The Red Shoes (Rico's view)

[rico@dehn.math.nwu.edu (Rico Tudor)]

Kate's  "The Red Shoes"
=======================

Rubberband Girl (C)
	Not particularly catchy, insufficient development.

And So is Love (B)
	Straight ballad, 70's throwback.  Dig that electric organ.

Eat the Music (A)
	The happiest song on the album.  Rich, layered sound, and
	clear.  Close mic'ing of the strings is brilliant.  If you like
	ethnic music, say Linda Ronstadt "Canciones de mi Padre" or one
	of David Byrne's South American forays, you'll like Kate's way.
	The variations are subtle, the result is less like a song, more
	like a woven fabric.

Moments of Pleasure (C)
	Andrew Lloyd Webber, and I'm not being complementary.

The Song of Solomon (C)
	Hmm.

Lily (B)
	Genesis "Foxtrot" electric organ.  Likely to be revised to an
	(A).

The Red Shoes (A)
	A fully realized song, fabulous instrumentation.  Led-Zeppelin
	acoustic-guitar effect.

Top of the City (B)
	Fun.

Constellation of the Heart (B)
	"disco" in the words of a friend, but fun.

Big Stripey Lie (C)
	NK's violin lends a feel reminiscent of Anna Palm "Arriving and
	Caught Up".  Commendably strange, but that's not enough -- it
	doesn't gel.  Where's the tight structure of, say, "Under Ice"?
	Shame, I really wanted this to work.

Why Should I Love You? (C)
	Promising at the start, too bad about that chorus.  When you're
	Prince, every woman looks like Sheena Easton.  Almost fun.

You're the One (B)
	Funky electric organ.  Emotionally searing.  It's all very
	saddening, really.


CONCLUSIONS
-----------
Greater diversity than TSW, although more derivative.  Not that
derivative is bad (c.f. EtM).