Trip the Light Fantastic (Sophie Ellis-Bextor album)

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Trip the Light Fantastic
Studio album by
Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Released21 May 2007
Recorded2005–07
Genre
Length53:27
LabelFascination
Producer
Sophie Ellis-Bextor chronology
Shoot from the Hip
(2003) 		Trip the Light Fantastic
(2007) 		Sophie Ellis-Bextor: iTunes Live in London
(2009)
Singles from Trip the Light Fantastic
  1. "Catch You"
    Released: 19 February 2007
  2. "Me and My Imagination"
    Released: 7 May 2007
  3. "Today the Sun's on Us"
    Released: 13 August 2007

Trip the Light Fantastic is the third studio album by British singer and songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor. It was released on 21 May 2007 by Fascination Records following the release of the lead single, "Catch You" and the second single, "Me and My Imagination". The album was available to stream via the internet on 18 May 2007, three days before the official release date. It debuted on the UK Albums Chart at number 7.

"Today the Sun's on Us" was the third single released from the album on 13 August 2007, causing the album to re-enter the UK Albums Chart at number 39. In an interview with Digital Spy, Ellis-Bextor confirmed that the fourth single from the album was to be "If I Can't Dance", and on 5 May 2008, the single was released exclusively via the iTunes Store. The song also appeared on the soundtrack to the film St Trinian's.

It received mostly positive reviews from music critics, with many commending the album for being an enjoyable, "glossy" dance record. The album became Ellis-Bextor's second studio album to be available digitally in the United States.

Background[edit]

In an interview for Digital Spy, Ellis-Bextor claimed she recorded four duets for the album, however, decided not to include any of them on request of her record label.[1] Despite this, Dan Gillespie Sells provides backing vocals for two songs on the album, and Fred Schneider provides backing vocals on another. Originally, Ellis-Bextor claimed she would not appear on the album's cover, however, she later claimed that she had changed her mind. She commented, "It's sparkly, but hopefully it's got a bit more depth than just a nice picture of me on the cover!"[2] Ellis-Bextor worked on the album with someone she regarded as "a French guy named Dimitri", who was rumoured to be Dimitri from Paris, but turned out to be Dimitri Tikovoi.[3] She also worked on the album with her ex-bandmate Kerin Smith, of theaudience.[4] The opening line in "If I Can't Dance" is, according to Ellis-Bextor in an interview for The Times website, a famous quote by feminist anarchist Emma Goldman.[4] She also revealed that she wrote around eighty songs for the album, and later admitted, "That's how many demos exist. Overall, it's probably knocking on for triple figures I'd say."[4] She revealed that she had plans to release a song called "Hype", which sampled Kraftwerk's "The Model", but the record label denied her permission.[4] Following its release in Australia, the album went to the top ten on the Australian iTunes pop albums chart and the top 40 on the main albums chart, but failed to chart on the ARIA Charts.

Singles[edit]

"Catch You" was released as the album's lead single in February 2007.[5] It is a pop rock, electronic song and talks about Ellis-Bextor chasing the guy that she wants.[5] It received mostly positive reviews from music critics, who commended the infusion of rock guitars and electronic beats, while calling it a strident and very good song.[6] A music video was directed by Sophie Muller and it shows Ellis-Bextor chasing someone in Venice.[7] The song performed moderately on the charts, reaching number 8 on the UK Singles Chart, peaking inside the top twenty on the Italian and Russian Singles Chart and inside the top fifty on the charts of other countries.[8]

"If You Go" was released as a promo single on iTunes in March 2007.[9]

"Me and My Imagination" was its follow-up, hitting the market in May 2007. It is a dance-pop, disco song and its lyrics advise an overeager suitor to play harder to get.[10] It only reached number twenty-three on the UK Singles Chart. It received acclaim from music critics, who named it a brilliant and irresistible slice of pop.[6] The song was the cause of controversy because of an unexpected delay in its release on iTunes.[11]

"Today the Sun's on Us" was the third single, being released in August.[12] It is a mid-tempo ballad written about "giving yourself permission to enjoy things when the going is good, despite the fact you know the good may not last forever".[12] It received generally favourable reviews from music critics, who called it "brilliant".[13] However, some criticised her vocals, calling it "limited".[14] The single spent one week in the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at number 64.[15]

A fourth single was expected to be released in May 2008, which was "If I Can't Dance", but was eventually delayed and never released.[4][16]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
BBC Musicfavourable[17]
Digital Spy[14]
The Guardian[18]
Metro[19]
NME6/10[20]
The Observermixed[21]
This Is Fake DIY[22]
Virgin Media[23]
Yahoo!6/10[24]

