Finally Woken [Import]

I read the few Amazon.co.uk reviews of 'Finally Woken', and then the eighty or so reviews on Amazon.com before, although really being little the wiser, buying the album anyway. In the meantime I had heard 'They' a couple of times on the radio - I had read all about the Dido comparisons and thought that they seemed at best tenuous based on this track. Having now listened to the album many times through, I now see the problem. Jem is difficult to pigeonhole, and that can only be a good thing. If I had to nominate the most Dido-like track - and I'm a big fan of Dido - it would have to be the title track 'Finally Woken'. The rest of the album is very varied, but Jem's voice is great throughout and the wealth of influences so wonderfully eclectic. I currently love the rock guitars and strings of '24', while the closing track 'flying high' is very close to modern acoustic folk, but dance sensibilities also form an insidious part of the mix on many tracks.
I'm not about to list the tracks, as there is nothing bad here. Like Dido and Joss Stone, Jem seems to have carried the torch for UK music by starting her rise to fame in the US first. That we can't easily compare them is witness to the fantastic diversity of UK music we now have for our enjoyment. If you want to test the water first, amazon.com allows the hearing of samples of all tracks. Otherwise just give this album a try - it is good - and I can't wait to hear Jem live. I'm going to be mean and give it four stars - simply because I hope, and expect, to need to give her next album a higher rating.

Even the first song, They, has a tasty selection of styles all mixed into one delicous song with it's contemporary pop heavy beats overlaid on spanish guitar riffs and samples of children singing.

Finally Woken is the musical equivalent of a good book that you just can't put down. Whether you are looking for an album to fall asleep to, wake up to, or listen through the day, this will fit the bill. Check it out!