Tanita Tikaram - Can't Go Back

by Paul Waller

published: 12 / 9 / 2012

Label: Ear Music
Format: CD

Delightful first album in five years from critically acclaimed singer-songwriter, Tanita Tikaram

Review

Basingstoke raised Tanita Tikaram hasn’t made a record in so long that I honestly thought she had given up on recording new material. ‘Can’t Go Back’ is her first batch of songs to appear since 2007’s warmly received ‘Sentimental’ album. A bit of a risk because even with diminishing sales figures her back catalogue is so rich and loved by fans that a miss step could well have tarnished her somewhat lofty reputation. When she keeps the musical arrangements minimal this new album carries the subtle air of an artist reborn. The likes of ‘If The World Should Want For Love’ and ‘Can’t Go Back’ carry the weight of her massive early success within their grooves but they aren’t buried under it. They cut their own niche, allowing the songs to breath much like ‘Little Sister Leaving Town’ did for her back in 1990. Elsewhere opener ‘All Things To You’, ‘Heavy Pressure’ and ‘Rock & Roll’ fill in the empty spaces within the music with equal success. The former two even encapsulate electronica for their backbeats, and the use of minor keys combine to make them the best songs that Tikaram has released in decades. Unfortunately the single ‘Dust On My Shoes’ doesn’t quite hit the aforementioned tracks heights. It could have appeared on any of her previous releases which is fine and all but it feels rushed. Even her smokey voice loses its smooth and sultry tones during the verses which are sung at a vibrant pace. Saying this, the song still doesn’t come across as a desperate attempt to recapture the commercial success of yesteryear. It just seems a little out of place on such a delightful record. I can’t see this record becoming a mainstream success but in years to come this album will be placed amongst those that are considered her best and with such a fantastic body of work recorded already surely that is praise enough.

Track Listing:-

1 All Things To You
2 Dust On My Shoes
3 Make The Day
4 Rock & Roll
5 Science
6 Keep It Real
7 Can't Go Back
8 Heavy Pressure
9 One Kiss
10 If The World Should Want For Love
11 My Love [Acoustic]
12 Valentine Heart [Acoustic]
13 Wonderful Shadow [Acoustic]
14 Only The Ones We Love [Acoustic]
15 Twist In My Sobriety [Acoustic]
16 To Drink The Rainbow [Acoustic]
17 Play Me Again [Acoustic]
18 Love Is Just A Word [Acoustic]

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/tanitatikaram
http://www.tanita-tikaram.com/
https://twitter.com/tanita_tikaram
https://www.youtube.com/user/TanitaTik
https://plus.google.com/11342497721740
https://www.instagram.com/tanitatikara