That's Life

Julia Fordham | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 10, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Vanguard Records
• ASIN: B0002J4YLU
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #183,375 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

If you judged a CD by its cover you might believe that Julia Fordham's latest release "That's Life" would find the cool blonde a little edgier and a little more playful than her earlier efforts, but despite the more luminous hair, and the punk rock tank top, Fordham is the same well-mannered, careful singer on her eighth disc as she was on her very first. She smoothly steers her four-octave voice on a journey of graceful self-discovery while maintaining a rather chilly emotional distance as she attempts to make sense of herself, and her uncertain and eventually unraveling relationships. This British chanteuse--whose voice is a perfect balance of Christine McVie and Joni Mitchell--uses her throaty vibrato as a seductive weapon on "Walking On Water," as she ensnares a love with her poetry and promises, only to turn that purring lower register against him, on the rather cruel but stunningly beautiful "I'm Sorry," as she explains, "My mouth still says I love you, but I don't," while former Beatles compadre Billy Preston plays a sparse, anxious piano to echo the singer's elegant regret. It's all a little too civilized, yet there is an injured ambiguity that underpins the entire record, making one believe that perhaps Fordham was the injured party and this CD is really sweet revenge against a faithless lover. But whatever it is, this record works on a number of levels--every single one of them singularly satisfying. --Jaan Uhelszki

Product Description

The English singer/songwriters eighth album, her third with Larry Klein. Fordham's distinctive voice & songwriting skills put her in a category with Diana Krall & Tori Amos.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Skip the disc, catch a show, October 9, 2004

By 

JoAnn Whetsell (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: That's Life (Audio CD)

I would have loved to give That's Life a glowing review as I've adored Julia for years. Her output has been inconsistent, and unfortunately That's Life is somewhere in the middle to the bottom of the barrel. But always there's that voice. That gorgeous, seductive voice. That voice that's carried me through lyrics that made me cringe and not-particularly-interesting band arrangements in her less-than-stellar moments.

Her voice is as good as ever, but unfortunately the music is so sub-par, that her voice is not compelling enough to overcome it. I don't mind the songs being generally down-tempo; I mind the bland 70s style fake smooth jazz feel that most of them seem to have (partly due to too much Hammond organ). The few that don't, the few that are in her folk-pop vein (Perfect Me, Jump, Downhill Sunday) are much better and shine here among the general dullness. But even they are really only better-than-average songs. The only really good song here is Guilty, which was smartly placed last so as to salvage the album a bit.

I saw Julia in concert recently (August 2004) where she performed mostly songs from this album, and it was wonderful. She had a guitarist with her and sang and played guitar herself on a few songs. The songs were much, much better in concert than the versions on the album. So I'd recommend catching her live if you can; she also tells lots of stories and is very funny.

If you're new to Julia's music, you shouldn't start here. Porcelain and Concrete Love are far better albums. If you're a fan of Julia's, you may still want to buy this album as there are a few good songs, enough to make a decent ep. That's what I'm going to do.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jazzy, elegant, sexy, folkie & funky..., August 11, 2004

By 

J. A Rodriguez "jrod66" (Ft. Lauderdale, Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: That's Life (Audio CD)

Anytime Miss Fordham comes out with new music, I do not know what to expect. But one thing is for sure, I will always expect a quality product, and that is what she does this time with "That's Life". On my first listening, I was not sure what to think of it, but after a couple of more listenings I was started to be taken by it. She gets jazzy, funky and folkie (great band musicians by the way) through all her set of songs which again deals with her favorite subject matter: Love. Her writing continues to be solid as well as her singing. She posses one of the most haunting, expressive & seductive voices I had ever heard; a mix of Annie Lennox, Sade & Joni Mitchell all at once but all her own unique sound. That's Life is one of those CD's that keep growing on you more & more. Julia is a consumate artist and it's too bad that she remains somewhat non-mainstream, although she has her followers. I'll say, buy the CD and you'll see what I am talking about. I like ALL the songs on this CD but my favorites so far are: Walking on the water, Sugar, Jacob's Ladder, Perfect me, Connecting, That's Life , Jump & I'm sorry but; the others are as good too. At the end, I wish I would have listened to one or two more songs, since there are only 10 songs. Summing up, That's Life is a beautiful rare pop gem by an unique singer-songwriter.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You Gotta Have it!, August 16, 2004

By 

N. Poulos (Irvine, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: That's Life (Audio CD)

Hey if you haven't heard the new album from Julia Fordham "That's life" I just want you to know you are missing out on a great album especially if you love jazz like I do! I mean Julia's vocals are just amazing on this album. And, it reminds me of sitting in a café somewhere in an art community sipping on coffee watching the artist painting or a nice Sunday afternoon drive. Some of my favorite songs off the album are track 1 "Sugar", track 5"Downhill Sunday", track 8"That's Life", and track 4"Jump" The thing that attracted me the most to this album and I think you will agree is the lyrics blended together with the smooth melody and lyrics. I also just love the choruses in both the songs "Jump" and "Downhill Sunday". Take it from me you have to check this album out it is a guaranteed must have trust me you'll love it!