Pictures

Product Details

Artist : Katie Melua
Binding : Audio CD
EAN : 0802987008129
Label : Universal Music Group
Number of Discs : 1
Product Group : Music
Release Date : 2007-10-23
UPC : 802987008129

ASIN : B000TLPVYU

Track Listings for

Disc-1
1. Mary Pickford
2. It's All in My Head
3. If the Lights Go Out
4. What I Miss About You
5. Spellbound
6. What It Says on the Tin
7. Scary Films
8. Perfect Circle
9. Ghost Town
10. If You Were a Sailboat
11. Dirty Dice
12. In My Secret Life

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

There is something innately British about Katie Melua's appeal, her style reminiscent of former '60s UK legend Lulu, especially in songs that combine adult contemporary pop with a slight crooning style (“All In My Head,” “If You Were A Sailboat”). Whatever her je-ne-sais-quality is, Melua's popularity in Europe is massive; she has sold more CDs in Britain than any other female artist in both 2005 and 2006. At the time of the release of her third CD, Pictures, sales of her first two were at an impressive eight million sold and climbing. Many compare her sound and style to Norah Jones and Diana Krall, but that is quite misleading, as she is neither as bluesy as Jones nor as jazzy as Krall, landing in fact much more in the middle of the road stylistically. Cover songs are in short supply on this disc (unlike Melua's prior releases); Pictures contains only one cover tune, a Motown-affected Leonard Cohen song entitled “In My Secret Life.” While all the other songs are originals, many do significantly resemble Cohen cuts, pairing poetry with melancholy (“If The Lights Go Out,” “Dirty Dice”). One word of advice to the unfamiliar; the former Russian resident has a vibrato that at times approaches a warble, so although Melua's music clearly has massive appeal to an entire continent, North American eardrums would do well to preview her sonic wares prior to purchasing the whole disc. --Denise Sheppard

Customer Reviews

A quiet delight (2008-01-23)

Katie Melua may be the best kept secret of the current music scene in North America, even though she's become a household name in her native England. Singer-songwriters have always been a dime a dozen, but there's something endearing and quite identifiable about Katie Melua's music that sets her apart from her numerous cohorts."Pictures", her third album, is a quiet delight and a perfect soundtrack for the cozy winter days. The opening "Mary Pickford", which sports a lovely melody and the kind of charming intimacy that Melua's fans have come to love, immediately sets the tone; this is an album that suggests emotions instead of throwing them in your face, and the music itself serves as an eloquant proof that less is more. It's a perfect representative of what the eleven following songs have to offer : an album that is less oriented on potential singles, but more interested in exploring some diverse musical territory.The album could have used a few instantly grabbing songs (much in the way that "Nine million bicycles", "Thank you stars", "I cried for you" or "Halfway up the Hindu Kush" acted as catalysts on the singer's precedent album "Piece by piece"); yet there are many highlights such as the gentle "If you were a sailboat", her cover of Leonard Cohen's "In my secret life", "What I miss about you" and the bopping "Ghost town".Look elsewhere for an album to lift things up at your next party. But if you're looking for intimate, personal and melodic work, "Pictures" just might do the trick.

Some good songwriting and smooth vocals the third part of trilogy. (2008-01-02)

Katie Melua is, by her own admission, growing more confident with each new album.Hence her third offering "Pictures" embraces many of the same values that helped her to become the world's top-selling female artist in 2006, while drawing on a slightly broader sound.It's another assured piece of songwriting like her previous albums "Call Off The Search" and "Piece By Piece".Admittedly, first single "If You Were A Sailboat" did disappoint given its striking similarity to the likes of "Nine Million Bicycles". And there are songs on the album that don't really sound like Katie is stretching herself at all (such as opening effort "Mary Pickford" or "What It Says On The Tin").But there is also plenty to savour."Spellbound" is a really nice song that benefits from some really enchanting melodies and one of the most vibrant choruses on the album. It reverberates with positivity and sunshine values.There's a nice bluesy, R&B quality to "Scary Films" with the guitars, especially, adding some grit to Melua's smooth vocals - and the lyrics are well worth listening to as well."Perfect Circle" is a shimmering mid-tempo offering with another savvy chorus that's clear evidence of Melua having some fun ("the more you scratch, the more you itch").And "Ghost Town" employs a reggae-influence that helps to provide another sunshine vibe - it's lazy guitar riff helping you to kick back and allow Melua's soft vocals to wash over you."Dirty Dice" picks up on the cinematic vibe running throughout all three of Melua's albums with an essence of spaghetti-western culture and some sharp stabs of brass, while her take on Leonard Cohen's "In My Secret Life" brings the album to a suitably classy finale.My highlights : "Spellbound", "Scary Films", "Perfect Circle", "Ghost Town", "Dirty Dice", "In My Secret Life".

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