Customer Reviews

Mind How You Go

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ahh, finally Skye's debut made it stateside, but i should warn you all, this is not a Morcheeba record. No reggae, trip hop funky sounds are to be found here.
The sweet velvety voiced singer gets to showcase her own talents in her mature debut and she's got quite a few gems up her sleeve with her own soothing chill out melodies and personal songwritting.
Love show opens the album with a very radio friendly hook and with some of the most romantic lyrics i heard in a while "sit down, give me your hand, i'm gonna tell you the future, i see you, living happily with somebody who really suits ya, someone like me", perfect love confession i might say. This is my top favorite track of the album (I hope it gets released as a single).
"Stop Complaining" is an insomniac's confession with a bit of a country music echo, I like this one alot too. "Solitary" is a melancholy piece with lots of tension, followed by "Calling" which has some acoustic guitars and really sweet lyrics "love is calling, open up, and let life shine, i'm calling", she's crooning sensual seductive and comforting.
"What's Wrong With Me" is the first single of the album, it's gotten quite alot of airplay on some local radio stations here in Boston, it is another confessional & mellow track where Skye expresses her worries, trying not to think of lots of upsetting things, basically daily live's annoyances and the situations that surround us (regulations, rain, empires and stupid fools, voice mails, emails, TV, the future), she's asking herself "What's wrong with me"? I'd say a more proper question would be "what's wrong with the world".
"No Other" is a hazy track that i really didn't get into too much, but "Tell me about your day" is another excellent track, the writting is excellent and so is her singing once again. She's talking about New Orleans in St. Patrick's day, describing the scenery while she's talking to someone far away asking them to tell her about their day. This could make an excellent single, the Electronic Valve instrument along with the violin sounds bring a uniquely sweet sentimentality to the track.
"All the promises" is a break up song, dramatic but quite dark, followed by "Powerful" which is another radio friendly track with more epic violin sounds in the background with more of a mainstream soft rock sound to it, and a bit reminiscent of her Morcheeba songs (Charango era time).
"Say Amen" is another dark and hushed track with a bit of hushed jungle undercurrents towards the end, again not a track i'm too fond of in the CD, but the last song "Jamaica Days" is simply divine. An acappella track that trully makes you travel along with its mesmerizing melody, a great finish to a great solo debut.
Skye is not breaking new ground with these songs, but it's a great start and a bit of a departure from what we were used to hear her sing with Morcheeba. I love her voice, i liked the arrangements and i really enjoy listening to her solo debut's confessional songs.

Though I've never heard a Morcheeba song, I thought I'd give their former vocalist's solo album a try. I'd heard rumours that fans of the group were less than pleased with the band's choice of replacement and was dying to know why. Though Skye's voice does not have the power of a Patti Labelle or the unmistakable tone of a Gwen Stefani, it does possess an unique calming effect, reminiscent of similar British artists ( Des'ree, Tracey Thorn) and "soft pop" vocalists from the 1970s Southern California scene (Brenda Russell, Carole King). Drawing from a wide array of influences, _Mind How You Go_ will appeal to fans as varied as those of Sade, Portishead, Dido, Sheryl Crow and Esthero, but lacking the name recognition enjoyed by any of those artists, it's likely Skye will be overlooked by brand-driven American audiences.

The album, itself, is both contemplative and ethereal. Lyrics full of insight, wit and emotion ("I try not to think about my TV and BBC and MTV/I try not to think about the rain") sail over melodies that feel lush, even in their simplicity. Skye's music is a secret garden...no, a secret sofa where listeners can curl up and hide from an unrelenting world, only to emerge refreshed, invigorated and ready to conquer.

The songs call to mind rain-soaked cab rides after midnight, the lights of the city transforming into jewels in the raindrops on the windows; sparsely populated revival houses showing black-and-white movies; assuming a new (or perhaps reclaiming your true) identity, while on holiday abroad; moving away from home and realizing, for the first time, that you're on your own and anything is possible. From the moment I pressed "play", I was flooded with memories of days from my own youth, walking the misty streets of San Francisco with the collar of my pea coat turned up against the weather, lamenting the conclusion of a romance. What kind of power must music possess, what kind of talent must a songwriter exhibit to evoke memories, the creation of which for which it was not present?

In short, every year, I try to produce a compilation for my less musically avid friends, which I call _The Best You Never Heard_. Though it will be difficult picking just one song from _Mind How You Go_, I am certain that Skye will be among the artists selected for inclusion.

The best thing in this record, despite her fabulous velvet voice, is that we descovered a brand new work. Skye does not try to emulate the sound of morcheeba, creating a soundscape of her own, making new fans over the world and keeping the old ones. The lyrics are great, the arrangements are simple but efficient and her voice is better than ever. I liked "the antidote", but now is clear that she needed to follow her own steps, in a different way, discovering her own path. A must-have to all morcheeba fans and to the people who didn't know her yet...

