 in Denmark, number 20 in Sweden, number 41 in the Netherlands and number 43 in Europe.[7] While "Moon River" charted at No. 221 in Russia.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Ain't That a Kick in the Head"Sammy Cahn, Jimmy Van Heusen2:27
2."Fly Me to the Moon"Bart Howard2:31
3."Smile"Charles Chaplin, Geoffrey Parsons, John Turner2:50
4."Let There Be Love"Ian Grant, Lionel Rand2:45
5."The Way You Look Tonight" (with Joanne Hindley)Jerome Kern, Dorothy Fields4:07
6."Come Fly with Me"Cahn, Van Heusen3:15
7."Mack the Knife"Marc Blitzstein, Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill3:10
8."I Left My Heart in San Francisco"George Cory, Douglas Cross2:59
9."Summer Wind"Hans Bradtke, Henry Mayer, Johnny Mercer2:58
10."Clementine"Woody Harris, Percy Montrose3:19
11."When I Fall in Love"Edward Heyman, Victor Young3:09
12."Moon River"Mercer, Henry Mancini2:40
13."That's Life"Kelly Gordon, Dean Kay3:13
Japanese bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
14."The Way You Look Tonight" (Westlife-only version)Kern, Fields3:45
15."Ain't That a Kick in the Head" (video)Cahn, Van Heusen2:30

On the Japanese edition, the song The Way You Look Tonight is in two versions: the Westlife version is track 5, and the duet with Joanne Hindley is bonus track 14.

Credits

  • Band recorded at Whitfield Street Studios, London
  • Vocals recorded at Rokstone Studios, London
  • Bass guitar:
    Steve Pearce
  • Vocals (track 5):
    Joanne Hindley
  • Backing vocals (track 13):
    Katie Kissoon
    Tessa Niles
  • Background vocal arrangement:
    Andy Caine
    Steve Mac
  • Arrangement and piano:
    Dave Arch
  • Design and art direction:
    Stylorouge
  • Bass:
    Allan Walley
    Leon Bosch
  • Cello:
    Catchy Giles
    Gillian Thoday
    Martin Loveday
    Nick Cooper
  • Double bass:
    Paul Morgan
  • Drums:
    Ralph Salmins
  • Mix assistant engineer:
    Daniel Pursey
  • Mix engineer:
    Ren Swan
  • Pro Tools engineer:
    Chris Laws
    Devin Workman
    Ren Swan
  • Guitar:
    John Parricelli
    Mitch Dalton
  • Horns:
    Dave Lee
    Jim Rattigan
    Paul Gardham
    Richard Watkins
  • Mastering:
    Dick Beetham
  • Percussion:
    Gary Kettel
    Glynn Matthews
  • Photography:
    James Bareham
  • Band recording:
    Mike Ross-Trevor
  • Vocal recording:
    Chris Laws
    Daniel Pursey
    Steve Mac
  • Alto saxophone, flute:
    Andy Macintosh
    Phil Todd
  • Baritone saxophone, bass clarinet, flute:
    Alan Barnes
  • Tenor saxophone, clarinet, flute:
    Andy Panayi
  • Tenor saxophone, flute:
    Dave Bishop
  • Bass trombone:
    Richard Edward
  • Tenor trombone:
    Chris Dean
    Mark Nightingale
    Pete Beachill
  • Trumpet:
    Andy Greenwood
    Derek Watkins
    Simon Gardner
    Steve Sidwell
  • Viola:
    Andy Parker
    Edward Vanderspar
    Garfield Jackson
    Kathy Burgess
    Nick Barr
    Vicci Wardman
  • Violin:
    David Angel
    Debbie Widdup
    Douglas MacKie
    Gillian Cohen
    Marcus Barcham-Stevens
    Martin Burgess
    Michael McMenemy
    Paul Manley
    Perry Montague-Mason
    Peter Oxer
    Ralph De Souze
    Rebecca Hirsch
    Roger Garland
    Simon Baggs
    Steve Morris
    Wilf Gibson

Source: Discogs[8]

Charts

Certifications and sales

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[23] 2× Platinum 653,405[22]

Release history

Region Date
Europe 8 November 2004
Philippines 13 November 2004
Japan 24 November 2004
Taiwan 3 December 2004

Supporting tour

Main article: The Number Ones Tour

References

  1. ^ Lynch, Andrew (18 November 2004). "Westlife – Allow Us To Be Frank". Entertainment.ie. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  2. ^ "MTV Asia review". Archived from the original on 4 February 2008.
  3. ^ "Westlife – Allow Us To Be Frank". RTÉ Ten. 22 November 2004. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  4. ^ O'Brien, Jon. "Listen to Allow Us to Be Frank by Westlife". AllRovi. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  5. ^ "Stylus Magazine". stylusmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 9 November 2007.
  6. ^ "㈜한터정보시스템 ▒". Hanteo.com. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
  7. ^ "Westlife Ain't That A Kick in the Head Sweden 5" CD SINGLE (334605)". Eil.com. 22 August 2005. Archived from the original on 24 September 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
  8. ^ "Westlife – ....Allow Us To Be Frank (2004, CD)" – via www.discogs.com.
  9. ^ "ultratop.be – Westlife – Allow Us To Be Frank". ultratop.be (in Dutch). ULTRATOP & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  10. ^ "danishcharts.dk – Westlife – Allow Us To Be Frank". danishcharts.dk. Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  11. ^ "dutchcharts.nl – Westlife – Allow Us To Be Frank". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  12. ^ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 27 November 2004.
  13. ^ "Chartverfolgung / Westlife / Longplay" (in German). Media Control GfK International. Archived from the original on 4 June 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  14. ^ "Irish Music Charts Archive: Top 75 Artist Album, Week Ending 11 November 2004". GFK Chart-Track. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  15. ^ "ウエストライフのCDアルバムランキング │オリコン芸能人事典-ORICON STYLE". Oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  16. ^ "Chart Stats – Westlife – Allow Us To Be Frank". OCC. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  17. ^ "swedishcharts.com – Westlife – Allow Us To Be Frank". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  18. ^ "Westlife – Allow Us To Be Frank – swisscharts.com |". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  19. ^ "The Official Charts Company – Westlife – Allow Us To Be Frank". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  20. ^ "Årslista Album – År 2004" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  21. ^ "End of Year Albums 2004". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  22. ^ "Albums 24.12.05: Westlife". Music Week. 24 December 2005. Retrieved 12 January 2022 – via ProQuest. (...) it has already outsold their last two albums - Allow Us To Be Frank (653,405) and Turnaround (752,583)
  23. ^ "British album certifications – Westlife – Allow Us to Be Frank". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 18 April 2021.