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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Scissor Sisters fans' delight! Just a listen or two proves it!, September 27, 2006
This much anticipated deluxe edition of Ta-Dah, the latest music put out by the Scissor Sisters, is an inevitable sure fire hit for fans of the group everywhere! Yes, yes, I know, they didn't do precisely this sort of thing before, but it works here anyway. Just PLEASE give it a couple of listens and it will be growing on you fast. The deluxe edition includes a bonus disc with six creative tracks in addition to the main disc with the songs put out on the regular version of this album. The quality of the sound is excellent, too.
The album starts off very strong with an infectious, catchy tune entitled "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'." Elton John is on piano! This title is immediately very ironic since this song is so upbeat, beautifully written and joyous that you WILL feel like dancing to it as early as a minute or two after the song starts! The second bonus CD features a re-mix of this song; but the version on the first CD will leave you restless to dance and panting for more.
Other great songs with awesome musical arrangements include "She's My Man;" "I Can't Decide;" "Land Of A Thousand Words" with its' dream-like, almost experimental/psychedelic musical intro; "Kiss You Off" which sounds like a mixture of pop and dance music and "Might Tell You Tonight" which reminded me of both The Bee Gees and some of Paul McCartney's earlier work from the 1970s. The final song, "Everybody Wants The Same Thing," appeals to the universal quest for happiness, doing the right thing for yourself, and sharing love. This song boasts a magnificent musical arrangement that ends the CD on a very strong note.
Indeed, the first CD is very strong throughout with meaningful songs and amazing arrangements involving issues of love, survival as we endure life's obstacles and a few traces of cynicism along the way for spice.
The second CD, however, rocks on in its own way. The songs here have a distinct dance music flavor as opposed to the mostly pop feel of the first CD. The songs seem to be more creative as they involve risk taking with musical arrangements that feel decidedly more experimental. Indeed, the Scissor Sisters add that "Contact High" is a demo version of the song; we don't get to find out here if they polished this song further. Even the last song, the re-mix of "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'," is very noticeably different in its arrangement. Food for thought! One major exception is the song "Almost Sorry" which deals with a relationship that isn't exactly going well.
And, of course, there's the packaging. Kudos to the reviewer who explained to us that you might try pulling out the right side of the box first to get the left side to release and come out! There's a CD enclosed on both sides: the main CD on the right and the bonus CD on the left. The package artwork is excellent; I liked the elevator theme and the fact that the "doors" of the elevator open as you pull out the two discs on both sides of the box. However, I did notice that it was somewhat difficult to pull the two sides out. I REALLY had to try to pull hard without damaging the box artwork! I may have bought a slightly defective box just by bad luck; I am not sure.
The liner notes are included in the "elevator pocket" that you will see after both sides of the box have been pulled out. The liner notes are superb! You get full songs lyrics with lots of credits, thanks to everyone who helped and a really nice picture of the band.
One unusual "special effect" is the Judy Garland dialogue near the end of the song entitled "The Other Side." At first I wasn't sure how it would come off especially when I heard it was dubbed in from her talking into a tape recorder late at night when she was not always a "happy camper." However, Judy's brief monologue fit in very nicely and it added a great deal of color to the song.
Overall, this is a great two CD delight for Scissor Sisters fans! Yes, I know, they didn't do precisely this sort of thing in the past, but this is still great music. I give it four stars mainly because I had so much trouble with the packaging. I didn't like that I had to read instructions (???) from another reviewer just to know how to open the box, although I am certainly very grateful to that reviewer who told me how to open it!
This excellent package is highly recommended for die-hard Scissor Sisters fans, fans of pop music, fans of experimental music, and fans of true creativity everywhere.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
More vaudeville, less disco, still as wonderful as the debut...and AWESOME PACKAGING!!!, September 26, 2006
I think this new second album is really worth the wait. It refines the quality of the Sisters' killer debut recording, and adds more music hall to their repertoire, making "Ta-Dah!!" (love that title, makes me laugh) a different listning experience. It's still a helluva lot of fun, but there is more melancholy here, and darker elements, which shows the fab five-some are not content to merely repeat themselves. Sure, there are familiar sounds all around here, but they are more streamlined. The band exudes musical growth here and many of the songs are growers; many of them don't reward you until the second or third listen. I think this is good, as if songs like these reveal their secrets right away, they will be rendered disposable. Here, these songs are richly LAYERED, with many complexities, both musically (writing and arrangements) and lyrically. Plus, it sounds very fresh, and will be an enticing record in 10 years. I love these kinds of records; they are delightful.
