The Bottom Line
- Ashes
- Throw Me a Rope
- Miniature Disasters
- Gone To the Dogs
- One Day
- None
Description
- A decidedly more folky take on Tunstall's simple arrangements
- Song after song of honest, memorable tunes
- KT Tunstall's sophomore effort proves that all the buzz surrounding her is worth it
Guide Review - KT Tunstall - Acoustic Extravaganza
She chose to take the band to the far-off island of Skye, about which plenty of folk songs have been written. Indeed, in many moments, particularly on the lovely "Change," the sea and Skye have their own presence in the production.
Tunstall's songs are not driven by sophisticated lyrical intricacies, but it’s the simplicity that makes her work so provocative. On her Web site, she attributes her singing voice to having studied Ella Fitzgerald. But it's not Tunstall's voice that drives this record, nor is it the impeccable performances from her very talented band. What steers Extravaganza further from the radio-friendly poppiness of Telescope and closer to an honest, songs-for-the-sake-of-the-songs quality is her natural songwriting skills.
Even the sudden modulation in "The Girl and the Ghost" feels less like an obligatory pop modulation, and more like something the song really calls for. She moves through it sleekly and purposefully. The song eventually turns into something more catchy and memorable than many contemporary folk-rock songs, but only because that's what makes sense.
The bottom line is that Acoustic Extravaganza feels like a real KT Tunstall album. That she was able to churn it out in a relatively short amount of time with few missteps is a testament to the wealth of talent we can expect to hear from KT Tunstall in the future.
