Search - Tanita Tikaram :: Best of

The Best Of Tanita

L. Sandbergen | Europe | 05/01/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"With 1988's `Ancient Heart' Tanita received critical and commercial acclaim. She was not even twenty years old, but the album showed her maturity as a songwriter. The singles `Good Tradition' and `Twist In My Sobriety' became hits in Europe and Tanita would sell over four million copies of this promising debut disc. After that her releases gradually became weaker and record buyers lost interest. In 1995 she returned with the strong `Lovers In The City' but the album did not create a Tanita revival. In 1996, before splitting with EastWest/Reprise/Warner, this compilation was released. This 17-track anthology looks back on her achievement between 1988-1996. The opening track `Twist In My Sobriety' has became a classic. `Good Tradition', `World Outside Your Window' and Cathedral Song' - other tracks drawn from `Ancient Heart' - are also still very strong. `Only The Ones We Love', taken from `Everybody's Angel', is hauntingly beautiful and, arguably, the highlight of this compilation. Unfortunately the song selection is not as good as might have been expected: too many songs have been drawn from 1992's `Eleven Kinds Of Loneliness' and even though `Lovers In The City' was a wonderful record, five songs from this album is a bit too much. Several songs from her second release `The Sweet Keeper' are left out and it's surprising that her 1990 minor hit `We Almost Got It Together' isn't anywhere to be found. The concluding dance remix of `Twist In My Sobriety' is also a weak asset. Her rendition of `E Penso A Te' - the only completely new track - is, on the contrary, excellent. `I Might Be Crying' is also a very good song. Having sold over seven million records worldwide it was not too soon for a compilation. But as a performer, Tanita doesn't really come to right on this rather incomplete collection."

This is an essential!

steveland9@aol.com | Chicago, IL, USA | 10/09/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you know the work of Tanita Tikaram, you probably think of Twist in My Sobriety first. "My eyes are just holograms"--now that's a visceral image. Well this album is full of such imagery, all communicated through the throaty voice of Tanita Tikaram--it's truly an essential."

Many good stuff missing yet still a worthy purchase

giovanni | Greece | 02/25/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Tanita Tikaram is an interesting case of a female artist . Daughter of an Indian army officer from Fiji and a Malaysian singer , she was brought up in Germany , then moved to the U.K and has also lived for many years in Italy and now France.



At the beginning of her career she looked and sounded totally consumed by the world's greatest problems . Then , fell in love during the making of "Lovers In The City " and adopted a K.D Land , unisex image . She even gave fashion lifestyle and sex appeal a try for 1997's " The Capuccino Songs " With her recent release " Sentimental " , now with the french record company Naivé , she displays once more her credibility as a songwritter .



As she has explained in interviews she started writing music while still at school because she simply felt "apart " from her classmates ..." I don't think you start writing music if you somehow don't feel different " she said . And indeed , Tikaram was anything but the typical teenage pop star and it showed .1991's " Only The Ones We Love " featured the line "I get tired and i get old " sang at the tender age of 20 . One year later , the video of "You Make The Whole Word Cry " ended with the word 'cry' being displayed in chinese , arabic , french and other languages as teardrops were falling on the background . There was certaintly the sense that this young girl was taking things too seriously .



This 1996 release , although lacking material from her two more recent offerings , does display , among else that there was much mre about her than just " Twist In My Sobriety ". People in love with the 80's (more than just few of them around in our days) will apreciate the nostalgic listening of past hit-singles " Good Tradition " and " Cathedral Song " . The jazzy , sly " He Likes The Sun " could have also been included as well as " I Love You " a short , acoustic pop gem , instantly affecting and maybe her most poignant song yet .



Mostly written while touring the world , albums two , three and four , were full of good intentions but rather poor in strong tunes and music vision . Limp radio-friendly pop songs like "We Almost Got It Together " and " Sunset Arrive " didn't work at all . The lyrics were harder to connect to as well . " ...to drink the rainbow i try very hard " she sings weepingly on one track on " Eleven Kind Of Loneliness " ...but what does she mean ? Occasionaly things fall into place like the tricky " Once & Not Speak " , cd-single " Only The Ones We Love " and " Trouble " ( both wisely included here ) .



Still , after three subsequent weak releases both critics and fans were simply exhausted and when the really good stuff finally arrived , there were not many people out there still listening . " Lovers In The City " , her best album yet and surely one of the most criminally ignored pop releases of the 90's , finds Tikaram reaching her peak as a songwritter and as a perfomer . From the eerie , dreamy " I Might Be Crying " to the tender " My Love Tonight " to the suprisingly uplifting " Yodelling Song " , she delivers a strong tracklist with not a weak melody in it . On " Wonderful Shadow " she sounds " like she's in love but watching scared from far away .." like a female friend of mine pointed out while on " Bloodlines " she creates this moody ,scary , poisonous charming piece of music .



1997's " The Cappuccino songs " had it's moments ( " Stop Listening ", " Amore Si " ) while on her latest , 2005's " Sentimental " one discovers she's matured like a fine wine , delivering slow and classy material . And with tracks like the seductive " Play Me Again " she actually makes you eager for a possible next album , somehow the sophomore of a second career phase of hers."