Melody [Enhanced, Import]

Sharleen Spiteri | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 22, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced, Import
• Label: Universal UK
• ASIN: B0017XFBR6
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #41,408 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. It Was You

2. All the Times I Cried

3. Stop, I Don't Love You Anymore

4. Melody

5. I Wonder

6. I'm Going to Haunt You

7. Don't Keep Me Waiting

8. You Let Me Down

9. Where Did It Go Wrong

10. Day Tripping

11. Francoise

Editorial Reviews

UK pressing includes a bonus enhanced track. 2008 solo album from the singer/songwriter and leader of Scottish Pop rockers Texas. Not only did Sharleen write the whole album, she also produced it, taking complete artistic control of its every sonic nuance. Steeped in the sound and textures of '60s Soul, '50s Rock 'N' Roll and Doo-Wop, it's an album that's vintage in flavor yet utterly contemporary in spirit. Beside the new generation of retro-obsessed UK songbirds such as Amy Winehouse, Duffy and Adele, it's a timely reminder that Sharleen was already dabbling in similar influences over a decade ago, be it Tamla Motown ('Black Eyed Boy'), Marvin Gaye ('Say What You Want') or Elvis Presley (cross-dressing up as The King for 2001's 'Inner Smile' video). Going solo has allowed her the freedom to indulge in such consuming passions even further, creating an album that proudly wears its influences on its sleeve. 11 tracks including the first single 'All The Times I Cried'.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Texas' leading lady gets a 60s makeover., July 22, 2008

By 

steamy blues - See all my reviews

This review is from: Melody (Audio CD)

"Melody" is a short but sweet selection of tracks which bear all the hallmarks of some of the most successful music of recent years, with the added element of Sharleen's vocals. We're talking laid back, end-of-the-night tunes that could be easily at home either on the dancefloor or in the background of a late summer barbecue.
The playlist is admittedly brief at around 37 minutes, but that doesn't matter too much, as it's good enough to put on a loop. In fact, with every track a winner one way or the other, the shuffle function might not be a bad idea to keep things interesting.
Generally speaking, quality definitely wins out over quantity on the debut solo album from the beautiful and talented Glaswegian chanteuse.
She is in fine vocal form, with that distinctive burnt caramel carapace pulling at the heartstrings as effectively as ever.
"Melody" is easy on the ear with plenty of sheen.
The 60s-infused Bondesque soul-pop is holler-along-while-you-Hoover fun, but lacks a Winehouse darkness.
Following Amy, Duffy and Adele, here's Sharleen, ex of Texas, with the mandatory Bernard Butler-produced, brassy, Motown-style heartbroken ballads about how her man done her wrong.
Actually Motown's Berry Gordy would find much to approve of in Spiteri's accomplished use of brass and rippling percussion in "Don't Keep Me Waiting", soul-laced harmonies in "You Let Me Down" and the glorious finger-clicking excitement of the Supremes-like "Day Tripping".
As this was intensely personal stuff, it was not something she wished to address on a Texas album. Now, with the band on hiatus, she has been able to pour out all the hurt and betrayal she felt into a succession of 60s girl-group pastiche numbers, somehow managing to say the same thing slightly differently on each of the 11 tracks, all packaged up with an image suggesting she's been stealing Dusty Springfield's eyeliner.
All in all, "Melody" is pretty good - especially the stomping "It Was You" and the smokily atmospheric title track - but, even to those who have never listened to the Supremes, the Four Tops and 2008's other omnipresent influences, it will seem pungently familiar.
The Texas front woman has made her "personal fantasy record", which has plenty in common, at least superficially, with the defining record of the last few years, Amy Winehouse's Back to Black, and one of the biggest-selling album of the year to date, Duffy's Rockferry, allowing the ghosts of Johnny Cash, Nancy Sinatra, Serge Gainsbourg and Elvis to direct the sound.
The glow of nostalgia is achieved, but it's all a bit bloodless..
That's the thing about "Melody" - it's pretty rather than gritty. It's a bit conservative too, choosing to replicate the sounds of the period instead of trying anything novel or adventurous with them.

White on Blonde
The Hush

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Spiteri Delivers, November 7, 2008

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Melody (Audio CD)

Melody is a beautiful album from Scottish soulstress 'Sharleen Spiteri'. She fuses soul with pop with ease and the sultry soothness of her voice can warm even the hardest of hearts. My favourite tracks are 'All The Times I Cried', where she dallies with McAlmont&Butler and 'Stop, I Don't Love You Anymore'. This collection, I believe, will stand the test of time and gets better with each listen. You can feel it in her delivery that she enjoyed making this album. Move over Texas, Sharleen is in the house.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than all of Texas put together..., September 13, 2008

By 

D. Hinson "godoylego" (atlanta, ga usa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Melody (Audio CD)

As a longtime Texas fan I was excited and apprehensive about Sharleen Spiteri's solo debut. I have loved Texas since I discovered a song of theirs on the "Bend It Like Beckham" soundtrack. I went back thru their catalog and found that they had recorded an amazing number of catchy pop songs that really appealed to my appetite for beautifully crafted and well-produced music. Their greatest hits cd is one of my desert island discs--amazing for a band that I knew nothing about until 2002. So I was optimistic but cautious when I read that Spiteri was recording an album in the vein of Amy Winehouse and Duffy. What a revelation the resulting cd "Melody" is! Spiteri takes the Winehouse traditional soul genre and makes it her own--in spades. From the beginning track until the last one, I am more enthralled every time I listen to it. It is an amazing album by one of the richest voices in popular music. Listen--you won't be disappointed!