I have a confession to make. Though 'Murder On The Dancefloor' is one of my all-time favourite tracks and I enjoy her voice and songs, Sophie Ellis-Bextor has always remained only on my periphery as an artist. So, when she released an album this year of her big club hits of the past couple of years along with newer material I thought I'd make a dive into it.
'Make A Scene' is what you'd expect from hearing her recent direction in club tunes and it's difficult to shake the feeling through the record that it's a one-topic album of danceable club tunes on romantic encounters. They say that 99% of songs are about love and it's certainly true for this album, which wears its love, relationships and romantic liasons on its sleeve.
If you were expecting a varied album of styles then you'll be disappointed in what you find here over its fifty minute running time, but if you're after a series of club-friendly dance tunes then there is much to enjoy and, even though I'm not a big dance fan myself, thoroughly enjoy the album.
The early part of the album is built around the established singles but isn't totally dominated by them. Opener 'Revolution' and third track 'Off and On' are equal matches for 'Bittersweet' and 'Heartbreak' that match up with them. In fact you'd find it difficult to open the album with a better track than 'Revolution' and it even manages to name-check her biggest hit. 'Bittersweet' is as excellent as you remember it and matches the catchiness of 'Heartbreak' whether you're in the club or just listening to the radio. Though 'Off and On' is the weaker of the quartet it is still a great listen.
'Not Giving Up On Love' sees the pace drop slightly but the chorus is classic 90s dance. 'Can't Fight This Feeling' might sound like the sister of 'Heartbreak', and there is an element throughout the album of tracks sounding not a million miles from each other, but 'Starlight' and, in particular, 'Under Your Touch' continue the quality of the album, with the latter oozing the sexiness portrayed by the black and white photography of the album cover.
'Make A Scene' and 'Magic' break up the similarity of the album, though I'm not so keen on the formers off-beat, er, beat at the start, but the rest of the track proves to be better, with 'Magic' up to the level expected. It's a shame that the title track is the weakest on the long-player.
'Dial My Number' fits in nicely with the mould formed by the album with 'Homewrecker' kicking it up again, but it's the concluding double-punch ending of the almost ballad-esque 'Synchronized', with its touching lyrics, and the emotive 'Cut Straight To The Heart' that rounds up the album nicely.
In many ways 'Make A Scene' is a one-trick pony or romantic club tunes but it's a good pony, one enthused with romance, love and lust, and has its definitive highlights found at both ends of the album and in the middle, just sagging a bit in its run up to the central point.
Even for a listener like me who doesn't particular like massive dance-floor filling tunes it's a great album to listen to, and Sophie's vocals and lyrical delivery over a range of clubby tunes from a variety of producers is top notch and well worth a listen, with several stand out tracks worthy of singles.
[7/10]
Sunday 10 July 2011
REVIEW: Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Make A Scene
Posted on 03:54 by Unknown
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment