Light Fantastic

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The high priest and wizard king of the ostensibly New Age corner of the ambient movement, Steve Roach is an American Brian Eno, except where Eno's ambient classics track a very British interior terrain, Roach musically maps the mysteries of the American Southwest. But like Eno, he's always been as much about rhythm and percussion as space and texture, and as much a music futurist as a sound designer. Like this year's Body Electric, Light Fantastic couples techno-inspired, tribalesque breakbeats and jungle grooves with thick washes of "Roach-tone"--a glistening, rapturous synthesizer sound that is to electronic-hero Roach what "woman-tone" is to guitar-hero Eric Clapton. Peppered with tribal percussion, the drum & bass kickoff "Trip the Light" suggests a panethnic Photek, while the haunting "Breathing the Pulse" evokes Roach's eerie Magnificent Void, albeit undercut with a thickly layered, gurgling rhythm--what programmer Vir Unis calls a "fractal groove." Touches of tamboura, filter sweeps, and searing glasslike washes deliver on Roach's desire to "create sounds that gave off a laserlike illumination." Enlightening. --James Rotondi

Light Fantastic,Steve Roach,Hearts of Space,Europe,New Age,New Age / Meditation,Pop,Progressive Electronic

Light Fantastic

Album Description

International 12 track pressing of this 2007 album from the former vocalist for '90s hopefuls The Audience. Sophie's long-awaited third solo album arrives after a life-changing break during which she married Richard Jones, bassist with The Feeling and gave birth to her son, Sonny. Trip The Light Fantastic' sees her on sparkling form Having worked with some of Pop's finest names on the album (Cathy Dennis, Fred Schnieder from The B52s, Dan Gillespie Sells from The Feeling and Xenomania), Trip The Light Fantastic includes the classic-in-the-making single, 'Catch You'. Universal. 2007.

Average customer rating:

I love this album
Supersonic
More of the same
Sheer brilliance; it simply doesn't get any better than this..
Best of the Three

Trip the Light Fantastic
Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Manufacturer: Umvd Import
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Me & My Imagination
Catch You
He's The Greatest Dancer
Real Girl
Life in Mono

ASIN: B000OZ29RI
Release Date: 2007-05-28

Tracks:

Catch You
Me and My Imagination
Today the Sun's on Us
New York City Lights
If I Can't Dance
Distance Between Us
If You Go
Only One
Love Is Here
New Flame
China Heart
What Have We Started?
Can't Have It All [*]
Supersonic [*]

Album Description

UK 14-track pressing of this 2007 album from the former vocalist for '90s hopefuls The Audience includes two bonus tracks, 'Can't Have It All' & 'Supersonic'. Sophie's long-awaited third solo album arrives after a life-changing break during which she married Richard Jones, bassist with The Feeling and gave birth to her son, Sonny. Trip The Light Fantastic' sees her on sparkling form Having worked with some of Pop's finest names on the album (Cathy Dennis, Fred Schnieder from The B52s, Dan Gillespie Sells from The Feeling and Xenomania), Trip The Light Fantastic includes the classic-in-the-making single, 'Catch You'. Universal.

Album Details

2007 Release of the Third Studio Album from the Popular British Singer Songwriter Comes after a Several Years Sabbatical, Starting a Family with Husband Richard Jones of the Feeling. For this Outing, Ms. Bextor Collaborated with Fred Schneider (Lead Singer of the B-52's), Richard Barone (Who was a Member of the New Wave Band the Bongos), Former D-mob Frontwoman and Songwriter Extraordinaire Cathy Dennis, Former Alisha's Attic Member Shelly Poole and Kerin Smith, who Used to Be in Ellis-bextor's First Band Theaudience. The Overriding Theme of this Album is Relaxation with Fun, Fun, Fun, Spiced with Dance Party Beats all Around! this Edition Includes Two Exclusive Songs!

Customer Reviews:

I love this album.......2007-07-26

Trip the Light Fantastic is a pop masterpiece.
Funk sensations to mirror ball bliss to the best love song I have heard in years: What Have We Started?, which is rivaled by the hopeful Today the Sun's On Us.
Sophie even makes stalking fun: "Run to where you want...I am going to find you...There ain't no distance far enough..There ain't no engine fast enough. I am going to Catch You."
I will be waking up with these songs in my head for weeks.

Supersonic.......2007-07-24

Sophie Ellis has slowly worked her way into what is now a daily play.
She first grabbed my attention with Murder on the Dance Floor and soon after, Mixed Up World. When Catch You hit the play lists, it was exactly what I had hoped for and Supersonic has gone even beyond! I can't stop listening to this song!

More of the same.......2007-07-10

If you've heard one Sophie Ellis-Bextor album, you've heard them all. Mostly- true. Each album has a slightly different feel. "Read My Lips" was disco. "Shoot From the Hip" was more, hmmm experimental? atmospheric? With "Trip the Light Fantastic" she's treading steadily in the middle of the road with solid pop shoes on. More listenable than "Hip" and with more emotional diversity than "Lips", "Trip" delivers exactly the same Sophie vocals. Beautiful, distinct, and sultry - yes, but sadly prone to monotony if the song doesn't provide some strong musical moments.

Some have said that "Supersonic" is the 'worst' song on the album. I like it for providing a different feeling from the rest of the album. The song has energy. Most of the album is made up of synth beats that complement but blend with Sophie's already hypnotic, if not meditative, vocals. "Catch You", "Love is Here", "Only One", "China Heart", and "Today, the Sun's on Us" provide guitars, stanzas, choruses, bridges, and emotional changes in the vocals. They stand out, to me, as stronger songs than the likes of "If I Can't Dance", and "The Distance Between Us" which start with a generic synth sound and after 3 or 4 odd minutes of innocuous vocals you find yourself with no idea of what just passed.

