Lipslide

I would have given this 5 stars BUT....:
Without question, "Lipslide" is a fantastic, uplifting, 5-star album..... in its original form. For folks in the U.S. who are interested in purchasing this, I suggest a) buying the U.K. version, or b) buying this U.S. release PLUS the follow-up "Kelly's Locker" EP. For some inane reason, the U.S. record label removed some of the best tracks from the import and substituted them with tracks that really aren't as good. Thankfully, the omitted songs do show up on "Kelly's Locker".... either way people are stuck shelling out a little more cash, but in the end its worth it. WHY the U.S. record companies continuously ignore good music because of its "lack of commerciality" is beyond me, and why there was a 2 1/2 year gap between the British release of the album and the American release is an even bigger mystery. If you want REAL sunny, breezy, intelligent POP music, throw out that awful Christina Aguilera & Mandy Moore - this chick this the REAL DEAL.

On her own!:
Sarah Cracknell is good at what she does whether she is working with Saint Etienne or not. "Lipslide" is a fantastic album and I highly recommend buying it. It revisits some of the territory earlier tread on Saint Etienne's "Tiger Bay" and I love it! "Coastal Town," "Home," and "Goldie" are particularly excellent. Enjoy!

Pleasant light dance, light chill and a little alternative.:
This is a nice mixture of dance, chill-out and alternative rock. Cracknell's vocals are elegant enough for the easy-going dance and Chill-out vibes but work well for here acoustic diddy: "Oh boy..." Now as for that Christina Aguilera and Mandy Moore album. I really wish people would not use their reviews to bash other artists.

One of the best pop albums out there.:
Picked it up based on my being a big fan of STE, and not knowing what to expect, and what an incredible album.

SMOOTH, SMOOTH SARAH:
Sarah's voice is so sickeningly smooth- it's just unbelievable. Her voice is the polar opposite of Diamanda Galas' another favorite artist of mine. Tracks I like include: "COASTAL TOWN"- dancey and uplifting; "4 months,two weeks"- very dramatic, makes me teary-eyed-damn; "Aussie Soap Girl"- a fun, flirty uptempo pop tune; "Anymore" which was released as a single, accompanied with a video that's available on the interactive edition of the cd. The music is quite different from her group's(SAINT ETIENNE) material. Basically Sarah is conveying her songs about a woman's healthy attitude towards life and zest for life and about a woman scorned and hurt( 4 Months, 2 weeks). But mainly most of the songs have positive messages. A great first solo effort by Sarah Cracknell.