Thoughts on _The Red Shoes_

[rpk@world.std.com (Robert P Krajewski)]

Well, now that I've listened to it a bit, I'd have to say that in some ways
I'm still disappointed the direction that Kate has been taking, but I also
think this is a better album than _The Sensual World_.

Comments of some of the songs:

"Rubberband Girl" -- hey, this is pretty fun, especially with the just-a-bit
over-the-top vocal effects. One of the few instances where _Dreaming_-era
weirdness contributes, and to good effect.

"And So Is Love" -- kind of overwrought (but heh heh, wait until the
last track).  Umm, now why is Eric Clapton God again ?

"Eat the Music" -- when I first read about this track on Love-Hounds,
I expected a kind of stuck-needle mariachi song from Hell. Maybe it's
just the build-up /letdown effect, but I think it's one of the few
brave stylistic gestures on the album. And yes, it really is more like
Madagascaran music than anything else, although I detect a bit of
Carribean mente or calypso in there as well.  It's not really any more
repetitious that most African-derived dance music, I also like the way
the lyrics and the music work at cross purposes.

"Big Stripey Lie" -- way cool. Maybe Kate should do a *real* solo album !

"Constellation of the Heart" -- the first time I heard this (without
looking at the liner notes), I thought "this must be the Prince song,"
especially with the chunky guitar and some of the synth lines. But
it's not. Really catchy, should be a single.

"Why Should I Love You ?" -- a real mess. I'm a fan of Prince (up to
_Sign of the Times_, really), but this has marks of two studio
recluses who are politely letting each other get a word in edgewise,
but then trying to talk against each other a moment later, especially
the way that Prince's "rock" guitar gets buried under the chorus the
first time it appears.

"You're the One" -- almost scary in its expressionism, kind of like
Elton John's "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" kicking its way out of
the coffin and dragging its rotting corpse to Kate's studio.

As far as production goes, it's OK but I think that Del has taken the
odd way of trying to "simplify" things in such a complicated way by
using loops, and generally trying to synthesize a live feel in the
assembly process instead of just getting live ensemble performance in
the first place. Some of the drum sounds stick out like a sore thumb,
and some of the digital "gloss" degrades into crud.

The main problem with Kate's recent (in the odd sense that the last
five years or so can be considered "recent," but that's Kate for you)
style is that she's really not all that great a songwriter. She is a
*good* songwriter, but she's better as a kind of audio-filmmaker --
I'm not even convinced that she's a great assembler of other people's
talents when it comes to record production.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: she really needs to work
with a sympathetic yet firm outside producer. If she's going to
emphasize "songs" over "sounds," at least she ought to work with
somebody like Daniel Lanois. I suggest him because, despite his
distinctive production style, he understands very well that songs are
stories (well, they usually for "pop" music) and the job of production
is to amplify their effectiveness as such. Also, it doesn't hurt that
he can coax very good performances out of the people he's working
with.

Of course, this probably won't happen. Kate is pretty much wrapped up
in her own world, and at heart, I think she's just as much of a
control freak as Prince...