Search - Swing Out Sister :: Through the Sky

Non-essential, Though Entertaining Album Excerpts

J. Collins | 06/22/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This latest (Summer, 2001) CD single release from Swing Out Sister is another one of those "should I" or "shouldn't I" import discs that can have fans wringing their hands. That is, as a rather expensive Japanese-only import, fans wonder if such discs are at all unique, or if they just compile album material in a new package. With one exception, the four tracks that make up this CD single are lifted intact from SOS latest full album, "Somewhere Deep In The Night." No remixes, no alternative versions per se...just an edited 'single mix' of the title cut."Through The Sky" is a somewhat typical SOS composition: a tinkling toy piano that evokes childhood melodies, a bounding (think of Filth & Dreams' "Closer Than The Sun") rhythmic pulse that simulates the impassioned movement of chase and pursuit, a yearning minor melody vocal line dripping with '60s Blue Pop. Not quite an instant classic for SOS songbook, but certainly a reminder why Corinne and Andy continue to record together. Her airy voice and eternally romantic lyrics are more than ever the perfect accompaniment to Andy's Pop music masterworks, themselves no less amazing and Pop-soulful for coming 30-odd years after the music that first inspired them. Track 1 is the 'single edit', and Track 2 is the album version. The only difference is the duration of the intro and fadeout. Track 3 is an album cut, "Alpine Crossing." Think of a Ray Conniff Singers Christmas song, one of those wordless "ooh-ahh" numbers set to a Vince Guaraldi arrangement, and you'll get the sonic picture. If you listen you can hear the sleigh runners scraping on rocks as your jaunt progresses. Track 4, "The Vital Thing" is more of a musical snippet than a song; it too appears in "Somewhere Deep In The Night." It's similar to some earlier (mostly instrumental) SOS experiments in cinematic music...no doubt an excellent background for the right mood, but a little obtuse if you listen closely.The Sisters still reside in that timeless idealism that blossomed brightly in the '60s, and their flirtation with '70s Soul/R&B still roots their music with heartfelt vocals and dazzling percussion. Though these recordings are obviously state of the art (crisp, full-range spacial landscapes once again are courtesy of P.S. O'Duffy), they are steeped in sounds that live in universal musical memory. FYI: The edition I received included a fold-out booklet with some spiffy pics (Corrine as Emma Peel), the lyric for "Through the sky", and had a wrap-around OBI strip. In my opinion, this particular single edition is for hardcore collectors only, and is not at all essential to completing an SOS collection.-Joe"