Now That's Magic (Ta Dah! - Scissor Sisters)

Member Name: IainWear

Product:	Ta Dah! - Scissor Sisters
Date:	01/10/06 (470 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Wonderful music and entertainment

Disadvantages: The long wait to find out how good the 3rd album will be

There is a long list of British artists who have had huge success here, but never made it in the US in quite the same way; a list that includes the likes of Robbie Williams and Oasis. The list of American artists who can claim the same is shorter, but includes one of the recent greats – the Scissor Sisters. Try as I might, I just can’t understand why the Americans don’t love them the way the British do, although their loss is our gain, with the band happy to play large events in the UK, such as a recent gig to promote the Motorola Red mobile phone in Trafalgar Square.

The Scissor Sisters are everything you would want in a music group. Unlike many artists, they have always firmly believed that as musicians, they are also entertainers. They’re not just in the game to play their music; they’re in it to make sure as many people as possible have a good time. This desire to entertain is reflected in the title of their recently released album “Ta Dah”, traditionally the call of magicians at the climax of a trick.

The second album can be a difficult one, especially when a debut album is as good as the Scissor Sisters self titled debut. But I had high expectations for this album the minute they played the new track “Everybody Wants the Same Thing” at Live 8 more than a year ago and have been waiting impatiently for this album ever since, even more so when the debut single from it turned out to be the best thing they had ever done, eclipsing the previous album by some margin, even as good as it was.

“Ta Dah” opens with that lead single, “I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’”. A low key intro gives no hint of what is to follow, as the song turns into a wonderful disco-pop number which you just can’t help tap your feet to. In both title and sound, it reminds me of the Nolans “I’m in the Mood For Dancing”, but it also evokes early Elton John, which is hardly surprising considering Elton co-wrote and plays piano on the song.

“She’s My Man” is more of the same, although slightly darker in tone. But it’s another up-tempo disco-pop stomper and keeps your feet tapping along to the beat. The darker tone makes it a slightly less enjoyable track than the opener, but it’s still another hugely impressive tune.

If the album itself is a magic act, “I Can’t Decide” is the clown; albeit a slightly sinister one. It’s a jaunty show tune, very much influenced by music hall and the piano backing wouldn’t have seemed out of place played over a silent movie. It’s only when you listen more closely to the lyrics that the song comes over slightly more sinister and you realise the clown is Stephen King’s Pennywise and not a friendly circus clown. Despite that, though, the overall sound of the track, thanks to the jaunty music, is a happy, bouncy one.

It’s back to a slightly more usual sound with “Lights”. The tempo is down a little from the opening numbers and there’s a bit more of a funk influence to this one. It sounds a bit more influenced by 1980s Stock-Aitken-Waterman style pop music, rather than 1970s disco, although there are parts where it could work quite well as a Boney M song.

On their debut album, I felt that the ballads were the Scissor Sisters least effective songs. “Land of a Thousand Words” suggests that they’ve been working on that weakness and this is a wonderfully expansive pop ballad that starts off very low key and simple before building into a storming finish. This is a ballad designed to be a show stopper and would work wonderfully as the love theme to an action movie and sounds like it’s been written to be played over the end credits of a big blockbuster movie.

The other song co-written by Elton John is another quirky little number, similar to “I Can’t Decide”. “Intermission” has that same music hall bounce, with a darker undertone in the lyrics, although this time the music also takes a darker turn but, in parts, it reminds me very much of The Beatles’ “When I’m 64”.

Next up is Ana Matronic’s turn to take lead vocals. Again, the intro is misleading, but the song soon turns into a disco-tinged number, with an underlying guitar. Parts of the vocals and the merging of an disco pop beat with a heavy-pop edge and sassy lyrics reminds me a little bit of some of Girls Aloud’s songs. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad song by any means, although it’s not got the same high-octane feel-good nature that has inhabited most of the tracks so far. That said, this one is a grower and I find myself liking it a little bit more every time I hear it.

“Ooh” is the most electronically influenced track, with hints of Daft Punk and Kraftwerk running through the synth backing. It’s a funky little number, evoking memories of some of the tracks from their debut album as well as old style funk-disco.

Despite the title “Paul McCartney” is not co-written by him nor, as far as I know, endorsed by the former Beatle. Indeed, it’s virtually opposite to anything he has ever done, either in his time with the Beatles or as a solo artist, being another high-tempo disco-funk number. It’s closest in style to a repeat of “I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’”, although it has a little more funk than the opening track. But it’s still another song that makes you want to dance in your seat or grab a hairbrush and hope the neighbours aren’t watching.

“The Other Side” is appropriately named, showing the other side to the Scissor Sisters. This is the track where they reveal they have a darker side. This is a very electronic pop number, sounding very much like the Pet Shop Boys and New Order. It is a huge turn around from the up tempo disco numbers on the album so far and slightly less effective for it. Hearing what sounds like the theme tune to “Knight Rider” playing in the background on the track can be a bit of a distraction as well.

Apparently, lead singer Jake Shears didn’t want “Might Tell You Tonight” included on the album, as it’s a quite intensely personal song written for his boyfriend. However, it is that very characteristic that meant it had to be included, as it gives the album a heartfelt and, somehow more mature turn. It’s a slightly slower tempo track than most of the album so far, but it still has the electronic pop tones and it’s still quite a bouncy tune, although this time it’s the beauty of the lyrics and not the bounce of the music that make this one stand out.

For some reason, “Everybody Wants the Same Thing” doesn’t sound quite as good on the record as I remember it being from Live 8. But it’s still an immense tune and has more of a rock influence than most that have gone before it. However, it still retains the bouncy pop edge and it’s another one, much like “Kiss You Off” that grows on you, and after repeated listens, it still doesn’t quite sound as good as the live version, but I can certainly realise why I would have heard it and been really excited about this album, even a year before it came out.

After a couple of minutes of silence, which I always see as being pretty pointless – but watch out for the effect that break has on the time counter on your stereo if you have one – we get the bonus track, “Transistor”. It’s a strange, psychedelic track which sounds as if, having covered a Pink Floyd track on their debut album; they’re having a go at writing their own version of one.

I always thought that the Scissor Sisters’ debut album was pretty good, only to discover that this one is even better. There isn’t quite the same range of influences here; with disco being the major one, but the overall feel is a lot more settled and a lot more upbeat this time around. There are very few songs here that don’t get your feet tapping and start you dancing in your seat.

If you like to be entertained as you listen to music, this is the perfect album for that purpose. It’s music to dance to and perfect for a party or getting ready to go out. If you’ve heard the opening single and like it and if you own the Scissor Sisters debut album and like that, you’re going to love this album even more. Of course, the opposite is also true; if you’ve never liked the Scissor Sisters, this album is unlikely to change your mind. I fall into the former group, though – I was a big fan before and I’m a bigger fan after.

Being a new album, it’s still pretty expensive to buy, at £7.99 from CD Wow and £8.95 and £8.99 from Play and Amazon respectively. Cheaper versions are starting to come through, with £5.32 the best price at the Amazon Marketplace and 99p the best on eBay. But some things are worth paying more for, to get that extra quality and as this is an album that never grows old – even a week of having it on constant repeat has failed to dull my love of this album – you’re getting more than 13 tracks and 50 minutes of music; you’re getting as many multiples of those numbers as you like. And given that the Scissor Sisters debut album was wonderful and this one is even better, I’m already wondering how good the next will be, but already confident I’ll still be in love with this album, even if I have it on constant play for anything up to the 2 years I expect that to take to be released.

Summary: 2nd Album from New York's finest musical entertainers