I am a fan and am pleased as punch to have this album. However, I think that Sophie should break out of her shell a little more and take a few more risks with her vocal stylings. Not because I dislike "Lips", "Hip", and "Trip", but we have that sound already. Overall, It's beautiful, a good listen. I could drop a couple of songs but, hey, I liked the ones others didn't, so- Something for everyone I suppose.

"Love is Here" is worth buying the album- This really ought to be a single. "What Have We Started" is gorgeous. It has violins, cymbals, a sort of 'later Abba' rock-pop melody and the best Vocals on the album.

Sheer brilliance; it simply doesn't get any better than this.........2007-06-15

The unmistakeable voice of Sophie Ellis has a heavenly collision with a flawless array of pop diddies making this one of the must have Summer albums of all time. Her previous two releases were wonderfully catchy but plagued with some unfortunately low points. This is truly her first cohesive piece of entertainment, retaining the sense of fun, sophistication, and sass that one comes to expect, but infused with a maturity lacking in her earlier work. Sophie, working with a fine selection of craftsmen including songstress and past pop star Cathy Dennis (Cant' Get You Out Of My Head) and Dan Gillespie from the Feeling, create a very cohesive piece of work that's listenable through and through with the exception of the bonus track Supersonic, written with Fred Schnieder of B-52's; the song is a terrible piece of hideousness, a scab on an otherwise flawless complexion if you will. Miracously ice princess Sophie mangages to imbue the other excellent tracks with an unfamiliar warmth that certainly have lacked some "human touch" in the past. Too many above par tracks to mention but singles "Catch You" and "Me And My Imagination" are two of the strongest tracks she's ever recorded, and all of the songs have their moments to shine, peppered with gorgeous moments of genius and sprinkled with beautiful pop melodies. "Love Is Here" is destined to an enormous hit and sits proudly alongside her dance classics "Murder On The Dance Floor" & "Take Me Home". Thanks Sophie for this Summer gift!

Best of the Three.......2007-06-14

I was really looking forward to this album, and the first time through it really didn't grab my attention. After a few more listenings, I'm convinced it's her best. There is a lot of electric guitar on this album (something I wasn't expecting, given the synth-heavy arrangements of her previous two sets) and plenty of pure pop songs (i.e. not as many purely dance-oriented tracks as in the past). After I got my head around the changes, I really began to enjoy what IS here. The hooks, lyrics and arrangements are all clever and captivating, and there isn't one track on the album that I'd skip. I do recommend this (UK) version, because I think "Can't Have It All" (one of the UK bonus tracks) is the absolute best thing on here. A great pop tune with a catchy hook, emotional lyrics and a superb buildup. I agree with the reviewer who stated that the first two singles have excellent non-album b-sides, particularly "Down With Love" and "Move to the Music." Get your hands on them if you can. Overall, the best thing here is Sophie's voice and attitude. Love her or hate her, she sounds like absolutely no one else and she's got a distinctive flair that's undeniable.

Average customer rating:

Plesant surprise
Proof most good music is outside the mainstream
Takin it to the next
She's Back On Time/Broadcast Where We See/Run & Tell A Friend
nickle slick rebirth...

Trip the Light Fantastic
Ladybug Mecca
Manufacturer: Nu Paradigm
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | R&B | Styles | Music

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Beyond the Spectrum: The Creamy Spy Chronicles
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ASIN: B0009IRKZG
Release Date: 2005-06-28

Tracks:

Dark Matter
Don't Disturb the Peace
Children Say
Ladybug Come Outside
Show the World
Mr. Mayor
Dogg Starr
Leaving It All Behind
Sexual Alchemy
Centre of Nowhere
Please Don't
Last Train (featuring Martin Luther)
Sweet & Polite
Suicidethol
You Never Get Over It
Remember When?
Oh Poor You
Step Up Wise

Album Description

Ladybug Mecca returns with a body of work that she considers a combination of her life experiences. She is back and stronger than ever with her highly anticipated solo release "Trip the Light Fantastic".

Customer Reviews:

Plesant surprise.......2007-07-02

I've always been a fan of Digable Planets, mainly because of the funky vibe from Ladybug, so I figured that her solo album would be everything I liked about DP, just lacking Doodlebug and Butterfly.

I was kinda right.

It was all that and more. I remember Ladybuy describing her album as "music", rather than tying it down to a single genre, and the album is evidence to its truth. From her classic hiphop/spoken word vibe from DP, to her ventures into alt-rock vibes, pop-ish sounds, jazzy and new-age sounds, the album's all over the place, yet they all share a similar ambiance that Ladybug's vocals create.

No other featured vocalists (aside from the skits), but it's nothing to trip about, ladybug keeps it poppin. Def recommend.

Proof most good music is outside the mainstream.......2006-07-05

This is a great album! If I had to compare her to someone, I'd say Mystic, but their flows are very different. What they do have in common is an effortless shift from rapping to singing and a refreshingly fresh sound. And unlike many "solo" efforts by female rappers, the album is not dominated by featured vocalists; she actually performs almost all of the vocals on the album.
The solo debut of the female Digable Planets member is very eclectic. It goes from Hip Hop to R&B to Pop to Rock to... some stuff I'd hesitate to categorize. This may explain the lack of radio play, but that usually means an artist's music is not trite or cliché.
The 18 tracks consist of an intro (track 1), a skit (track 14), and 16 songs. Lyrics are not included in the booklet. The CD is not in a jewel case - it is in a two-panel unlatched flip-open cardboard jacket with a plastic CD holder.

Takin it to the next.......2006-02-26

I've followed Dig Ps since back in the day and have never stopped listening to their UNBEATABLE beats, rhymes and lyrical content. Sometimes the whole is greater than the parts (ie, Tribe Called Quest). Well apparently this part is as great as the whole. Ladybug lays down some crazy phat tracks in a great mix of genres. If you want pure hip hop you'll only get a few tracks of that here, but if you have an open mind or at least enjoy music from various genres then you will LOVE this cd. As original as you can get without loosing your audience, as accessible as the latest radio pop and with lyrical content to keep the philosopher and the thug happy.

