Left of the Middle

Natalie Imbruglia

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 10, 1998)
• Original Release Date: March 10, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B00000638L
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (318 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,688 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

A cross between Alanis Morissette and Kylie Minogue, you couldn't engineer a more likely late '90s pop star than Natalie Imbrugila if you tried. Blessed with a stunning bone structure and a passable voice, Australian soap star Imbruglia and producer Phil Thornally turned Ednaswap's gritty "Torn" into a swirling pop confection. Nothing else on her debut quite matches it, in part because Left of the Middle hews closer to the center than it cares to admit. Imbruglia manages to touch on a wide range of female styles--angry ("One More Addiction"), electronica ("Big Mistake"), and yearning ("Smoke")--without leaving her fingerprints on any of them. --Steven Mirkin

Product Description

Italian digitally remastered gold CD reissue of 1998 album, packaged in a digipak. 2001. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic Debut...That Everyone Bought For the WRONG Reason!, March 6, 2003

By	Rudy Palma "The Writing Fiend" (NJ) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Who can believe it's been 5 years since this one? I know I can't. In any event, it is still as excellent as it was then, and it is one of the most enduringly listenable discs in this reviewer's lengthy collection. It is a real shame that her sophomore album, released almost a year ago this week, did not sell nearly as many units and was almost completely commercially ignored. That just goes to prove one thing: No one bought this album for the right reason!

The fact is, though "Torn" was a cover song, the rest of the tracks were written by her (except for the catchy but unnotable Don't You Think?) and are all as good or better. The true highlights here are...

ONE MORE ADDICTION "One more addiction floating down the river out of sight forever from my world It's the only thing I know how to do"

WISHING I WAS THERE "Can't leave things well alone understand I'm accident-prone Me? I break free Every night the moon is mine But when the morning comes Don't say you love or so say you need me I really don't think that's fair I'm not so dumb But when you leave me I'll be wishing I was there"

SMOKE "Mum's lookin sad What's up with that?...Bleeding is breathing I saw you hiding beneath the smoke in the room"

INTUITION "Intuition tells me how to live my day Intuition tells me when to walk away Could've turned left Could've turned right But I ended up here Bang in the middle of the real life"

CITY "Doesn't really matter where you wanna take me...away from the city I wanna start again I wanna take it back I wanna start again"

LEFT OF THE MIDDLE "But it's something I can't say Though it seems the other way And it's a game that I can't play...not today I need to tell you Trying to get through Is not always easy left of the middle".

This is truly an awesome debut. Her lyrical and vocal prowess speak for themselves. Natalie somehow slipped between the cracks of the US market, and as a result she may well be on VH1's Top 100 Greatest 1-Hit Wonders List one day (not in the UK, where the hits still come), and for reasons not deserved. "Left In the Middle" is nearly 5 years old now, and has absolutely proven itself to this listener an album that defies age.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MUSIC ARTIST OF THE YEAR!, January 22, 2000

By	A Movie Viewer (Hawaii) - See all my reviews

I've had Natalie Imbruglia's left of the middle ever since December 1998! I LOVE this CD! It has powerful lyrics, unique sounds, and Natalie has an awesome voice. Compared to Alanis Morisette, I like Natalie better. Why? Well, Natalie's music seems better pieced together and has a more well-rounded meaning, while Alanis's music is downright ANGRY! Some of Natalie's music has strong angst lyrics but sweet music (like Pigeon and the Crumbs). My favorites are Torn, Wishing I was there, Smoke, don't you think?, intuition, and city! Actually, I LOVE all her songs on this album. IT'S AWESOME AND IT'S A MUST-HAVE!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique and unbelievably good, June 18, 2004

By	W. Scott Heitman (Gainesville, Fl United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Ok, so I'm a little behind the times, but I just got Left of the Middle and- I must say- the entire album if VERY impressive. So many female vocalists sound identical in today's pop world- i can't speak for her other album, but this album has a very unique, catchy sound to it. Her voice just has this incredible edge to it. If you like female rock/pop vocals, then don't pass this one by!!!!!