Sharleen Spiteri to Release Solo Album, Melody, July 14th in U.K.



After fronting the excellent Scottish band Texas for twenty years (hard to believe, Harry), singer Sharleen Spiteri has finally recorded a solo album, Melody, scheduled for release in the U.K. on July 14th. Hoping not to get lost in the shuffle of current singers working the sixties/pop/soul aesthetic, Melody is described on Sharleen's website thusly:

Not only did Sharleen write the whole album, she also produced it, taking complete artistic control of its every sonic nuance. Steeped in the sound and textures of '60s soul, '50s rock'n'roll and doo-wop, it's an album that's vintage in flavour yet utterly contemporary in spirit. Beside the new generation of retro-obsessed UK songbirds such as Amy Winehouse, Duffy and Adele, it's a timely reminder that Sharleen was already dabbling in similar influences over a decade ago, be it Tamla Motown ('Black Eyed Boy'), Marvin Gaye ('Say What You Want') or Elvis Presley (cross-dressing up as The King for 2001's 'Inner Smile' video).

Going solo has allowed her the freedom to indulge in such consuming passions even further, creating an album that proudly wears its influences on its sleeve. "I've always wanted to make a Nancy Sinatra record," she explains. "That was never going to happen with Texas, but being on my own meant I could take complete control and make the kind of album I've always dreamed of. That's what Melody is all about. It's my dream Nancy and Lee Hazlewood record, but with Johnny Cash, Motown, Elvis, The Righteous Brothers, all these things thrown in. That's what it boils down to. My ultimate personal fantasy record."

Here's the video for the first single, "All the Times I Cried".





All the Times I Cried contains a bonus track "When Did You Leave Heaven", and is released in the U.K. on July 1st on digital download and on July 7th on CD single.


(Photo courtesy BBC/Later with Jools Holland)

All The Times I Cried (Acoustic)


Listen to "That Was a Lie".

Perhaps a future bonus track, this song is described as being from the album but is not included on it or on the first single. "That Was a Lie" is currently being offered as a free download on Sharleen's website.

Also check out Texas' Youtube page for a nice collection of Texas videos.

Sharleen's website.
Sharleen's myspace.
Texas' website.
Texas' youtube.

Comments

infotaupe said…
Thanks for the heads up, love her voice, and the new single is beautiful!
6/18/2008
jennifer kates said…
haha i think of you every time i see that episode of the british 'office' where ricky gervais is bragging that he could have headlined a show with texas opening for HIM but that he didn't feel the need to prove himself, he just knows that he could have been bigger than them if he had wanted to try. "a little band called... TEXAS."
7/04/2008
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Remembering the Main Point, 1964 - 1981

Image
WXPN Most Memorable Musical Moment #5 Begining in 1964, The Main Point in Bryn Mawr provided the Philadelphia area with one of its most enjoyable venues for live music. Although it started as a folk based coffeehouse, all styles of music were presented over the years. Financial problems continually plagued the Main Point, and in spite of frequent benefit shows by artists who loved the place as much as the audience, the club finally closed in 1981. The following brief history is contained in an obituary of Jeanette O. Campbell, one of the founders and owners of the Main Point who died on October 22, 2006, written by Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer Sally A. Downey as reprinted on the Save Ardmore Coalition website. Jeanette Orndoff Campbell, 89, former owner of the Main Point, a music hall in Bryn Mawr where young talents including Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt and James Taylor were introduced to local audiences, died of complications from hip surgery Oct. 22 at Stap
Read more

Cream and Blind Faith at the Spectrum, Philadelphia, 1968 & 1969

Image
WXPN Most Memorable Musical Moment #3 (L-R) Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, & Eric Clapton I could not have foreseen it at the time, but looking back on a concert going history now entering it's fifth decade, my first three concerts were absolutely formative in the development of the music obsession that has driven life as we know it from that point forward. Attending a rock concert pre drivers license was no small feat, that I even got to these shows is the first indication that I knew I was onto something even if I couldn't quite explain it. I've already detailed my first concert (The Beatles at JFK Stadium) in my MMMM#1 . My second and third concerts took place at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, they were less than a year apart, and due to the fact that concerts never end at the time predicted, these concert experiences both ended with a very angry driver stuck waiting in the car outside the venue until the last encore had finished. I shot both concerts with the same starter
Read more

And We Danced - Filming the Hooters Video, 7/27/85

Image
WXPN Most Memorable Musical Moment #4 "And We Danced" (picture sleeve above) was released in 1985 as the second single from the album, Nervous Night , the Hooters' major label debut for Columbia Records. Here's the video. The call went out to the Hooters' mailing list the last week of July 1985 that an audience with cars would be needed on the coming Saturday for a video shoot. Participants would report to the Exton Drive-In by late morning and be prepared to stay all day until after dark. This stage set, early in the day, was a warm-up for the crowd and probably a dry run for the production team for the night-time performance to be filmed later. The banner backdrop does not appear in the video. Some of the antique and custom cars that were on hand for the shoot. The production crew prepares the ticket booth for its shot. This is the film crew shooting the acoustic intro part of the song. The acoustic intro was shot twice, first with t
Read more