She's Back On Time/Broadcast Where We See/Run & Tell A Friend.......2006-02-10

Our Sista of Conciousness Ladybug Mecca has been through a lot since the days of Blowout Comb, and now reappears with an evolved and deeply thoughtful pastiche of new gems. Many of the tracks have a real airiness about them, though we do hear the more familiar Ladybug/Mecca of yesteryear on at least a couple of tracks. Musical arrangements: impeccable. Creativity: way outside the box. Singing: ethereal. This album is a steal at fourteen bucks for 18 great tracks.

I wrote this review while listening to the album beginning to end. Lyrics in parentheses are ones I guessed at. Though not an easy task, I would rank the tracks in order from most superb to least superb but still good as follows: 15, 4, 9, 13, 12, 5, 11, 14, 18, 16, 3, 17, 8, 7, 2, 1, 10, 6

1. Dark Matter. A very nice instrumental intro. Wind chimes. Makes you think because of the title. If you listen with headphones, you can hear some conversation in the background. Not sure what it's about.

2. Don't Disturb the Peace. This one's an alt-rock style track. Very short and to the point. "...she didn't know the consequence of being an unconditional punching bag breathing"... "Oh, what a mental game--so irrational--Have you ever had a conversation with a head case?" This was the first song that caught my attention, not only because it's the first song on the album, but because of that hook. I think this is going to turn out to be a very revealing album. "What is up with you when you just talk that shi+ and don't live up to that? Sucka-free, now sucka, get back." Damn those abusive relationships.

3. Children Say. "I used to hang out in my room, just sit around watching TV. I'd watch the stories on the news. I'd swear it all was deceiving `mysterious weather patterns sweep the nation'... I close my eyes, a child... *dag, am I going to live to see my 15th birthday???* I ask my mommy why... the situation has come as far to this." Interesting trip back in time. Children know when things ain't right. Young Ladybug was no exception.

4. Ladybug Come Outside. A funky, bouncy track that re-introduces the hip hop Ladybug to those who have been waiting for so long. I love it! "Raise your right fist, in Goddess we trust. Mama Earth where we dwell (is adverse to us).....[She's flows on this one] It's the beginning of the end, the beginning of the end, of the paradigm shift, so...run `n' tell a friend. " "Walk the walk with those like-minded. Talk the talk... to the ones that are blinded." "Ladybug, Ladybug, spit one rhyme. Miss Ladybug Mecca, do you still have time?" "Ladybug, Ladybug, my oh my, I'm glad you left the game, `cause you back on time."

5. Show the World. Another airy, mellow track with a Latin feel that showcases the beauty of Ladybug's singing voice. "You're 9-to-5'ing, your bills are piling, but there's no dollar still"... "The streets is violent, your daughter's wyling, you've done all you can do"... "Smile with your eyes...speak with your heart...and show the world some soul...show the world...it ain't easy...show the world...this is you." "A bad decision...the wrong religion...we all are on our path..." "Sometimes we may fall, it's all good, we will make it ..." "Smile with your eyes..."

6. Mr. Mayor. A rock'n'rollish track that hasn't quite grown on me yet, but has a lot of interesting experimentation, including a little scratching here and there and some guitar riffs. "Parade around like you've got something to do; if you're livin' for the people, why do I see right through?" "You are (a fraud), you are (not large), you are (not in charge)." I hope I got those lyrics right-kind of difficult to decipher.

7. Dogg Starr. Wow. A track called Sirius B/Dog Star. She's rapping on this track and "All the way live, everyday life, live from Earth-yo, I hit you from the Dog Star... broadcast where we see-Sirius B." "Now you see the complexity it takes to compete--simple minds and simple rhymes play the back seat. Regu-lar shi+ lo-ses, don't get abused, kid." A lot of interesting sound/music effects going on here as well.

8. Leaving It All Behind. A little vignette of a conversation/debate between Mecca and a homegirl during which Mecca floats away into dreams of leaving the projects for the beach. Segues into another very light, airy, flute-enhanced, Latin-flavoured ditty that, to my mind, recalls 1970's feel-good songs that became TV show soundtracks. "Sheeeeeee walks alone, but she says she'll never cry... Sheeeeeeee says that the game's an illusion, living in twisted confusion.....and she's leaving them all behiiiiind." "Sheeeeee loves to play with ladybugs in trees...sheeeeeees gone bon voyage on a journey, giving into all the yearning, and relieving her slave-made mind..." Ends with her heading off to catch her bus and bidding farewell to her homegirl.

9. Sexual Alchemy. Keep up with the pace, now. Do I hear a Fela Kuti horns intro??? Oh my GOSH, this is TOO funky!!! Oh, this is off the hook. "To the break of May, or to Auset, catch me in a fre-quen-cy--unh. In your wildest dreams, ever knew this thing? Sexual Al-che-my--unh." "Let us come two-gether like mag-netic. Imagine there's no pain, `magine there's no shame, no longer each other to blame. Dabble in a little bit... if you don't like it, split." Now see, this here is artistry. What a complete and total reinvention of the squeaky, rusty wheel. There's much more, but you've gotta buy the cow to get the milk, darlings.

10. Centre of Nowhere. There's some more Latin flavour here, and a lot of harmonizing. Another throwback to the `70s. I can tell there's some EWF influence here. More flutes. I just love it. "Living at the center of nowhere, puncturing your wings, knowing change will come." "All you've got to do is tell yourself to leave the burden behind you." Definitely sounds like Esthero on this one.

