When Dido first appeared on the music scene in 1999 with her highly acclaimed debut album No Angel it was like a breath of fresh air. The then 28-year-old girl from north London quickly realised that there was a market for this type of music and her melancholy vocals and bittersweet lyrics proved to be a huge success on the opposite side of the Atlantic but it would be 2 years later before she was to enjoy real commercial success in the UK and in 2001 her debut album was the biggest selling album in the UK that year with over 2 million copies sold.
So when a debut album makes you a household name how on earth can you possibly follow up such a success?
The answer is with an album like Life for Rent.

Life for Rent was released at the back end of 2003 and became an instant success. The first single taken from the album White Flag had been released 3 weeks before the album and quickly became her biggest hit to date so suddenly there was much anticipation about this album.
I remember looking at the CD in HMV just after it had been released and debating whether or not to part with my 15 quid or not. I decided at the not to bother, I would wait and hear at least another single. I think that subconsciously I may have been deterred from parting with my cash early on by the track listing on the album because I am always dubious when the first single from an album appears as the first song, it is almost as if to get the best over with first and then fill the rest of the 45 minutes up with something a little bit more mediocre. Oh how wrong could my sub conscience have been?

So almost a year after it first hit the shops I have finally parted with my money, albeit just £8.99 from Asda. Wow what a bargain!

On first play the album was good but nothing sensational. I was a little disappointed to find that the songs sounded so familiar and I had hoped that Dido would have progressed over the last 4 years but it seemed that instead she had chose to belt out pretty much the same as she had done before and I was a little disappointed to find that there were no real surprises.
I was by now familiar with four of the songs, White Flag, Don’t leave home the second single, Life for Rent the title track and third single and the new single and my favourite one so far, Sand in my shoes. It was these four songs that stood out on the first play, which left we me thinking that maybe the tracks in-between were not quite so good.

Dido for me is the sort of artist that is very easy to listen too. Nice, pleasant background music with nothing too heavy, just a catchy hook. There is nothing original about her music which has been described by many critics as depressing, but I disagree that that description, yes her lyrics do describe failed love affairs and one heartache after another but they are also uplifting, there is something within most of her lyrics that each of us can relate too. When I am feeling down that is actually when I can appreciate her music the best because it is only then that you listen to the lyrics and before long you will find yourself smiling.

The album contains 11 tacks beginning with White Flag.

White Flag

This is a superb interpretation of a failed relationship and a desperate plea for one last chance. Dido’s voice on this track is at times almost haunting as she sings "Well I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be”
The clever instrumental interpretation on this track helps to make it a classic and one of her finest moments. In retrospect it is actually a great song as an opening track on the CD.

Stoned

From the title I had assumed that the second track on the album was about drugs. I should have guessed that it is not; it is actually about guess what…love, and a different sort of addiction. It is about how one sided a relationship can be and how difficult it can be to make someone love you as much as you love them.
The track opens with a hypnotic drumbeat, which leaves you wondering if the track is actually an instrumental before Dido’s familiar vocals kick in.
“If you won't let me fall for you
Then you won't see the best that I would love to do for you
Instead you will be missing me when I go
Cos I'm bored of hanging out in your cold”

Life for Rent

As you would expect the title track of the album is another classic and an obvious choice of a single to promote it. It is a very touching and poignant track about being hurt in love and putting up barriers to make sure that you will never be so venerable again. It is also about taking a risk and allowing yourself to let down those barriers again.
The song begins
“I haven’t ever really found a place that I call home
I never stick around quite long enough to make it
I apologize that once again I'm not in love
But it's not as if I mind that your heart ain't exactly breaking
It's just a thought, only a thought
But if my life is for rent and I don't learn to buy
Well I deserve nothing more than I get
Cos nothing I have is truly mine”

Mary’s in India

This is a song about looking out for a friend. It is a story about Danny, left heartbroken when his girlfriend Mary leaves him but it is told through the eyes of Dido who is the one looking out for him.
“Danny is lonely cos Mary's in India now
She said she'd call but that was three weeks ago
She left all her things well, her books and her letters from him
and as the sun rises on Mary, it sets on him”
At the end of the song there is quite a clever twist when Dido and Danny end up together.
“Don't worry Mary, cos I'm taking care of Danny
and he's taking care of me’
This is quite a slow track, which suits the theme of the song perfectly.

See you when you’re 40

This is a song about going backwards in order to be able to move forward. It is a story about going back to a failed relationship even when you know that it will not work out just to convince yourself that it finally needs to be left in the past.
“Now I've seen, tonight, how I could waste my time
and I'll be on my way, and I won't be back
cos I've seen, tonight, what I've been warned about
your just a boy, not a man, and I'm not coming back”
This is another fairly slow melancholy track which is quite easy to put into the background, whilst you suddenly remember that your own problems aren’t quite so bad.

Don’t leave home

The second single to be taken from the album has a much more lively beat than the last two tracks and right from the intro it makes you sit up and listen. This is another story about a relationship, but this time it is a little bit more positive. It is about protecting those that you love and forsaking all others.
“So close the blinds and shut the door
you won't need other friends anymore
oh don't leave home, oh don't leave home
and if you're cold, I’ll keep you warm
if you're low, just hold on
cos I will be your safety
oh don't leave home”

What makes you feel

This is probably the one track on the album, which seems to be a little out of place. It has a very lively and much more poppy feel to it and on the first few listens it barely even sounds like Dido. The slow melancholy voice has gone and instead been replaced with something quite different.
It is another tale about love and a relationship that has gone stale.
“I don't touch you the way I used to
and I don't call and write when I'm away
we don't make love as often as we did do
what couldn't wait now waits and usually goes away
but listen and think when I say, oh but listen and think when I say”
I have listened this track a few times now and I am still not convinced that it works.

Sand in my shoes

This is one of the strongest tracks on the album and lyrically probably one of Dido’s finest moments. It is the story of a holiday romance and returning home, back to reality.
“I’ve still got sand in my shoes and i can't shake the thought of you
I should get on, forget you but why would i want to
I know we said goodbye, anything else would have been confused
but I want to see you again”

Do you have a little time

This is a song about being taken for granted in a relationship, when the novelty of first being in love is starting to wear thin, when the phone calls become less frequent.
If you should stop for a while
you will find me standing by
over here, at the side of your life
I'd like to hold you still
remind you of all you've missed
if you have a little time, if you have a little time that is

This land is mine

This is another song about taking down barriers, which reminded me of “Thank you” from the “No Angel” album.
“This land is mine but I'll let you rule
I'll let you navigate and demand
just as long as you know, this land is mine
so find your home and settle in
oh I'm ready to let you in
just as long as we know, this land is mine”
There is a very upbeat guitar rhythm throughout the track.

See the sun

This is another very upbeat track in which Dido once again tells the story through the third person. It is about being there for a friend when things have turned sour but then having the courage to tell that friend it is finally time to face up to facts, that it is time to move on.
“Come on take my hand
we're going for a walk, I know you can
you can wear anything, as long as it's not black
please don't mourn forever, she's not coming back
and yes they'll ask you where you've been
and you'll have to tell them, again and again”

The album was co written by Dido and her brother Rollo, who has quite an impressive musical career of his own, although he his more famed for his trance style productions, which do occasionally sneak through in parts of this album. I would definitely recommend this album to others and I am looking forward to enjoying it again and again.