Introduction [Extra tracks, Import]

Alex Parks | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 8, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Import
• Label: Universal
• ASIN: B0000WSSDE
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #54,141 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, January 10, 2004

By 

Abby (Jay Bay, SA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Introduction (Audio CD)

Watch this girl - at 19 she is superb! "Imagine" is breathtaking; never thought I would like someone else singing this other than John Lennon. Looking forward to hearing more from Alex

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this music, December 17, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Introduction (Audio CD)

This is a really amazing CD. Music like this does not come along every day. There's no one else out there like Alex Parks. She puts everything into her music and the honesty and passion can be heard in every note her voice sounds. I cannot praise her dedication highly enough. She's an artist with real integrity and believes in producing quality music, and this is reflected throughout "Introduction," which I hope is only the first of many beautiful recordings.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic debut album, February 29, 2004

By 

deepbluesky (London, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Introduction (Audio CD)

Six months ago, I was your typical jazz/folk/soul/indie fan who thought Fame Academy was just another cheesy primetime TV show. Then one evening I accidentally switched on BBC1 just as Alex Parks was about to sing a cover of Christina Aguilera's 'Beautiful'. I was thrown into a jaw-dropped, mesmerised state of disbelief by the power and beauty of her voice and her soulful, tomboyish charisma. I was converted overnight to watching the show every week for the following 2 months - and that's not an unusual story. To give you an idea of how different this girl is from the average talent show winner, Alex has been highly praised by Thom and Johnny from Radiohead.

This is a fantastic debut album, an impressive mix of powerful ballads and edgy rock tracks. This album has gone double platinum in the UK, continuing to climb in the UK album charts. Every one of the 7 original tracks is superb in a different way, and 4 of the 6 covers are excellent too. Here's my track by track review.

Maybe That's What It Takes: Not one of Alex's strongest, lyrically speaking, but this track is gorgeous. I love it, simply for Alex's magnificent vocals. Her voice connects directly to the pleasure centre in my brain.

Cry: Simple but subtle lyrics. A catchy and compulsive melody that takes a while to grow on you, then holds you captive.

Dirty Pretty Words: Driving, exciting, rocky, gritty, catchy... hit single material.

Imagine: I never liked Lennon's song much in the first place, and I don't like this cover either, especially the strings and keyboards. Alex's vocal starts out a bit thin, but builds to a good finale.

Not Your Average Kind of Girl: Strong lyrics, great vocals, and lovely intro, reminiscent of 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds'. This is one of the tracks on which the programmed instrumentals work really well.

Mad World: Excellent. I'm not familiar with the Tears for Fears original, but I hugely prefer Alex's cover to Gary Jules'.

Everybody Hurts: Spoilt by slushy, icky strings and keyboards. All round a very MOR version of the REM original... not a good direction for Alex, I feel.

Beautiful: Lovely. True to the ravishing showdown performances that topped and tailed Alex's exciting ride through Fame Academy. I really like the 70s-style backing vocals. Another hardwire to the pleasure centre.

Stones and Feathers: Fascinating, clever and very unusual. Building from a slow start it develops into a great, epic production. The outrageous lyrics have me in a state of happy mystification.

Here Comes the Rain: A great cover of one of my favourite Eurythmics songs. One of the tracks where tacky electronic programming adds instead of detracts.

Yellow: Illustrates a fundamental problem with this album. It's beautifully sung... Alex's vocals are irreproachable. Slapdash, over-loud instrumentals clobber the track though.

Wandering Soul: Another brilliant rock track with folk rock influences and huge hit potential. Fantastic lyrics, gorgeous vocals and good production.

Over Conscious: Dreamy, enigmatic, tortured, clever, camp. A very imaginative piece of work.

Since there's no song clips on Amazon.com, you might like to visit Alex's official site at www.alexparksofficial.com (with which I have no connection!) where all the tracks can be heard.