Customer Reviews

Read My Lips

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I first bought the original version of this cd back in February 2002 and when a newer version with expanded songs came out I bought it again. Her voice is just incredible and so are the songs . This now has 4 huge UK singles on it :"Take Me Home"(#2),"Murder On The Dancefloor"(#2),"Get Over You"(#3) and "Music Gets The Best Of Me"(#14). This cd features a rolicking live version of "Groovejet" but to me the best tracks are still not released. To me the BEST song is "Is It Any Wonder" and this was put a B-Side to "Music Gets The Best of Me" and should have been the single instead. If she can become huge in America hopefully Universial can get a clue and release the song with new mixes and maybe hire Tom Moulton or Frankie Knuckles to do a classy remix!!! "Lover","Move This Mountain","By Chance" ,"I Believe" ,"The Universe Is You" and "Everything Falls Into Place" just are too good. This cd hopefully will be the start of a long and fruitful career.

With cover-page looks like Sophie's, it's easy to mistake her for a catwalk model. In fact, the gal exudes such exquisite charm on her face she could be mistaken as a model-turned-singer of sorts. But beneath all these, she has a good voice to match too. If you heard Spiller's #1 hit Groovejet from last year, you'd have heard her voice.

The former vocalist of The Audience showed up with her debut single Take Me Home (A Girl Like Me) which hit #2 on the UK charts earlier this year. A retro dance hit, the song showcases Sophie's pretty self and vocal talent. The song was produced by Damian LeGassick (KD Lang, Mel C, Madonna). Now back with another #2 hit, Murder on the Dancefloor which is also excellent disco hit that's co-written with Gregg Alexander of ex-New Radicals. It is a funky ditty that makes u wanna dance. Look at the cheesey video and you'll be amused no less.

All the 10 tracks here are co-written by Sophie and Track 9 is a Moby collaboration Is It ANy Wonder where you'll hear some trademark Moby sounds. Yes, it's hard for anyone to be able to work with Moby and this shows how much Sophie is a star in the making. Though the album may suffer from too much an ode to 80's pop and some filler tracks, there are enough songs like the trhree mentioned above, as well as a few more such as Lover, and Move This Mountain that sometimes thrill with a tinge of electronica and trip-hop. Of cos, Sophie's voice is a pleasure too; strong yet alternating with some softness in between.

This is not her best work yet. More to come.

Sophie Ellis Bextor's debut album is no shortage of fun. The best track, "Murder on the Dancefloor," is reason enough to buy the album. Other standout offerings include the glorious "Move This Mountain," the catchy "Music Gets the Best of Me," and the adorabley infectious "Get Over You." Like Murder on the Dancefloor, all of these tunes draw their inspiration from the flavors of seventies disco, but Bextor infuses them with fresh new sounds and lends them her flawless, upbeat vocals.
Bextor offers a couple surprises with the more mellow "By Chance," and 'Is it Any Wonder," both solid, though unremarkable songs, that demonstrate her range. "Final Move" is another nice, somewhat different offering, sounding a bit like the best of Seal if hybridized with Depechmode (in their less morbid moments). "I Believe" is a solid enough song, but draws much more on the pop rock tradition than the dancefloor sensibilites of Bextor's best songs. "Everything Falls into Place" is a cute, somewhat funky disco riff that reminds me a bit of the group Crush (Jellyhead, We've Got the Beat, Etc...) from a few years back.
Less thrilling are "Sparkle," which, though boasting an infectious tune, is a bit too mired in the 80's (and some truly grating synth sounds)for my particular taste, and "Undercover," which, while not at all bad, is profoundly unremarkable, and likewise laced with some new sounds which are a bit annoying. One can't fault Bextor for trying to find some new sounds, especially in the feild of dance musice, which is so frequently boged down by the same old crap, but occassionally she misses the mark.
The weakest track is "Leave the Others Alone," which can't escape the profoundly cheesy synth strings which dominate the song from start to finish and plunge it into the realm of the ridiculously overly dramatic.
All in all, Despite its flaws, I can still definitely recommend this album. It is well worth owning for its four best tracks alone, and there's plenty else here that's at least worth a listen. At it's best, Bextor's debut offering is a sublime dance sensation, at its worst, it's just plain old fun!

This is a sophisticated, classy pop album. The tunes are catchy and interesting, the production is very smooth, and the variety is pleasing. But that's not really what this album is about. It's really about Ellis-Bextor's voice, which is distinctive, rich, plummy, high class, and very British in sound.