11. Please Don't. More Latin flavour! I LOVE the drum intro! Some spoken word, too 4 ya! Mellow. "So... please don't, unless you like the rejection of my tone..." "He thinks he's really that slick cat. He thinks he's intelligent, all that. [Wow, reminds me of Jill Scott!] Well, Supafly, check out the headlines. Chicks like me, we see you from miles & miles." "It's cool and all, that now you can talk that junk--got the noni, then you ran like a punk. But we know the truth though, you really in a smokeless funk--took a tad, now you think you a hunk. You're just imaginin', fathomin' havin' it like that. When you abuse your sexuality, it makes you feminine, Jack. Who wants a man like that? And that's a fact. So please keep it movin', `cause there ain't no turnin' back." H!Hwellll.

12. Last Train. Oh, a really nice jazzy one. Martin Luther: "Last train for Mary will be leaving (choo-choooo), better get your ticket. Headed for freedom, it's time to shiiiiiine." This is a fun one. I feel like doing the Lindy Hop. Listen to that piano! Ladybug: "It was 7:45 in the a.m.--I am... taking time off for Mec, and you know how... I keep it going, `cause things are what I make it, and who I am is mine for sure." Martin Luther: "You got me huffin' and puffin', I'm chuggin' like a choo-choo train (Choo! Choo!)... the state of the world might make you want to go insane... so keep on pushin' `til you reach a better day." Ladybug: "Embrace the spirits around you. Be one with the sun, devour your power." "The intentions of your soul is pure. Your mind is deeper than the ocean floor." "It's like shimmy shimmy cocoa puff, shimmy shimmy sham. I'm gonna buy myself some gold, and buy myself some land." *snapping to the melody*

13. Sweet & Polite. Oh, I like this one. "I'm always on my job, straight creepin' through the fog..." I LOVE this song! "...up top, cop it--bet. You know it's...LadyBug Mecc..... Fall-in...to my velocity, and do a couple ohms and open up to something clear." "She's so sweet and polite, petite and (on the blithe). A rebel on the outskirts, cute, clever, make it hurt. She's so sweet and polite, petite and (on the blithe). Tricky like I'm doin' dirt, cute, clever, make it hurt." Sprinkle a lil' Portuguese lingo about here and there. "Cops hide behind the gun, kid shot the same night, oh shi+, that's what's up, be prepared to head it up."

14. Suicidethol. Time for a little commercial break.

Ladybug: "Walking through the park used to be such a drag. My runny nose would always let me know that Spring was on the way. But since I've started taking Suicidathol, I have no secretions at all." Gentleman: "Suicidathol killufast tablets help control natural body fluids by drying them up permanently, over a short period of time-in most cases. It can help you feel confident that your nose won't run ever again. Common side effects include kidney failure, liver damage.......muscle pain, fast heartbeat, sore throat and urinating every two minutes." This is a hilarious parody! I've only given bits & pieces of it.

15. You Never Get Over It. My very favorite song on the whole entire album. Starts slow, then is upbeat but melancholy. "What do you think of first thing when you wake up? What do you think of when the one you love is suf-fer-ing the most? What do you do when some-one tells you they're going away for a long, long time and the echoes from the pit of your heart keeps go-ing and they don't stop, no, no, they just don't stop." "Standing on the top of the roof just look-ing up. A sprinkle of cotton and turquoise blow as re-ality stings when the (*?*) rings. What do you do when someone tells you they're going away, and you must be brave, and there's gonna be some time and a little re-action, but it's the way and it's not going to change and.." "...loneliness and visions of you got me react-in a language a girl can't even imagine... loneliness and visions of you got me re-act-in a language a girl can't articulate when it... comes to love I have for you, for you. Comes to love I have for you, for you, for you." "What good does it do when your definitions can't de-fine the emotion through your religion?" This song is incredibly deep and touching once you find out Sista Mecca lost both parents within a short time of one another following the recording of the Blowout Comb album.

16. Remember When? You guessed it. Some more Latin flava. Trance makes an appearance. Drumming, Spanish guitar, background chant-like vocalizing. "Remember when I touched your soul? I know that I was outta control. Are you Dogon? Where are you from? You're not from here. Wanna make you mine, protect you. This is divine, I respect you." Some more Portuguese crooning. Something really out of this world tends to occur whenever Spanish guitar & percussion are overlayed. Outstanding.

17. Oh Poor You. This one has a "rock" feel to it. "My life has been nothing but a blessing to date. Even through the unknown confessions of hate." "And for the so-called profit...dude, you need to stop it." "My trust lies in the Truth between the lines. And everyday's a test of the soul, I know. It took a while to sift through the weeds in the garden. Deeply rooted demons (in deceit) for my stardom. Yeah, she's back and with the synergy. Retrograde couldn't even stop my energy. Or the gravity pull a woman has on a man when the moon is full and in demand, yeah." "Oh poor you. So sad and so con-fused. You want mercy. Just thirst the attention, and you thrill in your neglection." Oops. Somebody wasn't worthy, mature or understanding enough to wear the King's crown.

18. Step Up Wise. Oh! Snap to this! Here comes the Rebirth of Slick bass groove. No mistaking this one. "No, it's no joke, no game, it's live. You want the Truth, *slick*, step up wise." "...Unh like it is, yeah, cold, green light. Queens, don't stress, don't fuss, don't fight." "Again, it's the *slick*, I kissed it and blessed it. Never have to ask, is there born another classic? Go'n switch your car, it don't matter, that's chatter. But we joke: How I zone? (Yeah... you know how it goes.)"

nickle slick rebirth..........2005-07-17

uhhh...

i caint lie... i was expeckin the rebirth of the rebirth of slick or sumphn.

i dint quite get it... instead... i got pleasantly surprised...

lilsista seriously comes thru soundin more like res or esthero than her ol' old way, and that's not a bad thang.
(unless'n you jus some ol' hard-rock/stubborn as hell and dont wanna give in to the progressiveness of an artist... that aint you is it?)

but,
i caint lie #2... ladybug remains one of our top two female hip hop artists (lauryn hill's the other) and I WAS A HOPIN AND A WISHIN for her to kick it like she useta... if she dont carry the weight, then who?

