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Rating: There are various ways for a musical artist to earn my respect: many have achieved it by transforming themselves while managing to maintain an unchanged feeling, innovating, demonstrating eclecticism, or flamboyance, or both. Generally, I have never attributed much value to so-called consistency applied in this field, not even remotely, especially when such consistency serves more to mask limitations and pseudo-sectarianism of various kinds. However, as with all things, there are exceptions, and Tanita Tikaram earned my respect also because she has never distorted her personality, she has carried on her style, without ever jumping on some more lucrative bandwagon, even at the cost of being remembered as one of many passing through. I imagine the impact an album like "Ancient Heart" could have had in 1988: a breath of fresh air, good taste, and simplicity in those roaring eighties on the verge of saturation. The nineties were just around the corner, if only she had aimed for slightly more pretentious sounds, a bit more sophisticated, if she had gone for rebellion and alternative vibes, she could have aimed for the "big hit", she certainly didn't lack talent and charisma, but fortunately, that wasn't the case.
Tanita is certainly not among the "essential" songwriters, the most innovative, those on everyone's lips, but there is one very important thing she has never lacked: soul. Soul understood as the ability to create an emotional connection with the listener, conveying empathy and spontaneity; this is a rare gift, one that makes a difference, especially if combined with a voice of rare beauty like hers. An artistic journey perhaps not very "spectacular", starting with an instant classic album like "Ancient Heart", the kind of record often said to "be worth a greatest hits", followed by a rapid trio between '90 and '92, "The Sweet Keeper", "Everybody's Angel", and "Eleven Kinds Of Loneliness". Copies of the successful debut? Yes and no, the base remains, more or less, but each has its own characteristics, and each of these albums marks a gradual separation from producers Rod Argent and Peter Van Hooke, who had been fundamental in laying the foundations of her unique sound. Emotions and crystalline melodies abound in all three, as do the balance and sobriety that have always distinguished her, a delightfully "down to earth" approach.
My favorite is "Everybody's Angel", the middle episode of this "trilogy"; also because of the stunning cover photo, it's a factor not to be underestimated, but mainly for a general level a bit more homogeneous compared to the other two and sounds that diverge from the beginnings in a way that's far from marginal. The base remains folk-pop, but Irish nuances and electronic arrangements are almost completely abandoned in favor of a semi-acoustic sound with strong country and gospel connotations. Melancholy never invasive and suffocating, sweetness always tinged with reflection and at times also with irony, the right dose of emotional intensity, never over-the-top, and sharp, simple, and straightforward songwriting. And then "Only The Ones We Love" at the opening; one of the most beautiful love songs ever written? I'd say so, so earthly and "pastoral" at the same time, melody and arrangement that give you shivers, and then in the choruses an old and dear acquaintance of mine, Jennifer Warnes; when two voices of this kind, so different and precisely for this perfectly complementary, intertwine, something special can only be born. "Only The Ones We Love" was also the first single released from the album, but without any success, the time was what it was, the general public too distracted and directed towards "something else" to give a song of this kind the honors it would have deserved, but so be it. Gospel harmonies and choirs are the hallmark par excellence of "Everybody's Angel", and Tanita knows how to exploit them greatly, bringing out other little wonders like "I Love The Heaven's Solo" or even better, "Deliver Me", a bitter outburst beautifully concealed by a joyful and captivating melody, a pattern also repeated in the seemingly lighthearted ska-spiritual mix of "Never Known", while "This Stranger", apparently more relaxed and subdued, is actually a statement of strength and determination. Playing with these emotional balances is not at all simple, and it requires some depth to realize this, which further enhances the listening experience.
