Search - Tanita Tikaram :: Ancient Heart

Not so Poor Cow

CH | Malaysia | 11/04/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"For all these years, the song that has stuck in my head from this ravising debut is Cathedral Song and Poor Cow, the former because the heartbreakingly beautiful instrumental version was used as the introduction to a TV documentary about Tikaram (basically the song without the vocals, played over the opening credits, this fantastic helicopter-shot, a panoramic flight over a bleak landscape - a shame that it is not available on record as far as I know), and the latter because of its wry lyrics, bouncy melody and quirky rhodes accompaniment. Is it a plea for vegetarianism or animal rights? Who knows. More handsome than beautiful in the Britney Spears sense, she was obviously not your ordinary teenybopper, and the poor cows on the plate and butterflies in the bowl probably continue to sing her praises. So do I."

The start of a good tradition

Tim Brough | Springfield, PA United States | 01/22/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A mere 19 years old at the time she recorded this, Tinita Tikaram cut a great album on the first try. With an earthy, mature voice and moody sensibility, the song "Twist In My Sobriety" caught the attention of all who heard it back in 1988. This was during the period when Sade and other exotic chanteuses were striking it rich, and Tikaram was being aimed at that same audience.



"Ancient Heart" is the best of her several albums. From the upbeat opening of "Good Tradition" to the statement of the artist as a young woman ("Preyed Upon") that ends the disk, "Ancient Heart" was a terrific document of a woman discovering herself minus the jailbaiter mentality that pervades so many current young female artists. There are more than a few echoes of Joni Mitchell and Joan Armatrading to be found here, and "Ancient Heart" is worth the fourth star just for "Twist In My Sobriety" alone."