Film Review

09 January 2009 03:41 BST

Sharleen Spiteri: Melody

Mercury Records, out now.

In a nutshell...

Upbeat and just... gets... better.

What's it all about?

Sharleen Spiteri says that she only ever sits down with the intention of writing a hit song - when she sits down to write at all, that is. Her assertion holds water with this short but sweet selection of tracks which bear all the hallmarks of some of the most successful music of recent years, with the added element of Spiteri's vocals. We're talking laid back, end-of-the-night tunes that could be easily at home either on the dancefloor or in the background of a late summer barbecue.

The playlist is admittedly brief at around 37 minutes, but that doesn't matter too much, as it's good enough to put on a loop. In fact, with every track a winner one way or the other, the shuffle function might not be a bad idea to keep things interesting.

Who's it by?

Best known as the voice of 90s chart-toppers Texas, Sharleen Spiteri has finally made the decision to go it alone - and many of her fans might think it's about time. But then, Texas always were in it for the long-haul, from their 1989 debut I Don't Want A Lover through to later works such as Summer Son and Say What You Want.

Throughout that time though, Spiteri's voice was the thread stitching all their work together, making Texas seem more like 'Sharleen plus band' than a shared-ownership outfit. Her distinctive and dulcet tones continue to provide identity to this new album and, while the rest of Texas may not be along for the ride this time around, fans shouldn't be too disappointed if they keep an open mind.

As an example...

"All the times I've cried/All this pain I've tried to hide/What am I supposed to dream/When nothing's ever as it seems?" - All The Times I Cried

Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys

There's a pretty good chance of an award or two here - I'd say Sharleen's well respected enough within the industry that her striking out alone may have put a smile on a face or two.

What the others say

"Sharleen Spiteri's first venture into the artistic lebensraum of a solo career after more than 20 years fronting Texas has Radio 2 Album of the Week stamped all the way through its precision-tooled centre." - Michael Quinn, BBC Music

"It is the most convincing thing that she has done, her voice far better suited to rhyming pop cliches than it was to the pseudo-rock confessionals of Texas." - Sophie Harris, Times

So is it any good?

Sharleen's beautiful, talented, and both of her names start with the same letter. Yet, despite the similarities between the two of us, I never actually bought a Texas album. I suppose that should put me on slightly dodgy ground when it comes to assessing the quality of her solo work. But in fact I'd say it gives me the chance to lend a fresh ear, unbesmirched by any album-fillers Texas may have recorded over the years.

I can say for sure that no such padding takes place on Melody - every track could easily appear as a Sharleen Spiteri single in the coming months. But then, with digital downloads allowing people to pick and choose songs from albums, that's just good business sense these days.

What I would say to anyone thinking of buying Melody in actual, physical compact disc form is that it is pretty brief. If you're the sort of person who judges the quality of an album on how much of the underside is still shiny, bear that in mind. Generally speaking though, quality definitely wins out over quantity here.

8/10

Bob Bardsley

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