Customer Reviews

No Angel

5 star:		(563)
4 star:		(109)
3 star:		(49)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

I'd first heard of Dido, after watching "Sliding Doors" some years back, and becoming entranced with the gorgeous song at the end credits. It was apparent that the voice was hauntingly beautiful, but I couldn't trace it.

When I finally heard Dido again, on "Roswell" I immediately rushed to pick up "No Angel" and it's become a constantly played CD here at the office. From the breathless caress of "Here with Me" to the oft heard "Thank You", she can belt out a tune that speaks volumes of love's lost labour and hopelessness, with the freshness not easily seen in our pop-chewing-gum music video enhanced world.

Reminiscent of Sophie Hawkins, with the Gaelic touch of both Sinead and Kate Bush, she elongates heartbreak in the touching "Honestly OK". It is indeed, hard to find a song that isn't well done here.

Here's one CD I won't hesitate to recommend.

This girl is sensational. I've read the other reviews comparing Dido to Sarah McLachlan, Fiona Apple, Sinead O'Connor, etc. But in my humble opinion: She stands alone as a unique artist with an incredible soul to share with the world. Her lyrics are poetry, and the music has beat. "Thank You" and "Here with Me" are just two great songs that we've heard around; but this entire album has the same bittersweet and heartfelt emotion. Clive Davis definitely had insight when he signed Dido up for Arista Records. I've listened to this album everyday since I ordered it from amazon.com (two months ago), and still haven't tired of it.

I read other people's reviews and appreciate them, but never thought I'd write a review myself - until now. So take my opinion for whatever it's worth, but Dido's "No Angel" is worth the money and the all the hours of play that you can get out of the CD.

Dido's music has a way of sneaking up on you. I've been watching Roswell since the series premiered, and only recently did I feel the need to find out who it was that sang "Here with me." When I received the cd from Amazon, I listened to it in my office at work. Since I keep the office door open, I couldn't play it too loudly, because I did not want to disrupt my colleagues (what can I say, I'm a nice guy). "Here with me" is the first cut on the album, and it didn't really impress me. I listened to the rest of the album, and still wasn't impressed.

However, as I listened to the cd a second time when I got home, I was liking it a whole lot better. And the thing is, it gets better every time I listen to it. Dido's voice is natural and yet full of emotion. She never gets unnaturally loud. And the backing instrumentation is very professional, with a driving rhythm that doesn't get boring. The only other female singer I am familiar with who sings so naturally and emotionally is Sade Adu. Tracey Thorn of Everything but the Girl comes in a close second (Dido and Sade hit me closer to the heart). I can and do listen to "No Angel" several times a day now. This album is simply awesome. All of the songs are better than good, and they are not all cut from the same cookie cutter mold. Dido, like Sade, infuses her songs with a beauty that's timeless and emotions that will never fail to touch your soul. That is, assuming that you have one and that you are in touch with it :)

If you like stuff like "Possession" by Sarah Mac, you'll like this album. You might recognize her voice from "Stan" by Eminem, where they sampled her song "Thank You", although it seems odd that she would get used for that song. This is not avant-garde music, but wonderful and emotional pop music from a great British singer. It has the slow ballads, but also some good energetic tunes that should eventually go #1. It's well produced without sounding too electronic, as well as being good "day in the life" poetry (and not sappy like Jewel, for example). She's very talented, and not just another pretty face. If you enjoy U2, Natalie Imbruglia, Poe, Sara Mac, Fiona Apple, or David Gray, you're probably in the right mind-set for Dido.

Like most, my first experience with Dido came as a result of the non-stop radio play "Here With Me" received. As with many overplayed radio hits, I chalked the song and artist up as being one-hit wonders and wondered myself when I would get a break from this record. Then fate intervened and I for some reason ended up buying No Angel. Fate can be a good friend at times! This is truly a masterful CD. Overall, the CD doesn't offer a lot of variety in musical disposition or attitude (it's a LOT of scorned lover music), but Dido plays her tune well.

Radio overplay aside, "Here With Me" really is an outstanding song. Other favorites on the CD include "Don't Think of Me," "All You Want," "Thank You," and "Take My Hand." A jammin' CD, in my eyes, in one that can pack at least five amazing tunes--Dido does this and more. The jewel in this CDs crown is "All You Want." The track spins a tale of a lover scorned by a cheatering man, but still trying to get him back. However, the true beauty of the song is found when the last chorus section is broken up a bit by a change in the refrain (from "All you want is right here in this room" to "All you want is right there in THAT room). Okay--so I'm a sucker for well crafted lyrics, but the actual music is more than easy on the ears too.