The two single from the album so far (Take Me Home, and Murder On The Dancefloor) are, surprise, surprise, the best two songs on the album, but there's lots of other good stuff there too. The two singles are bright, catchy, disco-esque pop, real foot-tapping stuff (the CD is worth it just for these alone!). Other good songs are "Lover", another very catchy song, but less poppy, with nice fuzz guitar and infectious beat (this, probably, is the song I find myself singing most) - surely another single. "Move This Mountain" is a big song, slower, more serious, with chiming church bells, a good showcase for Ellis-Bextor's voice. "Sparkle" is a fairly fast song, its bass drum drives it along quickly, with synthesisers coming up close behind. This song is quite mesmering and captivating, as your attention is fully employed in keeping up with the song - another possible single. "I believe" is a quirky, jerky boppy song, with a kind of syncopated beat, and nice backing harmonies (nice driving, pounding bass line too!). "Leave the Others Alone" is a nice slow, faintly arabesque song, nice violins and acoustic guitar work, and a very good showcase for the voice. Check out "By Chance" to hear her classy British accent in its full glory, and to hear some nice sequenced synths and sound effects.

Overall, this is an enjoyable, catchy and slick album from a talented and distinctively good looking young woman (one friend of mine described her as "posh totty". Hey, you know who you are!). She's bound to go far, so why not get in at the ground floor? She has also recently been nominated for a Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist (up against Geri Halliwell, PJ Harvey, Dido and Sade, as an indication of the competition). One word of advice to the artist, though: even though this album is assuredly an excellent exhibition for her voice, she should be careful to keep the quality of the songs and playing as high as it is here on this album. It would be a pity if she concentrated on purely vocal songs, the surrounding music is vital, I think, to her sound. The only other criticism I have is that the sound is a bit thin - what I mean by that is that the sound stage doesn't have much depth to it, and stereo doesn't seem to be used much (most of the action takes place in the middle). These, though, are minor criticisms for what is a very good album, and well worth getting.

I imagine that the second album will be worth waiting for, but let's hope that we don't have to wait too long (keep up the momentum, Sophie, don't do an Air or Natalie Imbruglia on it and wait years for another release!). But this one is here now, and it's good stuff, so give it a go!

I first heard of Sophie while watching TV in Poland on vacation few years ago. The video for "Murder on the Dance Floor" came on and I was instantly enchanted. It was such a cute, ultra-cool disco tune, with catchy music, and Bextor herself had this porcelain skin, glowing pink cheeks and a fabulous green eye shadow. She was so fresh and so different that I fell for her charm instantly! So far I own all of her music but this is the CD you have to have! As her first solo project this little shiny disc is a pearl in the sea of bad music. I mean its hard to get excited when I'm so picky about music, and when so much of it out there is only semi interesting, therefore I don't review a lot of it, I simply don't have time to go on and on make something lukewarm sound appealing. This one is effortlessly lovely. I cannot praise it enough, and I think that UK comes out with some great dance and pop.

Even though Sophie is an ex model, her voice is so unique and beautiful that I know she is more than a pretty face. She really has pure talent that needs to be heard. Her music is fun, really unique, the melodies are all fabulous and I can listen to this CD over and over. I don't think I can ever get bored of it, and I have absolutely loved it since 2002 and 4 years later I am not even remotely tired of it. Her songs here are not all dance or ballads, they are so unique they are almost hard to describe. They are bit disco, electronica, synthesizers, pop and dance.

By the way "Murder on the Dance floor" will make you want to dance. I put it on when I'm in a funk, really loud and it cheers me up. Download the video and watch it, it will make the song even better.

This CD is something great to put on while you're having a party, or listening to it on your iPod while skipping in the rain, while driving in the car with the top down and letting sunshine bathe you, while relaxing or simply when you want some nice fresh tunes. Her music is cool, simple as that and I am positive she will have continuous success.

Ms Ellis Bextor has given pop a new lease of life.
She introduces and balladic, anthem like appeal to poppy catchy tunes and is more than a little inspired by 50's show tunes and 50's and 60's pop (watch some old Cliff Richard films if you don't get my meaning-I suggest "Summer Holiday"); her image is more than a little British 50's glamour puss too!
Her lyrics are witty and wry and seem very subtly supportive of a feminist stance, interestingly and rarely she also sings with a clear, crisp, British, almost BBC (circa 1955)accent.
Intersting stuff which breathes life into a genre that has become tired and predictable lately.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor is sort of like Kylie Minogue's less famous, more edgy, 2nd cousin. After the first couple of listens, tracks like "Murder on the Dance Floor", "Get Over You"(my favorite), "Music Gets The Best of Me" and "By Chance" stand-out immediately as pleasurable dance music that sticks in your brain. However, after several other listens, tracks like "Universe Is You" (where she sounds like a 21st century Debbie Harry), "Is It Any Wonder" (reminiscent of Dido and Jem) and the live track "If This Ain't Love" surface as proof that Ellis-Bextor is more than just a vapid pop dance Diva.

