Search - Cristina :: Sleep It Off

Such elegant decadence

Pieter | Johannesburg | 10/19/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

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This rare and beautiful album from the prestigious Ze label has been re-released with 6 additional tracks, including the brilliant single Things Fall Apart. When Sleep It Off was originally released, a critic dubbed it "the real follow-up to Marianne Faithfull's Broken English." There are resemblances, but Sleep It Off is less bitter in its moments of despair and Cristina's tongue is often in her decadent chic. With strong melodies and memorable words, these songs resonate with timeless appeal.



Every track is unique, but The Lie Of Love and He Dines Out On Death have always been my personal favourites. The first is a devastatingly cynical portrayal of a successful urban couple, their weaknesses chillingly portrayed in poetic lines like "she does just takes lots of pills while he plays games that pay..." and "she gets the grey blues, he gets the mean reds." He Dines Out On Death tells of the social life of a young man after the death of his girlfriend and is a masterpiece of irony and cynicism.



Cristina's gripping version of Van Morrison's Blue Money also stands out and fits perfectly into the mood of the album, reflecting the theme of songs like Ticket To The Tropics and What's A Girl To Do with its reference to stained sheets. Of the new tracks, the unforgettable Things Fall Apart is still as poignant as when it was released 14 years ago. This heartbreaking story of a miserable Christmas is made all the more moving because of the deadpan vocal delivery and air of resignation.



The other new tracks are good too, both those from the original Sleep It Off sessions and the Compass Point tracks. Ze Records were famous for their mutant disco, but this is a pop-rock album through and through, with the possible exception of Things Fall Apart (although I cannot imagine anybody wanting to dance to such a sad song). Like Faithfull's aforementioned Broken English, this album has stood the test of time very well. I also highly recommend the Ze Records compilation Mutant Disco.



I wonder what the delectable Ms Monet-Paolozzi is doing now? It would have been impossible to equal this album, which had disappointing sales way back, so maybe she just left the music business. But Sleep It Off will forever remain a monument to her considerable talents, the ultimate manifesto of elegant decadence in rock music.

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Pure Decadence

Mean Mr. Mustard | manhattan nyc | 01/09/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"i originally owned this lp when it was released in the early 80's..i spotted its return on amazon...and quickly ordered it and its follow up lp......sleep it off is a jewel of an album all these years later...you want camp...listen to "dont mutilate my mink" that title alone tells you where this lady is coming from....sheer decadence...its a hybrid of early 80's new wave and dance rock music...it includes 6 extra tracks as well including prince's "when you were mine"...her version of kurt weil's "ballad of immoral earnings" is astonishing, besides a manic version of van morrison's "blue money" all other tracks were written by her and mostly don was...this album sometimes echos the early work of john cale as on the tune "rage and fascination" its obvious that this lp has really stood the acid test which is time.....and its done it a great fashion...her voice is cold and detached..her sarcasm is on the money..the song "he dines out on death" quite nicely sums up this absolutely brilliant album...the package also comes with pics never seen before and a very informative booklet...this album is a far cry from the christina(aguilera) of today...and therein lies the problem with the music of today...no "rage or fascination" umm where have i heard that before....buy this cd now..."

Round Two: Cristina ditches disco

A. Griffiths | London | 07/15/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"The first of the two Cristina re-released CD albums is a whole load of fun, but fans of that one need to be aware that there's no trace of disco on "Sleep It Off", and it comes over as a bit more serious. Cristina is undoubtedly a talented and well-read wordsmith, but here she takes on a more new-wave/punk-tinged musical approach, which still shows off her superbly acidic lyrics, but without the disco backing music, it lacks the charm that made "Doll in the Box" such a fun album.



I must be in the minority here, as more educated music lovers than myself are currently raving over this album, but I found this one a little too arty-farty. Cristina has said herself in interviews that she considers this her true first album, and dismisses "Doll in the Box" as just a bit of cheeky fun, saying it did not represent her real self. The songs on here suggest that Cristina is an angry young woman with a lot of axes to grind. She expresses her bile very succinctly, but the biggest drawback to this newfound sincerity is the revelation that Cristina can't really sing that well, a fact that was masked by the camp vocal delivery she applied on the previous release. It makes the songs much less pleasant to listen to, which marks it as a less successful album in my book.



The bottom line is that Cristina's two albums belong in entirely different genres. The first is a highly original combination of disco froth with biting sarcasm, whereas the second one is heavy on the sarcasm, but with none of the froth. And that's not so original, it's a style that you can get from dozens of other music releases...groups like The Waitresses were doing exactly the same sort of thing around the same time. I don't think I'll get any helpful ticks for this review, but buyers take note: expect two very different albums and purchase accordingly."