Take This Album Home! (Read My Lips - Sophie Ellis-Bextor)

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Product:	Read My Lips - Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Date:	10/01/02 (2 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: good for a first album, relaxing, easy listening

Disadvantages: middle songs are a bit dull, voice doesnt change much

Sophie Ellis Bextor is a 20 something year old singer. She used to be a model and if you look back you will probably see her in magazines, but she first hit the music scene with her song 'Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)' with Spiller. This song had huge competition as to whether it was going to beat Posh Spice in the charts and luckily enough it did. It was a catchy song and I wondered if she would sing again and then in 2001 she released her first solo single 'Take Me Home', this got intothe top 5 something like that and ever since then she has been successful.
***When saying Sophie first hit the music scene with Spiller I mean as a solo artist. She was in fact in a group called the audience but they weren't well known, so they broke up. They did however release some songs.***
I wasn't a huge fan of the song 'Take Me Home' when I first heard it because Sophie has a strange music sond it is very old fashioned and she dresses in 50's style too, so I didn't know what to expect. My friend asked me what I wanted for my birthday and no other albums were out so I asked for this album, and when hearing it, it took a while to get used to but I now really like it. The thing which impressed me with this album is that Sophie wrote the songs, or even parts of them herself which shows she is talented.

COVER LAYOUT
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The cover to the album is quite classy, it is in black and white so it makes the photos look classy. The paper used for the book is very posh and quite expesive and all the lyrics are inside which is good if you need to sing along.

TRACKLISTING
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1.Take Me Home
2.Lover
3.Move This Mountain
4.Murder On The Dancefloor
5.Sparkle
6.Final Move
7.I Believe
8.Leave The Others Alone
9.By Chance
10.The Universe Is You
11.Is It Any Wonder
12.Everything Falls Into Place

1.Take Me Home-This is Sophie
's debut single, it has a sort of retro sound but it is still catchy and good for a sing. This did well in the UK charts and got the singer well known.

2.Lover-This has a strange beginning it then builds up a little. It doesn't get any faster than it was at the start but it is ok. I don't really know what kind of music Sophie's is. This again has a retro sound, more 70's but Sophie's voice fits in.

3.Move This Mountain-this is a great song really catchy and good for singing. The music has bells in it and a noisy background in the chorus.

4.Murder On The Dancefloor-This is the second single Sophie released, it got to number 2 and stayed high for about 4 weeks. This song is about a dance competition and getting everyone out so she can win, strange theme but the video is funny. This isn't particularly very fast but it's great to sing to and builds up to be really catchy. It's easy listening and so nothing to hate.

5.Sparkle-This has a strange noise at the start, a weird beat but again catchy, she has a tendency to do that. This isn't a favourite of mine but I still listen to it, because it isn't annoying it's quite relaxing.

6.Final Move-I like this song it has a nice but again unusual sound. This is a ballad but not too slow just fine. I like the part building up to the chorus for some reason, I like singing it all .

7.I Believe-I don't really like this song, it's quite dull not as catchy as the others and one of my least favourites. The backing beat is quite irritating and her vocal don't fit this song.

8-Leave The Others Alone-This has a really weird piece of background music, and again this isn't a spectacular song just average. In the middle of this album the songs aren't that great.

9.By Chance-This song is quite good, it's a midtempo song, quite happy and nice and peaceful to listen to.

10.The Universe Is
You-I like this song it has a great upbeat catchy beginning and I like the music to, this is great for singing to, even dancing. The first line of it is 'Read My Lips' maybe where she got the title from?

11.Is It Any Wonder-This is definitely my favourite song on the album and is one of Sophie's too. It is quite slow but I love the background music it's so peaceful and nice to listen to. The music and her vocals blend well together. This is definitely great and hopefully a future single.

12.Everything Falls Into Place-This is quite a catchy song for a last album not boring and dull. This is upbeat, not great but not terrible either. I would have swapped number 11 around with 12 to end the album because it would have ended on a more relaxing tone.

Overall this is a good album and quite impressive for a debut album. It really depends on your music style to like this album, I would say if you like her singles you will love the album but if you don't you will completely hate this album.

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