Musically, I think her greatest risk, which also proved to be her biggest pay-off, is found in her final bonus track: "Take My Hand." This song is a mix of Rave, House, Chick Music, and intense feeling. Be sure to hear this in the bars soon, and maybe even on the radio. Overall, her sound is an amalgam of Fiona, Portishead, Sara McClaughlin, and [I hate to go here, but...] Jewel. I cringe a bit in making comparisons, because their is something truly unique about her style. In summation, it's more than worth a listen. I have personally known NOBODY who has purchased this CD and been sorry about it. I know I wasn't.

I haven't been able to stop listening to Dido's "No Angel" since I got it. This is the record the Cranberries wish they could have made after "Everybody Else is Doing It..." With a voice that combines the best of Beth Orton and Dolores O'Riordan, Dido soars, reprimands, lilts, croons, and coddles you through 12 entrancing songs. The songs on this disc are all melodically strong, lyrically potent, and inescapably catchy.

My own personal favourite tracks on "No Angel" are 'Hunter,' 'Thankyou,' 'Slide,' and the title track 'No Angel'. 'Hunter' is a propulsive, aggressive personal declaration of independence from a constrictive relationship. Establishing a scenario of female dependence upon men, the song quickly warns against male possession - "This queen you think you own wants to be a hunter again, wants to see the world alone again, to take a chance on life again, so let me go!" The pulsing beat of this refrain lets up near the end of the song, leaving Dido's voice accompanied by a sparse guitar strum, effectively highlighting the insistence of the message.

'Thankyou' emphasizes the strain of melancholia that runs throughout the album - as if to reach their upbeat conclusions, many of the songs need to go through trial and misfortune. 'Thankyou' does just this - a trip-hoppy beat and vocal present us with a miserable situation. Here, the song celebrates the reliability of a comfortable relationship; a phone call or simply being around the other person is "having the best day of my life".

'Slide' is a song of despair and the need for self-forgiveness. Just hearing Dido sing "It's all right to make mistakes, you're only human; inside everybody's hiding something" is wonderfully cathartic. Here again, a spare musical accompaniment allows you to revel in her lovely voice, conferring absolution, driving away the tendency to slide into defeatism and isolation. 'Isobel' is thematically similar. Having just run away, Isobel is encouraged to bear with the stress of recent personal turmoil, and assured of spiritual support. "It's been a long daaaaaay coming" - Beautiful!

'No Angel' turns the lens inward again - reconciling herself to human shortcomings. There is simply nothing whatsoever wrong with Dido's "No Angel," so go to the super-store and purchase it immediately. I adore it!

I first heard the amazing voice of Dido in the movie Sliding Doors. Her song played during the credits and I was mesmerized by her song THANK YOU. I purchased this cd last June and I love it! She has this airy, smooth and passionate quality to her voice. It's strange to be flipping through the tv and all of a sudden I hear some of Dido's songs...=) My favorite tracks on this cd are THANK YOU, MY LIFE, and HERE WITH ME. In actuality, I adore every song on this album. She has various styles emminating throughout the album. PLEASE GET THIS CD! If you love Sarah Mclachlan, you will appreciate Dido. I also recommend AMEL LARRIEUX's debut cd entitled INFINITE POSSIBILITES and EXTRA VIRGIN by OLIVE. I promise you won't be disappointed!

This woman has one of the most beautiful voices I have heard! I was lucky enough to see her in concert this year, and I bought the cd immediately. It's well worth the money especially if you enjoy the Cranberries. She sings the theme song to Roswell, so check it out and buy the cd!

Like many others here, I had never heard of Dido until I watched Roswell (TV's best show) and heard "Here with Me". I took a chance and bought the album, and it turned out to be one of the best music purchases I've made all year! If you like music that's kind of moody and soul-searching, then you will love this album.

'No Angel' was more than a promising debut. Most of us felt like: "What was that?" without a sense of what had "hit" us when the first chords of "Thank You" began to air back in late 2000, almost two years after the album first came out in the UK, under the vigilante eye of her brother Rollo (Faithless).

Now, in perspective, after the release of her recent "Life For Rent", this album feels like a promising debut where she was finding her true sound, opening up like a powerful Beth Orton, but closing up sounding a bit more commercial, along the lines of Sarah McLachlan. Most of the tracks have an overall downbeat sound, leaving behind a mellow sense of longing. Though extremely popular (even more so, after Eminem sent it out the roof), "Thank You" is not close to being the best track in the album. That privilege is left to the ballads "My Lover's Gone" and "All You Want", and the opening "Here With Me" which breaks the ice of her until-then musical anonimity in great shape.

In short, far from a shortcoming, but not as well crafted as her sophomore album, "Life for Rent".