Left of the Middle

by

Natalie Imbruglia

Edit

Who can believe it's been 5 years since this one? I know I can't. In any event, it is still as excellent as it was then, and it is one of the most enduringly listenable discs in this reviewer's lengthy collection. It is a real shame that her sophomore album, released almost a year ago this week, did not sell nearly as many units and was almost completely commercially ignored. That just goes to prove one thing: No one bought this album for the right reason!

The fact is, though "Torn" was a cover song, the rest of the tracks were written by her (except for the catchy but unnotable Don't You Think?) and are all as good or better. The true highlights here are...

ONE MORE ADDICTION "One more addiction floating down the river out of sight forever from my world It's the only thing I know how to do"

WISHING I WAS THERE "Can't leave things well alone understand I'm accident-prone Me? I break free Every night the moon is mine But when the morning comes Don't say you love or so say you need me I really don't think that's fair I'm not so dumb But when you leave me I'll be wishing I was there"

SMOKE "Mum's lookin sad What's up with that?...Bleeding is breathing I saw you hiding beneath the smoke in the room"

INTUITION "Intuition tells me how to live my day Intuition tells me when to walk away Could've turned left Could've turned right But I ended up here Bang in the middle of the real life"

CITY "Doesn't really matter where you wanna take me...away from the city I wanna start again I wanna take it back I wanna start again"

LEFT OF THE MIDDLE "But it's something I can't say Though it seems the other way And it's a game that I can't play...not today I need to tell you Trying to get through Is not always easy left of the middle".

This is truly an awesome debut. Her lyrical and vocal prowess speak for themselves. Natalie somehow slipped between the cracks of the US market, and as a result she may well be on VH1's Top 100 Greatest 1-Hit Wonders List one day (not in the UK, where the hits still come), and for reasons not deserved. "Left In the Middle" is nearly 5 years old now, and has absolutely proven itself to this listener an album that defies age.

The layered pop tracks are sometimes more interesting than her vocals. But, it is a pretty good album, worth a few listens. The lyrics a generally well written, but the delivery is, and I AM sorry, derivitive of that other angry female,(and the other one actually comes across as angry). However, I LOVE "Smoke",(her most impassioned and convincing delivery), as well as "Pigeons and Crumbs", and 'Left of the Middle", and "Leave Me Alone" for it's catchy hook. But, even though she's patently weird, I think I like that other Natalie's "Ophelia" a little more, though Imbruglia is stunningly and classically attractive. Overall, a decent effort.