The Dawning of the Day
For his second solo release, the former Three Irish Tenors member has decided to concentrate on songs of faith for which, given his oft-repeated history of triumphing over various obstacles, he would seem to be ideally suited. As on his debut effort, the orchestral arrangements are florid and the context strictly middle-of-the-road. For many listeners, his 9/11-vintage, a cappella rendering of "Amazing Grace" was a high point of his career, and one or two more sparsely arranged or even unaccompanied tracks might have been perfect for this album. There is no material of deeply Celtic context, other than "Morning Has Broken," a song associated with British folk singer Cat Stevens which was in fact lifted note-for-note from a Scottish Christmas carol called "Leanabh An Aigh." Tynan performs it as a duet with country star Vince Gill, who actually sounds more in synch with the soaring folkloric purity of the melody. Basically, Tynan is a fine example of what a pop tenor should sound like; as with Andrea Bocelli and others of that ilk, he aims to please and this he does surpassingly well.  --Christina Roden