Album Club: 03.04.2012: Tina Dico - In The Red (2005)

[Alex_UK]

Tina Dico - In The Red (2005)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/519MYSSP59L._SL500_AA300_.jpg

http://open.spotify.com/album/3Ybg9wfJBp8qiwKf4Z9TFn

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tina_Dico

Isn't it hard to make a choice for Album Club? I've had several in mind this week, and then suddenly this one came onto the scene whilst I was driving home this evening...

Well, I've banged on about her enough in the past, so I suppose now I have your undivided attention, I can force you all to listen to the lovely Tina Dico :) (Tina Dickow as she's known in her native Denmark.) On the bright side, she's not Britney! :lol:

"With heavenly vocals and a poignant writing style, singer/songwriter Tina Dico has topped the charts repeatedly in her native Denmark, caught the ear of Zero 7, and earned a Danish Grammy for Best Songwriter. As she was growing up, her father was a hi-fi aficionado and bought music based on the recording quality, not the genre or artistic merit. This introduced young Tina to a variety of styles, and while she gravitated toward Leonard Cohen, Donovan, and Joni Mitchell, she was well versed in opera and traditional Danish music by the time she had finished the massive collection.

An old reel-to-reel tape machine and a microphone made by her father captured her teenage writing attempts, but Dico didn't take any of this seriously until she joined a band. She was 15 when it happened, and this revived interest in music eventually had her attending the Danish Royal College of Music, where extracurricular activities included joining another band and playing her songs in talent contests, one of which was broadcast on Danish television. The television appearance lead to calls from record labels, but the red tape that came with their offers pushed Dico into releasing her first album on her own."

Well, as already mentioned, she worked with Zero 7, (their first album was my first Album Club choice) and that's how I got to know her - she had 2 self-released albums, before this one - which was her first major label release via Sony. There are some really emotional songs on this album, as well as some catchy tunes, and in my book, she is one of the best female singer-songwriters we've seen so far in the 21st century... I hope you enjoy my selection.

[Tim]

Can I vote now Alex :eyebrows:

EDIT:
Well pretty easy for me Alex, but you know that already - I know this album intimately and play it often, so it's a 9/10 without even thinking, but I will listen to it again ;)

[Reid Malenfant]

You know I just quite don't get this female vocals thing, unless you would like the protagonist to be doing something other than singing & to yourself :rfl:

I'll give this a listen pretty soon as I can erase all Spotify shite off of my HDD nowadays :D

Don't take this the wrong way Alex, I loved K.D. Lang - Drag, but she's a dyke.. Yet her voice is something else :)



So... Is it the voice or something else :lol:

[Jac Hawk]

No she's not Britney, she's in a whole different league:), and I make this statement after only hearing the first bar of the 1st track:eek:, this is my sort of thing mate:thumbsup::thumbsup:, i'll give it a listen and report back at the end of the album, all i can say is, it's looking good so far:)

[aquapiranha]

Don't know how, but this appears to have slipped in under my radar which is a very uncommon occurance for this type of music (especially when sung by a total babe!).

So, I will have to do a recce and get back to you... :lol:

[Reid Malenfant]

Now that is exactly what I mean ;) Tina (I want you to suck my) Dico yeah baby :lol:

Apologies guys, I guess I'm just not "with it" :eyebrows:

However, I'll give it a good listen & a few times just so it computes :D

[Alex_UK]

You'll probably struggle to find it Mark (not on Spotify, anyway...) bus she guests on some tracks from Euphoria's album Precious Time - try here - http://www.myspace.com/euphoria - more your type of thing I'd guess?

[Jac Hawk]

Now that is exactly what I mean ;) Tina (I want you to suck my) Dico yeah baby :lol:

get to the back of the orderly cue matey :bonk:

[Jac Hawk]

You'll probably struggle to find it Mark (not on Spotify, anyway...) bus she guests on some tracks from Euphoria's album Precious Time - try here - http://www.myspace.com/euphoria - more your type of thing I'd guess?

