Artist: Regina Spektor
Label: Sire
Copyright: 2006
ASIN: B000FFJ80I
Description and Critical Evaluation
I listen to this album at least once and sometimes as many as five times per week. Its combination of energy, full-throated singing, cheerfulness, and wistfulness make it a great accompaniment to many different moods and activities. Spektor has a beautiful voice and an amazing range of vocal styles. She accompanies herself on the piano on many tracks, sometimes combining or replacing the instrument with electronic accompaniment. One of my favorite things about her is that she’s not afraid of being weird. Because of this, her lyrics are inventive and her songs are very different from each other.
The first track, “Fidelity,” is probably her best-known song. It has appeared in the soundtracks of episodes of popular TV shows, including Grey’s Anatomy, and the movie Love and Other Drugs. It is joyful and infectious, with a playful chorus that makes extensive use of glottal stop effects. “Samson,” the third track, is a beautiful, melancholy ballad that tells an alternate version of the Samson and Delilah story: “We couldn’t bring the columns down, and we couldn’t destroy a single one/And the history books forgot about us, and the Bible didn’t mention us.” “On the Radio,” track four, tells a dreamlike story in which each line seems to lead into the next based more on rhyme or imagery than logic: “And all the styrofoam began to melt away/We tried to find some worms to aid in the decay/But none of them were home inside the catacombs/A million ancient began to sting our knees.” The music follows the same pattern, with very different sections leading into each other only to come back later. The climax of the song, with several repetitions of the phrase “on the radio,” features percussive vocal effects. The lyrics to “Aprés Moi” combine English, Russian, and French. Spektor punctuates the chorus with low grunts. “That Time” is a love story about an eccentric young couple living on the edge of disaster. Lyrical paragraphs start with “Hey remember that time …” While some of these memories are whimsical (“Hey remember that time when I would only read Shakespeare?/Hey remember that other time when I would only read the backs of cereal boxes?”), by the end of the song they’ve moved into dark territory: “Hey remember that time when you ODed?/Hey remember that other time when you ODed for a second time?” In “Edit” Spektor juxtaposes monotone vocal lines, sung with a husky, mocking quality, with instrumental interludes with flowery piano solos. This is one of the weird ones. “Lady” is a blues song. Spektor’s voice hangs achingly on the blue notes. The final track, “Summer in the City,” combines a longing tone with quirky, unexpected lyrics: “Summer in the city means cleavage, cleavage, cleavage/And I start to miss you baby sometimes/I’ve been sitting up drinking in late night establishments/Telling strangers personal things.” Spektor varies the tempo and density of the piano accompaniment freely, creating the effect of an intimate live performance.
In short, this album is a must-have, as is Spektor’s 2009 followup, Far. And if you ever get the chance to see her live, jump at it—she’s a riveting performer.
Why is this title included?
Regina Spektor is one of my favorite artists. She stands out for her musical ability and smart, quirky lyrics. She has broad appeal, but is an especially good choice for older teens looking for something a little more sophisticated than the standard pop fare.