She has the chops to back it up and the original delivery to make more than just a passing mark on the music scene. Here's hoping the music industry takes more notice.

Sophie Ellis Bextor thrives on retro-funk, sometimes undeniably campy like on the track Sparkle. The original issue of the album missed out on two greater tracks now issued as singles - Music Gets The Best Of Me and the ultra catchy eye-ya-eye-ya-ya Get over You as well as the live version of the #1 hit Groovejet by Spiller.

A re-issue with extra tracks suggests that some of the original material are perhaps more filler pop that would not have performed well if released as singles. The reissue completes the picture. There's the funky retro of Gregg Alexander in Murder on The Dancefloor and Music Gets The Best Of Me, the futuristic GeT Over You, the disco dancing Take Me home and the trip-hop I Believe and Is It Any wonder, the latter helmed by electronic maestro Moby.

Bextor tries everything and anything but the distinctly playful disco vibe of the yesteryear resonates far and between. Doesn't hurt that she has a pretty face and voice! Definitely a star with disposition on the rising.

Kylie Minogue and her amazingly curvy backside may currently be gripping the US, but it looks as if the UK has finally produced an artist who I think will surpass Miss Minogue (and possibly even Madonna) in almost every department in the not too distant future. Read My Lips opened to some really cruel reviews when it was initially released though why I don't know. One reviewer said that the album sounded like something recorded `by the Human League girls after Phil Oakey had popped out of the studio briefly for a pizza'.
It doesn't surprise me that media opinions of Sophie are already beginning to thaw to the point where she is praised.
Sophie Ellis Bextor is just 22 years old and is blessed not only with drop dead gorgeous looks but a deep and distinctive voice that brings back welcome memories of Debbie Harry.
Sophie's first brush with fame came with the indie band The Audience before she provided guest vocals for Spiller's huge dance hit Groovejet (If This Ain't Love) in 2000.
Like many others, I really didn't expect much from Sophie's first solo album. Take Me Home was fairly likeable beating most of the manufactured rubbish in the UK charts whilst the 70's disco inspired stomper of a single `Murder On The Dancefloor' took it to another level. However, few were expecting that her album would be a heavenly mixture of 80's inspired analogue pop. Like Empire State Human's album Pop Robot, melody is the key on Read My Lips. With Sophie having co-written most of these tracks (something Kylie never attempted on her debut back in 1988), the whole emphasis is on that previously long dead notion of pure pop heaven (whatever people say about 80's music, it was all driven by melody). Again I have mp3 file sharing to thank for allowing me to discover Sophie's melodic side and on the strength of those few tracks, I bought the album.
Lover is the first hint of analogue magic and rumoured to be her 3rd UK single but the two real gems are Sparkle which almost has a hard industrial edge to it (Mode circa 1984), and the album highlight Final Move that sounds like a heavenly cross between early OMD and Talk Talk. Final Move contains a warm analogue lead and it's a brilliant slab of melodic melancholy. I think the guys in Empire State Human would love this track.
US innovator Moby turns up as co-writer on the brilliant Is It Any Wonder. All impressive tracks whilst there are also minimalist shades of Bjork on some of the other album tracks. The final song Everything Falls Into Place is pure Human League (sounding similar to 1990's Heart Like A Wheel), and it's no surprise to hear that fans of both the League, Depeche and other classic electronic acts are embracing her as one of their own.
Read My Lips contains a variety of pop songs rarely seen nowadays from UK artists and in the age of all the plastic, happy, smiley boy bands, Sophie is being regarded as the UK's last best hope for pop. The album is fast approaching platinum status in the UK and hopefully it will serve as a warning to all the cynical record company execs that keep spewing out cover versions of ballads. Here is a UK artist who not only looks beautiful, but also has a voice and song writing talent to match (few of her competitors can boast any of these assets).
From the unexpected quality of this debut (it even beats Madonna's first album), one wonders how high this rare talent will rise. Sophie has already co-written five more tracks with Moby that have been saved for her next album and I hope she continues to work with Marco Rackascan who produced and programmed the synths on this fine debut.

...is probably the best term I can come up with to describe this album. Sophie Ellis-Bextor's songs with the smart lyrics (and that gorgeous voice!) will make you want to strut down the street feeling all sultry.