If Neil Diamond was a brooding Frenchman with Peter Gabriel-esque ambition, he would be Daniel Lavoie.
Boasting a charismatic croon very similar to the "Solitary Man" himself, Lavoie uses it to make keyboard-based tracks that fall somewhere between adult contemporary and experimental pop.
When Lavoie feels experimental, he can deliver some very impressive material that brings to mind Gabriel's mid-'80s work.
But on the other end of the spectrum lie his ballads, which are much like Diamond's mid-'80s work (i.e., very boring).
There is some redeeming material here, but overall this is a rather overblown and cheesy effort that may only appeal to a very select crowd of listeners.