Customer Reviews

Trip the Light Fantastic

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Unlike some of the other reviewers, I think this album is brilliant. It's pure, fun pop music. The hooks in all the songs are catchy beyond belief, and the production is crisp, clean, and really funky.

I've actually recommended this album to lots of my friends. I usually listen to more indie stuff, but there's nothing like a great pop record.

"New York City Lights" is what Madonna's tribute should have been. In fact, this is what the latest Madonna album should have sounded like. Fantastic.

The unmistakeable voice of Sophie Ellis has a heavenly collision with a flawless array of pop diddies making this one of the must have Summer albums of all time. Her previous two releases were wonderfully catchy but plagued with some unfortunately low points. This is truly her first cohesive piece of entertainment, retaining the sense of fun, sophistication, and sass that one comes to expect, but infused with a maturity lacking in her earlier work. Sophie, working with a fine selection of craftsmen including songstress and past pop star Cathy Dennis (Cant' Get You Out Of My Head) and Dan Gillespie from the Feeling, create a very cohesive piece of work that's listenable through and through with the exception of the bonus track Supersonic, written with Fred Schnieder of B-52's; the song is a terrible piece of hideousness, a scab on an otherwise flawless complexion if you will. Miracously ice princess Sophie mangages to imbue the other excellent tracks with an unfamiliar warmth that certainly have lacked some "human touch" in the past. Too many above par tracks to mention but singles "Catch You" and "Me And My Imagination" are two of the strongest tracks she's ever recorded, and all of the songs have their moments to shine, peppered with gorgeous moments of genius and sprinkled with beautiful pop melodies. "Love Is Here" is destined to an enormous hit and sits proudly alongside her dance classics "Murder On The Dance Floor" & "Take Me Home". Thanks Sophie for this Summer gift!

Sophie Ellis-Bextor has always been my favorite pop singer. Read My Lips, her first LP, is suitably danceable disco-pop that was fresh in 2001, and although a bit dated now, is still as enjoyable as it is slightly hammy. Her follow-up from 2003, Shoot From The Hip, isn't quite so well-liked, but I think it shows a natural progression, especially the single "Mixed Up World" which Sophie wrote, according to her Popworld appearance from that year, in response to the invasion of Iraq and the tumult of feelings that comes with figuring out "those with the keys to the kingdom" don't really know what to do with their treasure. But man oh man, Trip The Light Fantastic is just... Fantastic (hammy!).

This is a sharp LP full of great dance songs and great ideas. It is the sum of all that was good about her first two records, but with a consistancy heretofor largely unseen in the pop music world- nearly every single track is perfectly nuanced and connects with the tracks around it. Of particular quality are the second single "Me And My Imagination" (an Ibiza-influenced disco song with lovely swirling violins), "China Heart" (a vibrating bass-backed dance song about fragile emotions), and the quite remarkable "The Distance Between Us," which pulls not just at the heartstrings with its lush atmosphere and poignant lyrical content, but also at the nostalgia that comes with hearing synths used to such ballad-extraordinary heights.

On the whole this is one of the best albums of the past few years, and it, as well as its great singles are well worth the price of buying the import.

After discovering Sophie during my freshman year of college, and fell instantly in love with Mademoiselle EB and her strongly accented British voice. Her second CD was a bit of a let-down, its bouncy 70s power-pop not matching up to the superior Read My Lips' 70s and 80s inspired electro-disco.

She's back here with Trip the Light Fantastic, and she doesn't disappoint on this one. It's by far her most modern-sounding album, with only a few retro-sounding songs mixed in here and there. First single "Catch You" is catchy and guitar driven, and leads off the album nicely. Second single "Me & My Imagination" sounds like it came directly off of Read My Lips, as does "If I Can't Dance" does with Shoot From the Hip. "Today the Sun's on Us," "The Distance Between Us," "Love is Here," and "What Have We Started" are basically all the same song thematically (about how much she loves her man), but they're all accompanied by memorable hooks and mid tempo dance grooves that keep them distiguishable and fresh. "New York City Lights" and "China Heart" are refreshingly heavy dance gems compared to the lighter fare Sophie is usually producing, and they're two of the best songs on the album. Which bring us to the best song and the worst two, which fizzle toward the end of the album and come off sounding like B-sides. 60s go-go isn't her thing, as evidenced by "Only One" and "New Flame" proves she's no Pat Benetar. Last but not least, "If You Go" is a piece of pure pop perfection, and for my money is one of Sophie's top 3 songs ever.

The tracklisting for the UK version of this CD is as follows;

1. Catch you
2. Me and my imagination
3. Today the sun's on us
4. New York city lights
5. If I can't dance
6. The distance between us
7. If you go
8. Only one
9. Love is here
10. New flame
11. China heart
12. What have we started
13. Can't have it all
14. Supersonic

"Trip the light fantastic" is UK songstress Sophie Ellis-Bextor's third release, and the sound is guitar dance/pop.

Sophie first came to general attention on the Groovejet hit "Spiller (If it aint love)", a catchy dance number with a groovy bassline, and her detached, but crisp enunciation floating above it all, as well as her solo smash, the similar "Murder on the dancefloor".

Fans of those songs won't be disappointed. The violin filled "Me and my imagination", the disco sounding "If I can't dance", and the eurodisco sound of "Supersonic" and "New York city lights" are aimed firmly at the clubs, and they don't miss.

Lead off single "Catch you" is a catchy slice of guitar/dance/pop, as is the sunny sounding "Only one".

"If you go" is a melodic midtempo number with dreamy harmonies, while the dreamy ballad "The distance between us" is simply lovely. "Today the sun's on us" is a great chugging midtempo rock/pop number, rather Natalie Imbruglia-like.

"New flame" is an incredibly catchy latin tinged dance number, while the similar synth driven "China heart" (with lovely harmonies) has Giorgio Moroder overtones.

A very good pop record, which is a rare feat these days.

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. 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.

Some don't appreciate the subtleties that make this album a true gem. Today The Sun's On Us is one of Sophie's best works in my opinion; however, it did not do very well on the charts. Other stand-outs are "Catch You" and "New York City Lights". The album is perfect pop confection. Truly, EVERY song on the album is radio-ready with a great flow.

My only criticism is that I wish Sophie's record company would release her albums (US) State-side. Currently, the only available albums are imported.

After a long time searching for Read My Lips, I immediately got hooked once I got it. So I ordered both "Trip The Light Fantastic" and "Shoot From The Hip". Where "Shoot From The Hip" fails to live up to the expectations that rise after listening to "Read My Lips", "Trip The Light Fantastic" is right on par, sometimes even edging towards being better than the debut album.
This is especially true for the feel-good melody of "Me And My Imagination" and the too-much-nonsense-to-be-bothered lyrics of "Supersonic". Other favourites are "New York City Lights", "The Distance Between Us" and "China Heart".
We can only hope her 4th album will be as good as "Trip...".

I really like this album it was the first one that I heard from Sophie Ellis-Bextor and I simply love and I can't wait intil her next album is release.
I love every track on here except for one but the always the case anyway. Ms. Ellis-Bextor has caught me, and made me move to the music even if i can't dance; and pallet for British music soar to supersonic levels. I highly recommend this albumm to everyone.

Why the high price? I bought this in Europe for the equivalent of $10 after the exchange rate. Import prices don't cost $30.