Texas are the kind of band where I cannot decide if I like them a little or a lot. At times I have been known to rave about them, but then they release a single or an album which lets me down a little and then it takes me a while to come around to listening to them again. When this album was released, I liked a couple of the singles which had been released, so decided to give it a go.From the off, I want to say that whether the music the band release is to my taste, I always love Sharleen Spiteri’s voice.
The album does not get off to the best of starts with “0.34”, which is basically just over half a minute of instrumental nothingness. I immediately skip fillers like this, and for the life of me I just cannot understand why so many bands think the listener would want these nuisances included amongst the decent music. However the band quickly redeem themselves with the true album opener “Say What You Want”. Sharleen’s vocals show a softer side on this track, although since I saw her perform it with Method Man at the Brits many years ago, this version has always fallen just short of the mark as the one off version has a bit more bite to it which turns
it from a good track into something brilliant.
The opening of ”Drawing Crazy Patterns” has a country feel about it, and is more upbeat and airy than the last track. It is an excellent track, which would have done well as a single release in my opinion. Sharleen’s vocals are effortlessly beautiful, and she stands head and shoulders above some of the so called female vocalists which are finding themselves blessed with more success than their talent deserves.
”Halo” is one of the more well known tracks on the album as it was released as a single. It is a stylish track which deserved the commercial success it received, and sounds more like the earlier, more gritty raw material Texas released than anything else on this album, and it works very well as a contrast to the more pop based songs which they seem to steer towards a lot of the time nowadays.
My out and out favourite track on the album is the sublime “Put Your Arms Around Me”. Sharleen’s vocals ooze warmth and sexuality more than I have ever heard before. She is a really attractive woman, but I thought in the early days she tried to play this down too much in order for her to be taken seriously as a musician, and made herself appear almost asexual at times. This ballad sees her vocals rise above the music, and it is the ultimate in chill out/lose yourself music.
”Insane” starts off as another quite seductive track, then it turns into a really emotional and touching song, where the pain is evident in Sharleen’s voice, making me presume this song is based more on personal experience. The album has now started to really impress me by this point, and although I feel quite chilled out listening to this and the previous track, and I am always eager to listen to what will follow.
My eagerness is always satisfied by the Motown throwback singalong “Black Eyed Boy”. This song combines so many influences it would be easy for it to sound like a mess, but instead the band give us an upbeat, soul based anthem, which gained Texas a whole new group of fans who liked this more in your face approach from a band who are sometimes criticized for being too middle of the road.
”Polo Mint City” changes the pace and the mood again, although I am not quite sure it works. There is an annoying chiming noise in the background, and the song quickly seems to lose direction then ends rather abruptly, earning it my duff track on the album title. “White On Blonde” has a lot to live up to being the title track, but I am afraid to say it threatens to carry on where the last track left off until the more upbeat chorus saves it.
“Postcard” always reminds me of 1990’s indie darlings Elastica, and I really like it. I can imagine Sharleen vamping it up whilst singing this song, and drawing the audience in with her performance. Filler “0.25” comes next…enough said. “Ticket To Lie” has Texas written all over it, and even if another vocalist sang this song, musically it would always remind me of Texas. It is a really good, more rock influenced track which has some of the best lyrics on the whole album, and shows once again just how versatile this band are.
Penultimate track ”Good Advice” hints at disco tones with the opening few bars, and then turns into a bit of a jazzfest, although at times I struggle to really hear Sharleen’s voice which can become an annoyance as it just sounds like the mix is wrong, and that is the only production flaw I can mention on the whole album. “Breathless” brings the album to an upbeat grand finale, and leaves me feeling pretty impressed every time I listen to it.
This album does not fit into a specific genre, although the rock/pop pigeonhole is where it would probably fit best, although there is more soul in this album than on any other Texas album that I have listened to, and a Motown influence is very apparent on some of the tracks. The production is very slick, although stopping short of giving a sound which would be too polished to be credible. For me, it is an underrated album, and certainly rates as one of my favourites from the 1990’s, although the fillers that I hate so much stop it from being in my Top 10!!!
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Great pop music is driven as much by raw emotion as it is classic textures. While this ... more
Scottish band excels in the latter trait, Texas has grappled with finding its own voice ever since making its 1988 debut.White on Blondeis the perfect example of an ...
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Great pop music is driven as much by raw emotion as it is classic textures. While this ... more
Scottish band excels in the latter trait, Texas has grappled with finding its own voice ever since making its 1988 debut. White on Blonde is the perfect example of a...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Advantages: Distinctive voice? Catchy tunes? Inoffensive MOR? Disadvantages: The feeling you’re hearing filtered versions of other tunes AND not very good ones at that....
the_grouch 21.05.2001 (21.05.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of White On Blonde - Texas
Advantages: Relaxing. Music to have a glass of wine on a Summer's day by Disadvantages: The singles were remixed, therefore the album versions are different
Advantages: Distinctive voice? Catchy tunes? Inoffensive MOR? Disadvantages: The feeling you’re hearing filtered versions of other tunes AND not very good ones at that....
the_grouch 21.05.2001 (21.05.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of White On Blonde - Texas
Oct 9th, 2004
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