Do You Want the Truth Or Something Beautiful? [Import]

Paloma Faith | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 29, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Epic
• ASIN: B00292BYO8
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #25,724 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Hackney-born 25-year-old singer Paloma Faith has been collecting critical acclaim throughout 2009, and it's easy to see why. Her songs shine with soulful pop perfection and the unmistakable stamp of her inimitable persona. She draws on influences as diverse as Billie Holiday, Etta James, P J Harvey and Edith Piaf. Like her music, Paloma's story never fails to thrill. In the lead up to her becoming a singer, she has been a magician's assistant, trained contemporary dancer, St. Martin's alumni with an MA in theatre direction, a performer in burlesque shows, and an actress. Paloma wrote her debut album in the UK, Sweden and America and recorded it entirely in London. The album features writing collaborations with Ed Harcourt, Jodi Marr (Mika), Greg Kurstin (Lily Allen, Kylie), Steve Robson (Take That) and Jorgen Elofsson. Epic. 2009.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a talent!, October 6, 2009

By 

Karen S. Simpson "Outtacontrol56" (A City by the Bay) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Do You Want the Truth Or Something Beautiful? (Audio CD)

I discovered Paloma on Never Mind the Buzzcocks and have fallen head over heels for her ecclectic style, pixie chic looks, and amazing voice. I'd heard her song "New York" but didn't place the artist until I heard it again. I've now seen a number of her videos and on hearing the entire cd just can't seem to get enough. I love her style, it is so different and I could listen to Stone Cold Sober repeatedly. I hope she stays around for a long time as her look and talent is quite refreshing on the music scene today!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars At once sensually earthy and theatrically camp, she is without a doubt unique and a breath of fresh air., November 24, 2009

By 

bollywood (Leeds, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Do You Want the Truth Or Something Beautiful? (Audio CD)

Some recents headlines described Paloma Faith as "the vamp who's not just another Amy wannabe".
Well maybe there is a lot more to the 24-year old Londoner than her stylistic resemblance to Amy Winehouse, but the Amy impression is what strikes you most forcibly about this album.
To speak in contemporary terms, throw in a dollop of Amy's soul into a pot, a dash of Duffy's melodies, boil in some of Lady Gaga's attitude and imagination with a sprinkling of Florence and The Machine's quirkiness and you may just create yourself Paloma.
Enough to make your mouth water...
The record is an echo of the half Spanish/half British singer's former life as a magicians assistant, former burlesque dancer and 'Agent Provocateur' employee.
All of these former jobs contribute to her sense of style, voice and presence.
It's there not just in the expansive reimaginings of classic soul themes, the boldness and brassiness of the arrangements, but even in the intonation, the exaggerated vocal inflections Paloma Faith lends to a song.
The overall sound of the album is a nod to the fifties with additional blues, a backing of r'n'b and a whole lot of soul.
Paloma name checks Etta James, Dinah Washington, Billie Holiday and Peggy Lee amongst her idols along with more recent artists like PJ Harvey, The Noisettes but also the latest Regina Belle and Jill Scott may come to mind as her big influences.
Every song and the album as a whole can be visualised as a luxurious big band performance or circus feature. The big drums, trumpets and the loud backing vocals create this highlighted presence of the petite siren.
That said, she's an excellent singer and there is some very solid material here, songs such as "Stone Cold Sober" and "Smoke & Mirrors" shot through with 60s R&B. The ballads "Stargazer" and "Play On", the latter a surefire success, hark back to an even earlier era.
Listening to the the bouncy Bette Midler-like "Upside Down" and the soulful torch song and current single "New York", which is picking up big interest everywhere in Europe and now also in US, it's hard to believe that she's from Hackney, Greater London.
Give her a chance an listen to this soulful albumm.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hits Hard and Never Lets Up, June 9, 2010

By 

Kevin L. Nenstiel "omnivore" (Kearney, Nebraska) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Do You Want the Truth Or Something Beautiful? (Audio CD)

Paloma Faith's self-conscious retro sound, with lush arrangements conjuring Swing Era visions, doesn't make her music any less contemporary. She cites influences including Billie Holliday and Etta James, but her music could hold any modern dance floor and not be out of place. It's a shame she hasn't broken through in the U.S., because her sound has broad, insistent appeal.

This complex, multi-layered album has multiple producers and musicians, though Faith co-wrote every song. That means the whole thing is unified by her vision, which seems to be resurrecting the high ideals of an earlier time. This is explicit in songs like "Romance is Dead" and "Play On," but you can feel that urgent message through the entire album.

Acts like the Squirrel Nut Zippers would use this album to record something which sounds like it was recorded before World War II. But Faith takes a harder road, bringing her retro ethos into the present. Her music is no mere anachronism or festival-circuit curiosity; she hits hard, speaks to listeners here and now, and uses her distinctive sound to carry a meaningful message.

Heavily played singles like "Stone Cold Sober" and "New York" give an accurate account of Faith's sound. This means that, if you've heard the singles, you won't be surprised or rocked out of your socks, but it also means this album isn't stuffed with filler like too many pop CDs. She starts strong, hits hard, and never lets up.

I can't stop listening to this artistically bold, sonically aggressive album. I can't find one track I dislike or would perform differently. She doesn't sound like other carbon-copy pop divas coming off the assembly line, and she isn't another dream factory refugee. Just one listen, and this album will imprint itself on you like nothing you've heard before.