It is on Spotify Alex, :)

[Reid Malenfant]

Hi Alex, the album you have listed is on Spotify, well you linked to it so I assume so :)

That's all I need fella, the other stuff might be interesting though... I'm just taking the p*ss by the way, nothing unusual around here :lol:

[Alex_UK]

Sorry - I meant Euphoria - Precious Time isn't on Spotify. :doh:

[Jac Hawk]

Hhmmmmm this gets a 7/10 from me , a very sombre album, and by the end of it you kinda need to take a happy pill, however musically it's very good and she has a good voice, i just wish there was a bit more variety a few up beat songs. I'll listen to her other work and see if there's any difference there, I hope there is cos i do like her voice

[Bazil]

Oh bloody'ell another girl, thought you might have gave us some Death Prog this time Alex :D

[Beechwoods]

That gives me an idea (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xdj1MTQetk)!

[Audioman]

This artist is new to me. Generaly impressed by the arrangements and singing. Does lack a little variety and originality for me. Still worth 7/10 but not sure I would buy it.

[John]

I give this a proper listen at the weekend so far not bad but a bit sparse. Reminds me a bit of Tori (not a bad thing imo) I have no idea where I am going to score this

[Bazil]

Can't remember how many I gave the Britany album but although I've only given In The Red
6/10 its miles better. Female singers just don't hold my attention but as they go I like Tina Dico and would recommend her.

[aquapiranha]

So I have had a listen now, and I have to say I really like it, so I have given it an 8 and I will have to check out some of her other stuff. cheers!

[Alex_UK]

So I have had a listen now, and I have to say I really like it, so I have given it an 8 and I will have to check out some of her other stuff. cheers!

Excellent - that's great Steve - really, everything she has done is fab if you enjoyed this you won't go wrong with any of her albums. :)

[griffo104]

Settled down with this over the weekend and have to say I found it quite exceptional. Amongst all the usual noisey stuff I enjoy I do have a weak spot for the girls and this album ticks a lot of boxes.

Musically I found it tight and enjoyable and I enjoyed her vocals, each song kept my attention and I ended up adding it to my playlist, so something must have been right about it.

Any Criticism ? Well, as mentioned above by someone else, the pace is a little similar and it could do with changing the beat a little bit but this was a minor quibble with what I found to be a most enjoyable album.

the first out and out find on the album club and my first essential purchase. Gets a big curly one off me (9 that is). Good choice.

[keiths]

I don't know why, but I'm really not getting on with this at all so far - in fact, haven't managed to get to the end yet before I feel I want to put something else on. I can't put my finger on what it is I don't like either - but I don't enjoy the tracks she sings on on the Zero 7 album either :scratch:

I'll persevere a bit longer...

[Welder]

I'm still struggling with this. I listen to bit on spot and then wander off to listen to something else. Not sure I'll ever get through the entire album.
I'll try a bit more then go slit my wrists prolly.

[keiths]

Well, I did persevere with this despite not being at all keen on first listen and it's definitely grown on me. Still something about her voice/phrasing that I'm not too keen on, but I'll check out some of her other albums on the strength of this one. 7/10.

[The Grand Wazoo]

Not really my kind of thing - I found it a bit samey. If someone gave me a copy, I'd never play it unless I thought guests might enjoy it.
Not a very good score, I'm afraid.

[Reid Malenfant]

Well unlike John I managed to get through the whole thing without wanting to slit my wrists :lol:

But rather like Chris I found it all a bit samey. Nothing against it but not my pint of beer & I'll not be converting any time in the near future :cool:

So going with Alex marking formula it gets 4/10.

