Counting Down the Days [IMPORT]

Natalie Imbruglia

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 11, 2005)
• Original Release Date: April 19, 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Sony/Bmg Int'l
• ASIN: B0007YH6AG
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #152,421 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Counting down to this, July 13, 2005

By	E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Apparently married life suits Natalie Imbruglia.

After getting married in 2003 to the Silverchair frontman, the Australian pop singer/actress seems much happier and more secure. The evidence: "Counting Down the Days," her third album. Apparently the child-voiced singer is no longer "Torn," as she was in her debut, but is now "Satisfied."

"Starting today/I'm not gonna waste another moment/Even if I had had the chance before/I would have blown it," she sings at the start of the album, over a simple, upbeat little pop tune that is half keyboard, half acoustic guitar. That note carries over to songs where she talks a lot about home, "falling apart together," and the loneliness of long-distance relationships.

Those songs give Imbruglia's music a more , not the sort of "I met a guy and I'm crazy about him" love songs. The exception is "Shiver," a catchy song obviously destined for singledom. "Cause I shiver/I just break up/When I'm near you/It all gets out of hand." Catchy, yet rather trite.

Not every song focuses on marital bliss, however. "Satisfied" exposes worries about the future: "This knot could come undone/no matter how we try to keep it tied," she sings over a deceptively perky pop backdrop. Well, I gotta admit, who likes an all-happy collection of love songs?

It must count for something that the producer for Blur and the Doves, Ben Hillier, did work on "Counting Down the Days." The pop songs here tend to stick to ordinary guitar riffs, many of them acoustic-based -- a nice change of pace from the majority of light pop. Additionally, they are given some bells, organs and electronic flourishes.

Imbruglia's voice hasn't changed too much -- she still has that girlish Kylie-Minogue kind of voice. Not much of a range, but not unpleasant to the ear. She's able to carry off most of the songs here, though the writing descends to unpleasantly gooey in places. "You talk so much sense/when you're sleeping"? Adoring-the-sleeping-lover songs are overdone enough, without a line like that.

Expect a happier -- yet slightly insecure -- Natalie Imbruglia in "Counting Down the Days." Has several writing weaknesses, but a pleasant enough listen.