'trip the light' is more enjoyable to me than aya or m.i.a.'s cd... (my opinion)

so get this
and slip into a whole nother kinda cool...

Average customer rating:

Sophie is back!!
Third time's the charm
Back with a Vengence
Sparkly dance pop!!!

Trip the Light Fantastic

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Dance & DJ | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Catch You
Me & My Imagination
Read My Lips
Light at the End of the World
Absolute Garbage

ASIN: B000OYC7IA
Release Date: 2007-05-22

Customer Reviews:

Sophie is back!!.......2007-06-01

Sophie Ellis-Bextor has done it again! After two stellar albums, she has exceeded expectations with her latest album, Trip the Light Fantastic.

Supersonic is fun & light. China Heart, Love is Here, The Distance Between Us and Today the Sun's On Us all demonstrate her ability to combine evocative lyrics and great pop melodies. Of course the singles, Catch Me and Me and My Imagination, are wonderfully catchy and instantly singable.

Enjoy!

Third time's the charm.......2007-05-26

Sophie Ellis-Bextor has always been my favorite pop singer. Read My Lips, her first LP, is suitably danceable disco-pop that was fresh in 2001, and although a bit dated now, is still as enjoyable as it is slightly hammy. Her follow-up from 2003, Shoot From The Hip, isn't quite so well-liked, but I think it shows a natural progression, especially the single "Mixed Up World" which Sophie wrote, according to her Popworld appearance from that year, in response to the invasion of Iraq and the tumult of feelings that comes with figuring out "those with the keys to the kingdom" don't really know what to do with their treasure. But man oh man, Trip The Light Fantastic is just... Fantastic (hammy!).

This is a sharp LP full of great dance songs and great ideas. It is the sum of all that was good about her first two records, but with a consistancy heretofor largely unseen in the pop music world- nearly every single track is perfectly nuanced and connects with the tracks around it. Of particular quality are the second single "Me And My Imagination" (an Ibiza-influenced disco song with lovely swirling violins), "China Heart" (a vibrating bass-backed dance song about fragile emotions), and the quite remarkable "The Distance Between Us," which pulls not just at the heartstrings with its lush atmosphere and poignant lyrical content, but also at the nostalgia that comes with hearing synths used to such ballad-extraordinary heights.

On the whole this is one of the best albums of the past few years, and it, as well as its great singles are well worth the price of buying the import.

Back with a Vengence.......2007-05-25

After discovering Sophie during my freshman year of college, and fell instantly in love with Mademoiselle EB and her strongly accented British voice. Her second CD was a bit of a let-down, its bouncy 70s power-pop not matching up to the superior Read My Lips' 70s and 80s inspired electro-disco.

She's back here with Trip the Light Fantastic, and she doesn't disappoint on this one. It's by far her most modern-sounding album, with only a few retro-sounding songs mixed in here and there. First single "Catch You" is catchy and guitar driven, and leads off the album nicely. Second single "Me & My Imagination" sounds like it came directly off of Read My Lips, as does "If I Can't Dance" does with Shoot From the Hip. "Today the Sun's on Us," "The Distance Between Us," "Love is Here," and "What Have We Started" are basically all the same song thematically (about how much she loves her man), but they're all accompanied by memorable hooks and mid tempo dance grooves that keep them distiguishable and fresh. "New York City Lights" and "China Heart" are refreshingly heavy dance gems compared to the lighter fare Sophie is usually producing, and they're two of the best songs on the album. Which bring us to the best song and the worst two, which fizzle toward the end of the album and come off sounding like B-sides. 60s go-go isn't her thing, as evidenced by "Only One" and "New Flame" proves she's no Pat Benetar. Last but not least, "If You Go" is a piece of pure pop perfection, and for my money is one of Sophie's top 3 songs ever.

Sparkly dance pop!!!.......2007-05-22

The tracklisting for the UK version of this CD is as follows;

1. Catch you
2. Me and my imagination
3. Today the sun's on us
4. New York city lights
5. If I can't dance
6. The distance between us
7. If you go
8. Only one
9. Love is here
10. New flame
11. China heart
12. What have we started
13. Can't have it all
14. Supersonic

"Trip the light fantastic" is UK songstress Sophie Ellis-Bextor's third release, and the sound is guitar dance/pop.

Sophie first came to general attention on the Groovejet hit "Spiller (If it aint love)", a catchy dance number with a groovy bassline, and her detached, but crisp enunciation floating above it all, as well as her solo smash, the similar "Murder on the dancefloor".

Fans of those songs won't be disappointed. The violin filled "Me and my imagination", the disco sounding "If I can't dance", and the eurodisco sound of "Supersonic" and "New York city lights" are aimed firmly at the clubs, and they don't miss.

Lead off single "Catch you" is a catchy slice of guitar/dance/pop, as is the sunny sounding "Only one".

"If you go" is a melodic midtempo number with dreamy harmonies, while the dreamy ballad "The distance between us" is simply lovely. "Today the sun's on us" is a great chugging midtempo rock/pop number, rather Natalie Imbruglia-like.

"New flame" is an incredibly catchy latin tinged dance number, while the similar synth driven "China heart" (with lovely harmonies) has Giorgio Moroder overtones.

A very good pop record, which is a rare feat these days.