[MartinT]

I am very familiar with Tina Dico's music and this is a superb album. 'Warm Sand' is up there with the gods. The thing about Dico in both her own material and when performing with Zero 7 is that her voice is so well controlled and her diction so perfect - extraordinary for a Danish national. 9/10

For those who like this, Count to Ten is another quite superb album, and available on vinyl too :)

[Werner Berghofer]

Martin,


her diction so perfect

that’s true – much more perfect than the diction of many native English singers. Being born and raised in German language (Viennese dialect, to be exact), I find it easy to understand and access Tina Dico’s lyrics. Her English is similar to the germ-free, antistatic pronunciation used by ABBA.

But I prefer this album by Tina Dico:

http://www.berghofer.com/photos/wp/2012/tina_dico.jpg

For my ears, most tracks on “In the red” sound a little bit too much like photoshopped pop music, though lines like

“But what’s a man without a past
We love him for his lies”

usually are not found in pop songs.

I feel that on most songs Tina is repeating the refrains a little bit too often, with a little bit too few lines of substantial storytelling between them; the song structure is quite simple. Compare this for example with the outstanding “Friend in a bar” from “A detour”, where there’s no refrain at all.

When I’m in the mood for passionate, young female drama, for me Anna Calvi hits the nail much better, more creatively and with more incalculable, unexpected turns.

http://www.berghofer.com/photos/wp/2012/anna_calvi.jpg

Werner.

[MartinT]

Indeed, Werner, and I do agree. However, the contrast when Tina sings with Sia for Zero 7 is one that I very much enjoy, and Sia has a very laid back drawly delivery with almost unintelligible diction but a style all of her own. I love them both!

[Alex_UK]

Werner - I too think "The Trilogy" is a better album, and agree with Martin that Count to Ten is superb too. But then I love all her stuff! I picked In the Red precisely because it probably is her most commercial album, on the basis that it would be a broad a place to start to get the most accessibility - glad to see one or two have now discovered Tina and hope you enjoy the rest of her music. :)

[The Grand Wazoo]

By all accounts then, it might be an idea to take a listen to these others if, like me, you thought it was a bit 'samey'.

[Martinh]

I have been listening to this and really like it. I'm going to try some of her other stuff and maybe too zero 7.

Particularly like wam sand, in the red, head shop and room with a view.

Thanks Alex, 9/10 for me.

Martin

[MartinT]

Martin - try Count to Ten. IMO it's an even better album than In The Red and shows off her voice to extraordinary effect.

[Tim]

Martin - try Count to Ten. IMO it's an even better album than In The Red and shows off her voice to extraordinary effect.
+1

[Martinh]

Martin - try Count to Ten. IMO it's an even better album than In The Red and shows off her voice to extraordinary effect.

Just placed my order with amazon :)

Cheers martin

[Tim]

Not wanting to try and make you spend more money, but I really like A Beginning, A Detour, An Open Ending - in fact its possibly my favourite collection of hers and 3 CD's for a tenner is great value, even cheaper if you don't mind Marketplace.

;)

[Reid Malenfant]

My turn tomorrow :eyebrows: I can absolutely promise you that there will be no female vocals anywhere near the thing, unless it's your other half cursing at what you're playing :lol:

In fact there will be no vocals fullstop :D

[MartinT]

I can't wait, Mark. I can pretty much guarantee that I won't have it ;)

[Alex_UK]

Great to see a new Tina Dico fan added to the fold (honestly, all her albums are worth getting) - and also that Mark is on the ball and won't need a nudge for his album club appearance this evening. :)

[Reid Malenfant]

<snip> and also that Mark is on the ball and won't need a nudge for his album club appearance this evening. :)
Oh it'll be going up alright, I still haven't made my mind up what to inflict on you all yet though :eyebrows:

[MartinT]

Better make sure it's on Spotify, Mark, otherwise Album Club will be awful quiet this week ;)

[Reid Malenfant]

All the ones I might spin are on Spotify, have no fear, or should that be have fear? :rfl:

[velocesprint]

Brilliant album - not available on vinyl sadly. My CD copy has an extra disc which is live in some jazz club in Stockholm. Have to say it is better than the album by some margin (and the main album is not shabby). Great performance - wonderful voice. Good choice - had not realised it was so old.