Customer Reviews

That's Life

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

 

 

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.

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.

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!

This cd continues to present itself to me as a perfect rainy Sunday album.
Julia Fordham's return to muted jazzy-pop will likely disappoint some new fans who jumped on board for "Concrete Love", but will delight us long-time fans as always. Her mellow mood melodies are often portrayals of difficulties without wallowing in self-pity, but the upbeat rythyms of "Concrete Love" haven't returned. On its own this is a perfectly lovely cd, and I will treasure it with all of her recordings, but I must say it would have been nice to have a cd from her that is a bit "stepped-up", and I think that a little more energy would have enhanced her commercial popularity as well. Perhaps she is not seeking commercial success- and then bravo to her for producing another lovely collection of tunes. Individually each song is a Julia Gem, "perfect me" is so Joni Mitchell it is almost uncanny, "i'm sorry but..." has a bit of funky rythym, "connecting" is an intriquing nugget worthy of study, and each is worthy. This being said there is a tiny something missing...and certainly enough space on the cd to have put it (41 minutes of music total). Even the lovely album art has bright energy, that the music doesn't quite generate. In sum, a great work from a great artist, not her best, and not what I think will bring her commercial success-but heads and tails above 99.999% of what else it out there...Now if she would just find a better venue than Joe's Pub to play in NY....

Julia Fordham can do no wrong in my book. I've rushed out and bought every CD on the day it came out since her debut. But she can do better than this. I wish she'd continued to mine the warm, R&B-influenced sound she and Larry Klein developed on " Concrete Love." "Jacob's Ladder" does exactly that--and it's one her best tracks ever. It has an excellent bassline that really propels the song. "Perfect Me," though not especially funky, is classic Julia--delicate, thoughtful, and absolutely beautiful. But tracks like "Downhill Sunday" and "That's Life" just meander around and waste the considerable talents of everyone involved. And "Sugar" is flat-out snooze-inducing. The Amazon.com reviewer definitely got one thing right--if only the sound matched the T-shirt!

I love her voice and really I think she is not one of the most underated vocalist of all time, she is the most underated. I really like this album because musically is simple but the lirics talk about the same is a special way. The voice is incredible, as always but this time IS very familiar and close. I love you Julia Fordham What can a big fan say about your artistry?

This CD from Julia Fordham is another solid effort. Though many fans will always be searching for the next "Porcelain", this effort is not quite equal to that one. But the soulful, funky feeling established on "Concrete Love" dominates, making tunes such as "Jacob's Ladder" and "That's Life" winners. "Downhill Sunday" is classic Julia, with great lyric twists and irony. The band on this is again fantastic - how could you go wrong with these session (and live) pros? I continue to wish Julia would be more well known to a broader audience, but take pleasure in the fact that I've loved her stuff for years (thanks Eileen!).

Julia' absolutely intoxicating jazzy voice was the first thing the drew me to her music. Her lounge piano melodies are a masterpiece and she has a style that shines on other great female singers such as Joni Mitchell and Billie Holiday. This album is lovely but I just found out that Julia Fordham has a new album out called China Blue and it's available on the site called NovaTunes.com. I actually just lisened to the entire album on there and it's amazing. If you love this album, go listen to China Blue. It'll blow you away.