Now, the songs, I have no problem with the sequencing. At first, it seemed a similar order as the debut, with more ballads at the front and disco rock in the second half, but it's not that simple. I think you have to live with the record for a while before you can make any judgements. The first single, "I Don't Feel Like Dancing" is a fun oxymoron of a song, and it resembles Leo Sayer's "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" but not as disposable, mixed with an upbeat 70s Elton tune & a slight Bo Diddley beat. It's a good choice of first single and starts "Ta-Dah!!" off with a bang. All the songs are cool here, and an early fave is the delightful Ana Matronic-led disco rock romp "Kiss You Off", with a slam bang of a chorus. And I love how the album ends with the uplifting, gospelish rocker "Everybody Wants The Same Thing", leaves you feeling fuzzy.
Now, the packaging on this limited edition, talk about a deal, wow!!! This thing is an import pressing but priced enticingly cheap for Americans, like $11.99 here AND Best Buy!!! Unlike that one person, I LOVE this packaging!!! Really creative, novel, swell and cool. And I had no problem opening it up. What you do is you do NOT open the left side at all. You pull out the right side with your right hand while gripping the top and bottom with your left, and, the way it's designed, both sides open at once, like the elevator doors it's designed to be. Very simple really, but very VERY cool!!! Whoever designed this thing should get an early Grammy for best packaging, I'm serious!! Anyhoo, the sides open, with the flaps open and the discs are inside, "Ta-dah" on the left side and the bonus disc on the right side. The slick surface of the cardboard ensures that the discs will not get scratched up inside this package, unlike similarly packaged, booklike editions where the discs are directly on top of paper surfaces, if you know what I mean.
The 6 songs on the bonus disc (5 songs really and 1 cool remix of IDFLD) are more experimental. They are (I imagine) from the same "Ta-Dah" sessions, but didn't fit the flow of the album proper but are good enough not to leave on the cutting room floor. I haven't absorbed it all, but definitely, the best song here is, I agree, the funny "Making Ladies". There is also a free Best-Buy 3-track EP in BB stores, with 2 further remixes of IDFLD and another album outtake called "Ambition" which is swell, like a Steely Dan-ish jazz rock song with a satisfying & complex melody and arrangement. It's weird how the 12-track album, "Ambition", and the 5 bonus songs (no remixes) could have all fit together as a single 18-track 78-minute CD, but they broke it up into digestible pieces. I guess people complain about albums being too long and stuff, and here, they could have a point. "Ta-Dah" is a swell 47 minute and change ALBUM with a nice flow. Jake is in fine voice here, both in fine falsetto (the type of falsetto Daniel Powter TRIES to do on his album but comes up short) and velvety croon. The writing here, by Jake and Scott, is creative and melodic and fun, the arrangements top notch, the whole kitten kaboodle. Even the Judy Garland dialogue sample fits (on "The Other Side").
A fine fine job by all...an easy contender for album of the year.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Scissor Sisters Slice The Beat, September 26, 2006
With the deserved help of Sir Elton John on, "I Don't Feel Like Dancing", The Scissor Sisters continue on their unique road to pop glory. This is more of the same glam-rock, disco, dance ballad mixture that got them noticed on their debut and it still manages to work. "Ta-Dah" is electric metrosexual Bee Gees, except the vocals are simply Scissor Sisters (and that's fine). The dance beat is not quite as funky as the Gibbs dance period, but it's much, much more current. There is no doubt that the Sisters have created a niche long lost thrown away and have brought new life to it. Sure, they aren't quite Blondie, the Bee Gees or Elton john, but they sure get damn close and with the mix of all of these influences, they soar on nearly every song to a frenzied euphoria. The Scissor Sisters have been said to be the musical equivalent of "Jacks of all trades and masters of none", but they sure master what they have here and that is a feat in itself.
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