No Angel - Dido (CD 1999)

Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle Armstrong Gould (yes, that is her real name) is a British singer-songwriter who first rose to fame after Eminem sampled her track Thank You on his massive hit Stan . (She also appeared in the music video as the titular character s long-suffering girlfriend). The success of that song proved the springboard for her to conquer the charts, and her debut album No Angel reigned supreme as the top-selling UK album of 2001 (and with an estimated 13.5 million copies sold worldwide). Like many prominent British female artists of the previous few years, Dido dabbles...

At first listen, Dido s No Angel is a slightly subversive thrill ride into the dangers of subliminal seduction. The music is soothing, and vaguely intoxicating. Time flies and you are unaware of the clock. You feel somewhat drawn into another world, as if under the spell of an anaesthetic. My Medical Advice: Listen to this record with someone else (you can trust) nearby to pull you out of your mental fugue. Wake Up! A Half-Hour Later You re Still Hungry Dido s No Angel exists in a vacuum of self-absorption. The music is flighty flirty Euro pop; a syrupy, confectionery sugar overload for the...

Dido has finally arrived on the scene thanks to a clever sample from Eminem and mass exposure to his single "Stan". Right now I can't think of any other singer who has been made a star by being sampled but this seems to be the case. So the big question is "Would she have been a star without his assistance?" Honestly, I don't think so. Her music doesn't really stand out, her voice is void of emotion and her style is kind of bland. Her sound is kind of like what Sarah Mclachlan would be on autopilot. Her music has that whimsical quality without the whimsy. The first track on the album begins...

I am self-avowedly a fan of rock and roll. I love punk, I adore grunge (or whatever the hell you want to call it), alt-rock got me through most of the 90 s, and there s nothing quite as good as some good ole fashioned blues. I can even stomach folk, and small select doses of country and metal. So why, I hear you clamour, am I reviewing Dido s debut No Angel? Good question. I also like pop in small doses, and Dido really hit the spot mid-way through the past year when I was in need of some pretty straightforward pop music. Besides, to call Dido pop rather sullies the poor woman, who is a cut...