I could be wrong, but before Tanita Tikaram, I had known only one European artist capable of proposing (with a different approach but comparable levels and the same credibility) country-pop sounds, and this alone would be enough to place her in a very select circle of "female singers" particularly dear to me, then if she comes out with crystalline melodies like "To Wish This", marked by a honky-tonk piano, the intimate and melancholic "Sunface" and "Hot Pork Sandwiches" with its languid and sly irony then, need I say more. "Everybody's Angel" is a rich and complete album, full of nuances, beautiful little details on all levels, even musically; the bluesy parenthesis of "Mud In Any Water" further accentuates the American overtones, while "Swear By Me" is practically the last trace of Irish folk in Tanita's repertoire, a nice and moving march with which she seems to ideally bid farewell to her past. Despite the fourteen songs, a number generally already above my ideal standards, not a single useless moment is experienced in "Everybody's Angel", everything is beautiful; not perfect, but beautiful, that's what counts. It must be said that after this album, Tanita never repeated herself at such uniformly high levels, but it's not this that prevented a definitive commercial consecration, but rather the lack of ability to sell herself and the absence of some "special effects" here and there compared to other more or less contemporary "colleagues". For this reason too, she deserves a special tribute and, of course, a listen with the right mentality, that is keeping well in mind that Tanita Tikaram is an artist to live and internalize, not display as a fetish.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Only the Ones We Love (02:53)
Oh, you can't say nothing to the pouring rain
And you can't say nothing till there's hope
Again -
(Say) - oh my baby - you must never change
For we're only the ones we love
And I've stood stolen by the pauper's heart
Yes, I've stood stolen where the aching starts
But the way you watched - it's a life apart
For we're only the ones we love
Only
Only
You're the only one who could say
I could love this way
I could love this way
Oh, you can't get even with this kind of pain
But to see you steady brings the calm, again
(Say) - oh my baby - let them stay the same
For we're only the ones we love
And they've seen something which I'll never see
But - I dreamed something when you fell for me
(Yeah), I dreamed something which soars above
For we're only the ones we love
Only the ones we love
Yes, love, and love, mmm, mmm
This love, love
Oh, I get tired - and I get old
But to see you steady brings a flood of gold
(Say, oh, my baby) - I've been taught and told
We're only the ones we love
Only the ones we love
Love, love, mmm, mmm
This love, mmmm, mmm
02 Deliver Me (03:58)
One day to wonder what's bothering me -
(You said it)
I'm just the half of this - that just won't see -
(Believe it)
If I am wishing I am hoping as well
(Sometimes I)
I tell you clearly
But it's hard to tell
Someone will watch me with an eager eye -
(But I'm not)
I'm not even here, to even try
If the rain stops calling, calling my name
Well, I'm still in the thick of it and bearing the shame
(Deliver me)
Oh, no - you don't deliver in me
(Deliver me)
Oh, no - you don't deliver in me
(Deliver me)
Oh, no - you don't deliver in me, but one day
You'll wake up and then you'll see
Some times are hard, some times they drag
Well, I can see your face - you've seen the half of this
Maybe, I'm naming all the changes too much
(But see you), you never leave it if you have to touch
(And I will) always be waiting with a happy smile
But the smile is just a laughing
Killer - laugh-a-while
Don't know what I'm doing here
Don't know if I'm sane
But I swear if I'm feeling this -
I'm feeling the pain
(Deliver me)
Oh, no - you don't deliver in me
(Deliver me)Oh, no - you don't deliver in me
(Deliver me)Oh, no - you don't deliver in me, but one day
You'll wake up and then you'll see
And I can't be your standards
Wish you away
No, I can't be all this much
See you still have too much to say
Some skies are darkening and call out loud
Well, I'm the good side of you and I'm still proud
To be waiting for lightness when you stray
Well I'm sure that I hear him
He's slipping away
(Deliver me)
Oh, no - you don't deliver in me
(Deliver me)
Oh, no - you don't deliver in me
(Deliver me)
Oh, no - you don't deliver in me, but one day
You'll wake up and then you'll see
06 Sunface (03:55)
Often
Too often closed
With a little beauty
And the right supposing
Suppose I meet you
And make you feel
There is no real reason
Why I be real for you
For you - it's just - a -
A dozen dreamers
This is the way I will it
Sometimes -
I'm sometimes
I'm just, just, just too much
Just too much
And I don't know
And never known
And all I ever want to be
And I can't tell you
I can't tell you
But it's never really near to me
Sunface, sunface, sunface, sunface
And, closing up
And winding down
This little beautiful
This little wonder ground
How would it be
To take your hand
I'm not the easy kind
I'll never understand
And somehow
Make it seem so right
This is the easy child
Who's going to face the light
Sunface, sunface
Some felt it, some felt it
Sunface, sunface
Some felt it, some felt it
And walk around
And touch the view
There is an easy angle
Least that is true
And truth's enough
To make me smile
Everbody's able and
Everybody's trial
And if you're really
High enough
To be the pauper
And take the rough
well the easy time will never be
But your comet's down
And it shines on me
(Just a)
Sunface, sunface, sunface, sunface
Sunface, sunface, sunface, sunface
Sunface, sunface, sunface
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