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Second single from Willy's latest album.

The second single from Willy Mason's latest album 'If the Ocean Gets Rough' arrives in the form of 'We Can Be Strong'. Firstly, I love Willy Mason, and after seeing him live you can't help but be affected by his humble charm. His music seems much like the man himself, free of fuss but ultimately stirring.

After my affectionate disclaimer it's probably worth admitting that 'We Can Be Strong' is not one of the album's strongest (no pun intended, honestly), and therefore seems like a slightly odd choice of single. The actual single features several bonus tracks, but unfortunately my version has only the single edit, single version and instrumental version of the title track. Nevertheless there's nothing obviously disagreeable about 'We Can Be Strong' with its strum-filled melody becoming quickly infectious and the slightly repetitive chorus making it easy to remember.

The single version is largely identical to the edit aside from its extra 19 seconds which feature as an extended intro to the song. The intro is an improvement as the edited version seems to begin too suddenly, where the extended intro builds the softness of the song more gradually. The instrumental rendition hits somewhere in the middle with a median length.

This single isn't one of Willy's finest but it certainly has his likeable merits in its favour and with the additional draw of the b-sides it is definitely worth considering amongst the latest single releases.