Average customer rating:

Trip the Light Fantastic
Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Manufacturer: Umvd Import
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

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Read My Lips
NB

ASIN: B000PC6F7K
Release Date: 2007-06-04

Tracks:

Catch You
Me & My Imagination
New York City Lights
Today The Sun's On Us
If I Can't Dance
Distance Between Us
If You Go
Love Is Here
Only One
New Flame
China Heart
What Have We Started

Album Description

Album Details

Average customer rating:

Excited about the Psycho Desperado
RIDIN' TALL IN A ZEN-GALLON HAT...
Smooth, slow and soft

Endless Sky
Chuck Pyle
Manufacturer: Bee 'N' Flower Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music

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Affected By The Moon
Step By Step
Keepin' Time By The River
True Unity
Romancing the Moment

ASIN: B00000JBRW
Release Date: 1993-05-15

Tracks:

Rio Rey
Endless Sky
Gypsy Minor
Everyday Now
Akasha Wind
Slow Time Kid
The Winter of Our Affair
Moonglow Rising
Your Life in Love with Mine
Keepers of the Earth
Texas Mosey
Sailing

Album Description

Chuck Pyle sings the light fantastic, his charismatic voice and unique guitar style make for a dazzling kind of Southwestern Acoustic Rock!

Customer Reviews:

Excited about the Psycho Desperado.......2002-04-10

The title cut of the "Endless Sky" CD is our first experience with Chuck Pyle's music from an NPR program. We were immediately and completely mesmerized by the melody, the lyrics, and his artistry on the accoustical guitar. It was music that all at one time was "new and exciting" and "remarkably comfortable". We purchased "Endless Sky" and two other CD releases immediately from [an on-line retailer] and enjoy them as endlessly as the Western skies and and forever thoughts his music evokes when listening. "Your Life In Love With Mine" will etch into your heart forever, "Akasha Wind" will play in your dreams, "Keepers of the Earth" will give honest responsibility to your faith, and "Rio Rey" will let you feel like you are sitting with great friends and filled with joy when you are just driving home from work! We ordered "Affected By The Moon" tonight, and have been enjoying, the music of "Endless Sky" for a few months, and hope you also will be able to enjoy "Keepin' Time By the River", and "Camel Rock". Our hopes are to see him perform live.. and our greater hopes are that others will be fortunate to enjoy his voice, his music, and his unique and compelling, exciting and satisfying style. For those who know him, his music will always free their souls and release their stresses. For those of you who will be a first time listeners, you will finally find an artist who gives you that personal touch that rarely is found with the super nova packaged artisans that are promoted but only deliver glitz, nothing more. Chuck Pyle is pure joyful music and you will find that it is YOU who will shine with listening enjoyment and a satisfying comfort that holds you like all of nature. We recommend "Endless Sky" as a wonderful first or continuing collection of Chuck Pyle!

RIDIN' TALL IN A ZEN-GALLON HAT..........2001-07-02

Chuck Pyle is an absolute treasure in American music. His carefully crafted, intelligent songs get into your mind as well as into your toe (just try not to tap your foot to some of these), and they leave a gentle mark.

Working loosely in the genre of acoustic western swing, Pyle shows through his writing that he has respect for many styles of music, and he's not at all shy about letting them show. Folk, country, jazz, blues, swing -- all of these forces are at work here, and to wonderful advantage. Chuck Pyle is a true original -- he sounds like no one else. He's not some delusional would-be cowboy trying to channel Bob Wills or Gene Autry -- he's his own man, and he's as honest about the things that move him as any writer working today.

Every disc I've heard by Chuck has been full of great songs, chosen and recorded well -- this one has to be my favorite. There's not a single wasted track here -- every one of these songs paints a memorable picture of a feeling or person or place that Pyle has seen or experienced, and we come away from this cd with the feeling that we've experienced them as well.

'Rio Rey' begins the set with a look at the light and colors of a beautiful place in New Mexico that is favored by artists for those attributes -- 'Endless sky' is one of Chuck's many love songs to the Western landscape. The mood changes dramatically and effectively with 'Gypsy minor', filled with musical echoes of the soul of Romany. 'Everyday now' is one of the most beautiful love songs you'll hear anywhere. Showing his respect for the good work of other fine writers, Pyle turns in a really nice job on L. J. Booth's wonderful song 'Akasha wind'. 'The winter of our affair' is a touching look back at a treasured memory, done in the style of a classic jazz ballad. Chuck's 'metronome thumb' (you'll understand this reference if you're ever fortunate enough to see him perform live) kicks back in with 'Moonglow rising', another paean to the gorgeous land- and sky-scapes of the American West. On 'Keepers of the earth', Chuch delivers a heart-felt anthem for the environment and our responsibilities to it -- without sounding 'preachy' even for a moment.

There are several discs available by this fine performing singer-songwriter -- if you've never heard him, start here and work your way through them. None of them will let you down. Pyle's style is a finely crafted one -- this is Western music, without a doubt, but without any of the maudlin attributes of Nashville country music. Chuck Pyle sings from the heart as well as the mind and spirit, and his music can touch us in all of those places.

That's a rare thing.

Smooth, slow and soft.......2000-01-16

Chuck Pyle has one of the most relaxing, soothing sounds going today. His acoustic guitar playing is excellent and his voice is smooth and steady. My favorites in this album are "Sailing" and "Gypsy Minor". This is the type of album I like to listen to at work to block out the noise of the world and remind me that there is more to life than work. I highly recommend this album to everyone who enjoys good acoustic guitar music with a slow deliberate pace and ballads that speak to the ordinary life.

