Melody [Enhanced]

If Sharleen is trying to reinvent herself as a solo artist - new sound, new image - then this is a brave attempt. It feels personal, whether or not these songs tell of her own experience, or are in any way cathartic. The richness of her voice is perhaps even more appreciated without the big band sound, but there is no lack of musical complexity and harmony in this album. The only disappointing thing for me is the brevity of the tracks; most are a teasing 3 short minutes and only Day Tripping lets you indulge for just a little longer. Conveniently brief for air play but too short to satisfy dedicated fans of that melodic voice we've come to love.

Having only been a fan of Texas for the last 8 years or so, it feels as though I have almost watched their slow descent - their last two albums, CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR and REDBOOK seemed not to get the appreciation they deserved, so it was with a little trepidation that I purchased Sharleen's first solo outing. Having now had the album for a week, I can heartily say that I should not have worried. MELODY is brilliant.

The opening track, "It Was You" is a fantastic way to open an album. Although it is a breakup song, the uptempo beat means that it is not depressing. And this track really sets a precdent for the ones to come - the mood is set. As others have already said, there is a very obvious retro feel to the album, and the vast majority of songs are about relationships coming to an end, rather than celebrating how good love can be. However, despite this focus on the more painful side of love, the album does not feel too suffocating. The fabulous track, "Melody", provides the needed lift - the song is just brilliant; it seems to drip with optimism, its relatively laid back tempo lulling you along.

Sharleen should be very proud of this first solo offering - it goes to show that she is a very talented singer / songwriter, with or without Texas.

I've loved the band Texas' music for almost a decade and I've been eagerly anticipating Sharleen's solo CD since word came out about it. "Melody" really is the key word here - and that is a good thing. There are real instruments playing real melodies, and that seems to be considered something of a "guilty pleasure" in the context of today's popular music.

There are great songs like the first single "All the Times I Cried", the uptempo sunshine pop of "Don't Keep Me Waiting", the temepered Ray Charles beat of "It Was You", and the wonderfully tounge-in-cheek rockabilly of "I'm Gonna Haunt You." Even though the songs are mostly inspired by Sharleen's split up with the father of her five-year-old daughter, listening to the CD will not bring you down - quite the opposite.

As already alluded to, there is a definite retro 1960s-70s sound to the songs and arrangements. In the context of Texas' last few albums, that should not be a surprise. The album does border on being a bit over-produced at times, but then that was true about a lot of the most beloved popular music back then.

I am amazed at the choice of specific musical references and riffs used here and finding the specific songs of that era that they come from. On "I Wonder", Sharleen lifts the melody and line "every chance you get you seem to hurt me more and more, but each hurt makes my mind (love) stronger than before" from Marvin Gaye's "Ain't That Peculiar." The arrangement on "Day Tripping" is shamelessly based on the very obscure, but exquisitely lovely song "Roots of Love" by the soulful 70s female trio Quiet Elegance. The intro of "Francoise" and Sharleen's whispery vocal delivery echoes Claudine Longet's version of "I Love How You Love Me." (***see my update on this comment below...). A few more listens may reveal even more references.

There are a couple of songs that hark back to Texas' most popular period like the haunting title track "Melody", which could have easily fit in on "The Hush" and "Where Did It Go Wrong" on "White on Blonde."

For fans of Texas and Sharleen Spiteri, this is definitely a "guilty pleasure" in the positive sense. For new comers, it may be a bit of a musical culture shock keeping in mind how seemingly undervalued real melodies and real instruments are in today's popular music. Although, I solidly recommend this CD, I guess what is keeping me at a four star rating is that it may be a bit too much of a good thing. A little bit less of the "everything but the kitchen sink" production on some tracks would have come out as "more." Then again, I plan to play this CD many more times and may go on to the full five stars anyway.

***Update:
The song "Francoise", I had thought was influenced by Claudine Longet's version of "I Love How You Love Me" is actually a direct homage to french superstar singer Francoise Hardy and a song Hardy did called "Voilà" from 1967. The songs are so close that one could almost make a case for plagiarism.