15 July 2000
Gregg Alexander’s single transferable song evokes the early ’00s as much as bootcut jeans and frosted tips. After his own ‘You Get What You Give’ in 1999 as the New Radicals, it pops up again (and again) in ‘Inner Smile’ by Texas, ‘The Game Of Love’ by Santana featuring Michelle Branch, ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, and two solo hits for Ronan Keating; ‘Lovin’ Each Day’ gets to number four in Ireland in 2001, but first comes this number one.
There’s probably some ’99-’00s pop fan who can’t get enough of Alexander’s signature pounding, lumbering piano chord style. Personally, I remember it soon growing as repetitive and predictable as those generic ’88-’89 Stock, Aitken and Waterman chart-toppers I recently trawled through on your behalf. However, having also recently trawled the Boyzone oeuvre for you—you’re welcome—I’ll say this about ‘Life Is A Rollercoaster’: at least it’s a Ronan Keating single that’s uptempo. And do you know what? This thing works. Okay, so he doesn’t sound too convincing when he tells us he “almost got us punched in a fight”, unless the fight was with Music. But the upbeat rhythm puts less emphasis on Ronan’s own signature style of heavy-weather singing. In any case, a phalanx of backing vocalists are, as ever, on hand to help him over the hump of the chorus. And that chorus is sunny and catchy without being too laboured. All in all, ‘Life Is A Rollercoaster’ has more ups than downs.