Average customer rating:

This is lit?
Where they finally made a full album
Good if you know what you like
Very Bad CD
Great cd for what it's worth

Tripping the Light Fantastic
Lit
Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

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Atomic
A Place in the Sun
Platinum & Gold Collection
Now You See Inside
The Amalgamut

ASIN: B000031KHF
Release Date: 1999-11-23

Tracks:

Beginning
My World
Fuel
No Big Thing
Habib
Explode
Bitter
Amount To Nothing
Dozer
Fireman
Cadillac
I Don't Get It

Customer Reviews:

This is lit?.......2006-05-19

Saw this album a long time ago, I was like, what is this album?
A b-sides compliation? Then I saw it again after a while,
I was like, oh yeah, I forgot about this. I was expecting
the usual pop-punk like place, atomic, self titled. But, no.
This is their first album and very different from anything
they were yet to release. I was blown away how good this was.
Very heavy and loud, A Jay does a lot of screaming. Very
good songwriting, riffing. Excellent. I can see how some
people may not like this, but I think it is really good.
Some of my favorites are: " Fuel" " Beginning" " Amount to
nothing" "I don't get it" and the very good, "Dozer." Every
song is great.Very feel good. " No big thing" and "Bitter" are mabye the
only two songs that are lit like that they were going
to make in future albums. Still those are great songs. Love
this album. Give it a listen and you will be surprised.
GREAT!

Where they finally made a full album.......2005-08-11

Well, now they are back on an indie label, but Lit are nothing short of exciting on their first full-length album, "Tripping the Light Fantastic". If you're expecting the sunny pop-punk of the later two albums, "A Place in the Sun" and "Atomic", you might be disappointed. Oh well, once you get used to this album you'll find it's possibly the most fun album that they've done.

One thing to check out is the early recording of "No Big Thing", which is done in a slightly more rough production and not quite in the same way as the polished "Place" version. This album has all types of sounds. The metal sound you hear that they like is heard in a few songs, even. I'm glad that the band re-found themselves recently, because this is just what Lit is all about. They make songs that have a bunch of flair and talent. Songs like "Bitter" have the clear Nirvana influence; elsewhere there are songs like "Habib" that are totally unique with great Lit melodies and then there's near-surf guitar riffage of "My World", with some really good melodies from them. The riff kind of reminds me of "Warped" by RHCP. It kind of reminds me of hardcore in some spots, like when A. Jay screams on "Amount to Nothing" and its rhythm break. "Dozer" starts out a bit toned down, and while a slower moment, does not lack any distortion. They still talk about their love for the "Cadillac", if you want some of that. This album is meant for repeat listens. The sound is varied yet totally focused. In fact the mixture of that shows their ability of great song writing. You may think they were an overnight band, but this proves here that's the last thing that Lit was.

I think that I like it on the same level as "Sun", but I think that now I prefer the self-titled to this. To me, that's a continuation of what they were doing here, stripped of pressure from RCA (now they're on Nitrus) and Don Gilmore. The latter makes me proud because I personally feel that's why people think they "sold out" later. They are a band of their own and on here there is grunge, metal, hardcore, punk, and a bunch of their old influences put in here. Even you elitists will be biting your tongues at this one. And maybe you'll want to get "Five Smokin' Tracks", although that's only really worthy for the remake of "Stain". The other four are demos of what have since appeared on this album. Not as "Sun"-ny as you might expect but it is very good.

Good if you know what you like.......2004-01-31

This album is really good if you look for music in places that you wouldnt normally look. Like alot of bands these days Lit unfortunately sold out with thier recent albums but also like most bands you gotta find and listen to thier first album in order to really know the band. Unlike kids these days that pick up a band cuz all thier friends listen to it and get only the newest albums. Lit is a great rock band and i enjoyed this album alot but i would not recommend any of thier other albums because of their transformation into a pop sensation in recent years. This album alone puts Lit at the top of my list for good rock bands though...rock on!

Very Bad CD.......2003-07-20

This cd is absolutely horrible. But the only way my review would seen is if i gave it a 4 or 5 star. Anyway, this cd has very meaningless lyrics put together with meaningless music that you could tell didn't take very long to make. Don't make the same mistake as I did, just go buy a U2 cd or something.

Great cd for what it's worth.......2003-05-28

This cd is basicall what every teenager feels. I like the loudness. It has the catching tunes as well as inner song meanings.

Average customer rating:

Another Perfect Recording
This Is A Beautiful Album!
mirrors
A fantastic CD
Innovative and delightful

Light Fantastic
Steve Roach
Manufacturer: Hearts of Space
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | American Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

Fever Dreams
Midnight Moon
Early Man
Origins
Body Electric

ASIN: B00000K2BM
Release Date: 1999-09-21

Tracks:

Trip The Light
Breathing The Pulse
The Reflecting Chamber
Touch The Pearl
Realm Of Refraction
The Luminous Return

Product Description

1. Trip The Light
2. Breathing The Pulse
3. The Reflecting Chamber
4. Touch The Pearl
5. Realm Of Refraction
6. The Luminous Return

Format: CD

Amazon.com

The high priest and wizard king of the ostensibly New Age corner of the ambient movement, Steve Roach is an American Brian Eno, except where Eno's ambient classics track a very British interior terrain, Roach musically maps the mysteries of the American Southwest. But like Eno, he's always been as much about rhythm and percussion as space and texture, and as much a music futurist as a sound designer. Like this year's Body Electric, Light Fantastic couples techno-inspired, tribalesque breakbeats and jungle grooves with thick washes of "Roach-tone"--a glistening, rapturous synthesizer sound that is to electronic-hero Roach what "woman-tone" is to guitar-hero Eric Clapton. Peppered with tribal percussion, the drum & bass kickoff "Trip the Light" suggests a panethnic Photek, while the haunting "Breathing the Pulse" evokes Roach's eerie Magnificent Void, albeit undercut with a thickly layered, gurgling rhythm--what programmer Vir Unis calls a "fractal groove." Touches of tamboura, filter sweeps, and searing glasslike washes deliver on Roach's desire to "create sounds that gave off a laserlike illumination." Enlightening. --James Rotondi

Customer Reviews:

Another Perfect Recording.......2006-09-12

Here is another of the rare perfect recordings. Composed right before Steve set up his own Timeroom label, "Light Fantastic" delivers another phenomenal impact of sound and reverberations that create a great sense of vastness without ever using your vision. My favorite track is number four, 'Touch the Pearl' with its glowing, shimmering waveforms that are, intentionally or not, attuned directly to the core of consciousness. It flows for an awesome nine minutes seamlessly into Track 5, 'Realm of Refraction.' Here we have the genius of pure ambience at work, flowing, deliberate and seemingly without beginning or end.

