Search - Katie Melua :: The Katie Melua Collection

Hits Album is the Way To Go

Jim Kelsey | 10/20/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I picked up Katie Melua's greatest hits album after doing a lot of research listening to her music on YouTube and Comcast. Being of the '80's generation, I feel that I'm usually out of touch with today's music and try to make concerted efforts to listen to what's current. Most of today's music I don't care for - the melodies are lack-luster and the arrangements sterile.



What drew me to Katie Melua's music was the MUSIC. Being that music is my profession (I have an MA in composition), I may tend to be a bit more critical than most reviewers. The melodies are well-constructed, not too repetitive, and the hooks catchy. For the most part, the arrangements are simple and very easy to listen to. Her style is very melancholy and reminds me of Gordon Lightfoot meets Natalie Imbruglia (her 2nd album, anyway).



There is a lot of variety on this album, from slow ballads to upbeat blues. My favorite tune off this set is "Nine Millions Bicycles." The theme is comparing the depth of the singer's love to the number of bicycles in Beiging, China. The melody is beautifully written and upon closer examination, one discovers the use of the pentatonic scale - very cool choice on the composer's part.



"If I Were A Sailboat" is another hit along the same genre as "Bicycles," as are about half of the songs on this hits compilation. I love the melody in "When You Taught Me How To Dance," especially the bridge when she sweeps up into her head voice. Another favorite of mine is "Spider's Web," a melodic song and one of the few that she composed on the set. She has three upbeat tunes, the spiciest of all is "Two Bare Feet." I haven't quite figured out the lyrics (perhaps due to ignorance), but I really like the background music, especially the brass and the piano solo. A very exquisite solo, indeed.



The downside to the album is Katie's immature voice. Don't get me wrong - the tone quality is gorgeous and she demonstrates a wide vocal range. However, she scoops the notes on just about every phrase - even in the middle of phrases- and that gets annoying after a while. I tended to look past it because the music is so good - after all, I bought the album; however, hearing it on every song means that it will be like that on her regular studio albums. So....unless she changes her technique, this will be the only album I purchase.



Katie Melua is a young artist with a great future. She has tapped into great writers, musicians and has great potential. Usually I'm not a "hits" person, but for this artist, that's where it is for me.

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Ok, Wow!

PJY | Cumming, Ga USA | 08/11/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Nora Jones and Madeleine Peyroux are two of my favorite contemporary female jazz singers. Both possess that smoky vibe that captures your imagination. You can now Katie to that list. As young as she is, she has control that is surprising and a range that sounds effortless. The first time I listened to "Nine Million Bicycles" I was hooked. This is passion at its zenith. Not as smoky as Madeleine in her vocals, she is closer to Nora but the fact that she writes the bulk of her own music and she makes it all sound so easy just makes you smile. She isn't known in the States and that needs to change. Too many are missing out on this European star.



This is a "Best of..." type of CD which is surprising since she only has 3 CD's out and hasn't reach a quarter century in age. But regardless of that, or because of that, this is a CD I'm glad I took a chance on purchasing. "This is the Closest Thing To Crazy" opens the CD and harks back to jazz of the 40's. It is just plain good and sounds like you've heard it before - for the first time. As I mentioned, "Nine Million Bicycles" is just pure passion. "What a Wonderful World" is a remake which is a little slower and easy than Louis' version but it works. "If You Were a Sailboat" is full of sensuality and a tune you can't wait to hear again.



A great voice and great CD.



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