Skye's beautiful voice captivated me when she was the voice of morcheeba but she has surely come into her own on her latest work, Mind How You Go. I love the mix of her sultry, soulful voice against the electronic mixes and folk lyrics. She is one of the most talented artists out there today, and deserves to be recognized for it. I can't wait to see her burning up the T.V sets with a performance on the grammy's since that is where she is sure to find herself. I saw her live at Irving Plaza in New York and not only is her CD a joy, but the live performance solidified her talent as a true artist. Skye knows who she is and knows what her fans want to hear. This CD is a must for anyone who loves music; it slips in and out of genres so masterfully and I can't wait to hear what she does next. Great work Skye!

Of course, when an artist does a solo project - it's always a difficult line - sound too much alike the 'group effort' and people wonder why they bothered to do a solo or alternatively, choose a completely different path and turn off the "fans" of the group effort.

So, while these tracks and her performances are different from Morcheeba's, they are certainly not better. But that's a pretty high bar. Morcheeba has managed through over a dozen CD's & EP's to make art out of a melange of styles from trip hop to house to soul to funky - and everything they've ever done is intriguing, stylistic, original and interesting - hard to top that in any effort - nevermind a solo effort.

It's a pleasant effort overall of mostly pop trip hop, low fi trip hop or dance chill. Her voice is gorgeous but most of the songs are not very ambitious in scope - they are just pleasant ... she cover the same ground covered by Sade, Hooverphonic and Moloko. Nothing wrong with that at all - hence the 3-stars, a solid effort for fans of the genre but not one of the great CD's of the genre or the year and certainly not a 5-star classic.

I never heard any of Morcheeba's songs but I must say they lost a beautiful voice. I heard the samples on amazon and just had to buy it. No regrets and I'm looking forward to hearing more from Ms. Skye. My favorite is Powerful. My daughter and I listen to it dancing around the house feeling just that........ powerful. And this CD is POWERFUL!!!

Alright, I'm going to say this first. It is unfair to judge Skye's solo album by her success with Morcheeba. Morcheeba achieved a sort of blissful perfection while Skye was with them that I understand it may be hard to hear her voice without the music to back it up. But again, it is unfair to judge her album against those standards.

That said, what we have here is a mellow, pop-electronic-folk album with poignant yet transitory lyrics. Skye is obviously in a place right now where she just wants things to calm down and make sense. Take the song "What's Wrong With Me". The one constant line that is repeated throughout the song is "Try not to think about the rain". Even on "Love Show", she's trying to get her relationship to make more sense by convincing her lover that it's "painless letting your love show". I think we, as the audience we know we are, can entirely understand this period of searching inbetween periods of knowing exactly who and what we are and what we want. The very title of the album is a warning. Mind how you go. It has a vague sort of archaic feeling to it, like those old maps where, in the ocean read the words, "Here there be monsters".

In terms of enjoyability, I would have to say that "What's Wrong With Me" is probably the least enjoyable song. It's a fair song in it's own right, but I find it a little too repetetive. "Love Show" is a great song (and for an excellent remix, check out the CD-single) with a great melody, and her voice is infectious. My personal favorite on the record right now is "Stop Complaining". Like I said earlier, this is another song that is all about finding that calm, balanced place. She can't sleep, she can't find the melody. Everything is affecting her in some way, and she's trying to find solace in her relationship, allowing it to calm her down for a while longer.

While I would love to talk about the album more, I do think there needs to be some mystery that serves as the driving force for you, the consumer, to want to pick this up. I'll suffice by saying that there isn't a reason NOT to pick this up. It's going to end up being one of the hidden gems of 2006, and if you aren't in on the secret...well then...you were warned.

I have been entranced by Skye Edward's voice for years, so this album was a treat. Her smooth vocals are complemented with top notch production. One of my favorite Morcheeba tracks is Undress Me Now. That is how most of this album sounds. My only complaint is the songs are too short. When the song sounds so good, I hate having it end under 4 minutes. Still it is worth buying to put you your mind in a good place.

With a voice as smooth as silk, and light as air, former vocalist for UK trip hop trio Morcheeba, Skye, released her solo debut "Mind how you walk" almost a year ago. It's a very mellow electronic/folk/pop affair which I only discovered last month, and features loads of guitar, electronic strings, great songwriting, and that voice.

Standouts include the haunting and dreamy "No other", the more upbeat "Love Show", "Tell me about your day" with gently skittery beats and vivid story telling, "All these promises", "Powerful", and the mournful acappella of "Jamaica days".

My favourite however, is a bonus track; "Feel good inc.", which is a hypnotic cover of the Gorillaz hit. Her ethereal treatment of this brilliant song makes it all hers, making the Gorillaz version sound like a remake.

A breathtakingly beautiful CD!!!

Skye's album just got passed my way and it caught my interest instantly. Did you know she was the former singer of Morcheeba. I used to be a huge fan of them and had no idea she went solo. The album is great definitely take the time to check her out. Her song Love Show was even on Grey's Anatomy!!! For those of you who are Grey's fan you know what a big deal this is!!!