Mr. Roach has no equal in this realm. He is truly a master of his instrumentation that does for the mind what a good diet and exercise program do for the body.

Although I cannot prove it, since I have been listening to Steve Roach's compositions (the first was 'Dreamtime Return,' 1987), my memory and concentration have improved ten fold, as well as my ability to stay focused on one thing. I am more relaxed, rested and attuned to my task at hand, whatever that may be. In other words, whether such positive benefits were intended or not, Steve Roach's music is a therapeutic remedy for mood swings, obsessive/compulsive disorder, insomnia, various forms of stress disorders and who knows what else. If it were not true, I would have told you. After nearly 20 years of being hooked on Roach, I can tell you with all certainty that nearly all of his compositions are not to be missed--essential to deal with and dissipate the petty cares of this world. No way I'm going to let someone with a lesser mind tell me that this is only a mundane, banal recording lacking nothing new. While I'm listening to 'Light Fantastic' the earth seems as small as a dot, and I feel like I have escaped the troubles of this world. I only hate to come back to reality. Some of his other fantastic trips are 'Quiet Music' (1988), 'Solitaire: on Ritual Ground,' 'Western Spaces,' 'Origins' and 'Mystic Chords and Sacred Spaces' (disc two). I am really looking forward to my next trek on Steve's upcoming composition, the Immersion series, where there is only one track each disc over 70 minutes long.

Funny, sure doesn't seem like it. Roach's music make an hour seem like a split second. That's what they say when you really enjoy something. A good pair of headphones with bass boost and repeat on sets the stage for the next voyage of consciousness exploration for which there is no other equal to date. A little less I talk, a lot more I listen.

This Is A Beautiful Album!.......2005-08-06

I am very pleased with this album. It sure is something special. I don't like all of Steve Roach's work, but Light Fantastic is fantastic! Great for mind journeys and relaxation.

mirrors.......2005-02-26

Think splendor, radiant gloss, flames of blues, green galaxies, shimmering lightning, if possible, and northern lights, the aurora of tempered hypnogogia. Sheen, dim luster, cracks of ice, scintillating nimbostratus enshrouding the dazzle of white sparks from within, skies that emicate, fires that fly, meteors and sprites and fluoro-luminescent vapors glorifying a spectrum of sheer, colored phosphors, energies that refract, glare, twinkle, glitter and sparkle. This could be space, this could be water, this could be air, but it is a medium veiled in light. Black with light. Bright with light...

(Submersion -CL)

T r i p t h e L i g h t ∂n≈An aural alembic, refining, purifying atoms vibrating, wavelengths shifting, pulsing, expanding. Play this track in fast-forward and one can hear the twisting of sound...

B r e a t h i n g t h e P u l s e(x)≈Mist quickly dissipates into Steve Roach's trademark pitch-dropped, time-expanded instruments of bubbles. More pulses of photons, compressed, scattered, and ebullient with velocity. This is not tribal, this is scientific...

T h e R e f l e c t i o n C h a m b e r hn/µ≈The zing, the rise of crescents over slow effervescence, where rainbows converge, crossmix, coalesce, and melt into the rays of shine, reflecting off atmospheres, spheres, fears...

T o u c h t h e P e a r l ∑(Ω)≈ Here there is no incidence, only the circumvenital, travelling a long arc of brilliance, iridescence, but it is not calming. There is disturbance here, the most difficult track to relax or think to. But there is silence, a separation of the next two tracks, a pair...

(Ascension -CL)

R e a l m o f R e f r a c t i o n sin∆/sinß≈Above all planes, parallel to consciousness, a principle of suspension, flotation. Emotion becomes foam, fizzling and churning, recrudescing into a motif, repeated in these two tracks. This is where we see the atmosphere, the green flash, the haunted glories, pillars, and cool retrorefractions...

T h e L u m i n o u s R e t u r n∞≈Darkest, where one sees the fires of the empyrean, a celestial drift and obvious descension from heights attained. Slower, with less emphasis on tempo, but beaming, defining smooth curves, light strikes, gradiations. Below you, the albedo of your Blue, the cloud of your Silver, diaphanous and glassy. Epic in scope, a virtual tour of optics and air...

Like looking down onto the smooth plane of water, Light Fantastic mirrors what we see looking up.

For physical manifestations, I recommend: http://www.lightspace.org/installations.htm

A fantastic CD.......2003-06-25

This CD waas the beginning of my collection and once I heard it I was hooked. All the songs are flowing and very imaginative and leaves one with daydreams alive. It has become one of my favorites and I listened to it so many times I knew I needed to purchase more so as not to tire of it. Overall I would give this CD a high rating and suggest it to anyone looking for some decent ambient music.

Innovative and delightful.......2002-09-30

One of Roach's strongest gifts is his ability to work with the title of the given cd, invoking a masterful sense to create a theme based work. I have known blind people who have heard this and this truly gave them a better understaning of the beauty of textures of visible light.

Upon it's release I was already a massive Roach fan and once again this one shattered any notion I ever held of Roach being bound to any form of convential creative direction. He knows how to forge ahead with a ceaseless prolific nature, yet no matter how many titles he releases, each one sounds fresh and adventurous, taking us in new directions with his skill to bend time and space. In this case, he is bending and refracting the visible light spectrum through his trademark long, gorgeous synth washes and otherworldly sounding beats and grooves.

This is not one of his more meditative releases in the strictess senses; this instead will appeal to any fan of pulsing electro hybrid grooves and searing, almost dissonant but never overbearing or messy clusters of synth textures.