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DVDfever.co.uk – Paloma Faith: Do You Want The Truth Or Something Beautiful? CD reviewElly Roberts reviews
Sony Music
- Released: September 2009
- Rating: 10/10+
- Vote and comment on this album:View Comments
Glitter coated classic.
If multi-talented Hackney-born Paloma Faith (Blomfield) can hold her nerve, she has the potential to become a huge, huge star. The moment new single New York hit the airwaves you knew something special was going on.
The voice is something very special indeed, with a sharp teeny edge, though pundits will say shes just another Amy Winehouse. Not so this London gal is different ball game. Amys debut Frank was unremarkable but Faith has masterfully pooled all her talents on this sensational debut.Unlike shambolic Amy, half-British half-Spanish Faith hasnt sought inspiration among the soul sisters of the 60s.
This former magicians assistant, burlesque performer, actress and contemporary dancer with an MA in theatre direction has drawn inspiration from the queens of tragedy like Billie Holiday, Edith Piaf and Judy Garland. Shes not averse to throwing in a bit of Etta James, Nick Cave and PJ Harvey either. Music as a career came somewhat late, having mimicked blues and soul singer she admired.In for good measure, are influences from avant garde cinema, so it makes for a potent mix.
Her favourite pastime is dressing up, lavishly check the CD line pictures and you see a lady with very glamorous tastes.
There again, Do You Want is a glamorous album with enough polish to dazzle the man on the moon, and the songs themselves are full of drama in one way or another for the first song, her debut single June 2009 Stone Cold Sober she playfully declares,Ill be the late night lady you wont recognise / Im a chameleon Im always in disguise.That disguise is soon revealed through some sparkling songs, a mix of Vaudevillean danceable pop Upside Down (surely her next single) through to gospel tinged ballads including her sumptuous signature tune New York, the tale of a gal losing her love, to another, in this case the Big Apple.
Dreamy Stargazer has all the hallmarks of 80s melodramatic soul balladeering, giving off vibes of missing her beau In my every day /And the moments I wake / Up lonely / Youre the only one / Who can bring the stars for me.. she ponders, with My Legs Are Weak another belting torch song of intense proportions, enough to draw tears.Broken Doll may also hint at her vulnerability, but only time will tell.
A major highlight along with New York is the tale of potential deceit on the sweeping ballad Do You Want The Truth Or Something Beautiful shes happy to go either way, with reservations. This is a great album without question, so look beyond the glitter ball thats shining all over it.
The verdict – Should Amy be afraid? Very.
Weblinks:myspace.com/palomafaith /palomafaith.com
The full list of tracks included are :
1. Stone Cold Sober
2. Smoke & Mirrors
3. Broken Doll
4. Do You Want The Truth Or Something Beautiful ?
5. Upside Down
6. Romance Is Dead
7. New York
8. Stargazer
9. My Legs Are Weak
10. Play OnView the discussion thread.blog comments powered by Disqus= 0) {query += ‘url’ + i + ‘=’ + encodeURIComponent(links[i].href) + ‘&’;}}document.write(”);})();//]]]]>]]>
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.