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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Just a little further, Sophie, 13 Jul 2007
If you've heard one Sophie Ellis-Bextor album, you've heard them all. Mostly- true. Each album has a slightly different feel. "Read My Lips" was disco. "Shoot From the Hip" was more, hmmm experimental? atmospheric? With "Trip the Light Fantastic" she's treading steadily in the middle of the road with solid pop shoes on. More listenable than "Hip" and with more emotional diversity than "Lips", "Trip" delivers exactly the same Sophie vocals. Beautiful, distinct, and sultry - yes, but sadly prone to monotony if the song doesn't provide some strong musical moments.
Some have said that "Supersonic" is the 'worst' song on the album. I like it for providing a different feeling from the rest of the album. The song has energy. Most of the album is made up of synth beats that complement but blend with Sophie's already hypnotic, if not meditative, vocals. "Catch You", "Love is Here", "Only One", "China Heart", and "Today, the Sun's on Us" provide guitars, stanzas, choruses, bridges, and emotional changes in the vocals. They stand out, to me, as stronger songs than the likes of "If I Can't Dance", and "The Distance Between Us" which start with a generic synth sound and after 3 or 4 odd minutes of innocuous vocals you find yourself with no idea of what just passed.
I am a fan and am pleased as punch to have this album. However, I think that Sophie should break out of her shell a little more and take a few more risks with her vocal stylings. Not because I dislike "Lips", "Hip", and "Trip", but we have that sound already. Overall, It's beautiful, a good listen. There is certainly more positive than negative. "New Flame" has grown on me quickly. I could drop a couple of songs but, hey, I liked the ones others didn't, so- Something for everyone I suppose.
"Love is Here" is worth buying the album- This really ought to be a single. "What Have We Started" is gorgeous. It has violins, cymbals, a sort of 'later Abba' rock-pop melody and the best Vocals on the album.
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23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
(Currently) the best pop album of 2007..., 4 May 2007
With it now seeing pointless to wait for another Rachel Stevens album (sadly), the original finger pointing posh crumpet/disco diva/ice queen of pop, Sophie Ellis Bextor, returns with her third album and first new material since the rather underwhelming "Shoot From The Hip" LP from 2003, which, although had it's good moments like "Mixed Up World", didn't always reach the same glittering heights as "Murder On The Dancefloor" or "Get Over You".
So it is a relief to hear then, as the first proper album release under Polydor's new pop label, Fascination, that "Trip The Light Fantastic" is a stellar pop album that reaches classic status straight away. Opening on the album's two hit singles, "Catch You" (Debbie Harry covering No Good Advice) and "Me & My Imagination" (this summer's So Good), the levels of brilliance continue further as she makes her pointy heeled way through tracks like "New York City Lights", "Today The Sun's On Us" and should be third single "If You Go" which sees Xenomania blend the ragga-dancehall rhythm of Rihanna's "Pon De Replay" with the hypnotic vocal stylings of Sia or Imogen Heap to excellent effect.
It is very rare that a good pop album like this comes out in a month full of festival headliners and BRIT school indie bands or trashy summer dance anthems done by German tranceheads. Make sure this album is in your collection when it comes out.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lyrics and beat make or break Ellis-Bextor's 3rd solo outing, 4 Jun 2007
If there is one thing about Sophie Ellis-Bextor's single 'Me and My Imagination' missed out on, it was the cross promotion that could've taken place with Nintendo's "Super Paper Mario" game. The florescent lighting effects used in the promo video conjures images reminiscent of the 'pixl' characters that populate the game.
Missed promotion aside, "Trip the Light Fantastic" sees Ellis-Bextor's return to pop stardom after a 3 year absense from music. And what a relief it is to listen to a record that has consistency instead of a standard singles and filler pop record (a problem that nortoriously plagued her "Read My Lips" album).
At its best, the record's bass thumps all the way through like Kylie Minogue's "Fever." Single "Me and My Imagination" should have been a huge hit; a kindred spirtit to Minogue's "Love At First Sight." "Today The Sun's On Us" grows after a few spins and "The Distance Between Us" vaguely resembles Berlin's 1985 hit, "Take My Breath Away" (which isn't a bad thing at all).
At its worst, however, the records lyrics go from intelligent to shockingly stupid, just like Kylie Minogue's "Fever". Ellis-Bextor's lyrical output has always been wildly inconsistent. Though it does tends to be a little better than her previous outings, it is definitely not something to be ignored easily. "Only One" commits the worst offense with an opening line "I don't know why you cry, you must have a windswept eye," following a bizarre reading from whatever rhyming dictionary she owns. Possible single "If You Go" needs its second verse lyrics completely redone, removing the banal readings of cliched sayings and despite its sunny disposition, Ellis-Bextor should be ashamed of rhyming dizzy with giddy on "Love Is Here."
If Ellis-Bextor does anything perfect she eloquently writes about unrequited love with a sense of desperation that almost seems cool. Hit single "Catch You" sears of creepy passion with a backing track that rocks hard and fast, but the more subdue songs though are where Ellis-Bextor really shine. "China Heart" breezes through and one could almost swear an isolated princess is singing it from the top of a tower. "Can't Have It All" takes "I Am Not Good At Not Getting What I Want" from her last record a step further. A woman wretchedly falling apart and on the verge of a breakdown sounds so realistic one's heart breaks along with the lady in the song.
"Trip The Light Fantastic" is definitely a step above her previous recordings. Despite its lyrical flaws (and the inexplicable bonus tracks tacked on that could've replaced the weaker songs, such as "Only One" and "Love Is Here"), this record could perfectly play at the next party. And if that is not enough, surly this record is better than 90% of the Super Paper Mario soundtrack, so Ms. Ellis-Bextor, look for that Nintendo endorsement soon.
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~ Rachel Stevens