The album received positive reviews from most music critics. K. Ross Hoffman of AllMusic gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, writing "A welcome return from one of the most sophisticated and distinctive voices in British dance-pop, Trip the Light Fantastic is easily Sophie Ellis-Bextor's most dynamic album to date. Markedly more consistent than its enjoyable-but-spotty predecessors, but also – more importantly – far more gutsy, varied and vital, its many strong points are the most exciting of her career."[6] Hoffman also named it a "tremendously enjoyable record that stands as a shining example of the state of the art."[6] Nick Levine of Digital Spy also gave the album a rating of 4 out of 5 stars, writing "Trip the Light Fantastic easily fulfils the promise of its fizzy singles."[14] Stuart McCaighy of This Is Fake DIY gave the album 8 out of 10 stars, writing that Ellis-Bextor "has a class, an air which most pop stars lack."[22] Pete Cashmore of NME gave the album a rating of 6 out of 10 stars, writing "Ellis-Bextor proffers lush, mechanical dance muzak, which is probably not what you want, so it helps that with the swooping 'New York City Lights' she is also delivering good pop songs. As pointlessly opulent as walking into a Walkabout pub and ordering a Cosmopolitan, and no less satisfying."[20]

Talia Kraines of BBC Music opined that "Whether there is room for such a manicured, glossy pop star in the musical landscape of 2007 is a different matter. Sophie's certainly made the pop record she wants to, and if it all sounds a tad 2002 then so be it. Good luck to her."[17] Kitty Empire of The Observer wrote: "Ellis Bextor has panniers of the stuff, but you wouldn't know it from this collection of deeply ordinary songs."[21] Matt O'Leary of Virgin Media gave the album 2.5 out of 5 stars, but ultimately wrote that "While this is a super-glossy piece of work, it does nothing to dispel the image of Sophie Ellis-Bextor as making club music it's OK for your mum to like. By no means bad."[23] Emily MacKay of Yahoo! Music gave the album 6 out of 10 stars, writing "All in all, though, Trip the Light Fantastic stumbles short of the disco sublime it tries so hard to invoke. Keep on trying, Sophie."[24]

The album peaked at number 4 on Billboard's best albums of 2007.[25] Pitchfork ranked "Me and My Imagination" number 87 on its list of the 100 greatest tracks of 2007.[26]

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Catch You"
Kurstin3:19
2."Me and My Imagination"
  • Prime
  • Jeremy Wheatley*
  • Brio Taliaferro*
3:27
3."Today the Sun's on Us"
  • Wheatley
  • Taliaferro
4:18
4."New York City Lights"
  • Rowe
  • Stannard
3:53
5."If I Can't Dance"
  • Tikovoi
  • Wheatley*
  • Taliaferro*
3:27
6."The Distance Between Us"
Howe4:26
7."If You Go"
3:27
8."Only One"
  • Tikovoi
  • Wheatley*
3:46
9."Love Is Here"
  • Ellis-Bextor
  • Sells
  • Wheatley
  • Taliaferro
4:35
10."New Flame"
  • Ellis-Bextor
  • Tikovoi
  • Tikovoi
  • Wheatley*
  • Taliaferro*
2:52
11."China Heart"
Gabriel3:44
12."What Have We Started?"
  • Ellis-Bextor
  • Gabriel
  • Robinson
Gabriel4:08
UK and Australian bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."Can't Have It All"
  • Wheatley
  • Taliaferro
4:08
14."Supersonic"
  • Wheatley
  • Taliaferro
4:03
UK iTunes bonus tracks[27]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
15."Me and My Imagination" (StoneBridge Vocal Mix)
7:21
16."Catch You" (Moto Blanco Club Mix)
8:26
2022 deluxe edition[28]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."Can't Have It All"
  • Ellis-Bextor
  • White
  • Wheatley
  • Taliaferro
4:08
14."Supersonic"
  • Ellis-Bextor
  • Schneider
  • Brody
  • Staub
  • Wheatley
  • Taliaferro
4:03
15."Down with Love" (B-side of "Catch You")
  • Ellis-Bextor
  • Rob Davis
  • Barry Stone
  • Julian Gingell
  • Stone
  • Gingell
3:55
16."Move to the Music" (B-side of "Me and My Imagination")
  • Ellis-Bextor
  • Pascal Gabriel
  • Gabriel
3:46
17."Here's to You" (B-side of "Me and My Imagination")
  • Ellis-Bextor
  • Anu Pillai
  • Pillai
2:46
18."Duel" (B-side of "Today the Sun's on Us")
  • Stone
  • Gingell
4:24

(* – additional production)

Tour[edit]

Ellis-Bextor originally planned to embark on a 14-date concert tour beginning on 14 August and ending on 5 October 2007.[4] The tour was scheduled to be a nationwide tour of the UK, including festivals such as T4 on the Beach (22 July), twice at V Festival (18 and 19 August) and at Summer Sundae (11 August). However, the entire tour was postponed due to Ellis-Bextor's involvement with Take That's 34 tour dates. The Trip the Light Fantastic tour was rescheduled to resume in early 2008 "better and bigger than ever" according to Ellis-Bextor. Despite this, it was postponed once again and was said to be getting rescheduled for Autumn, but it was finally cancelled.[4]

Ellis-Bextor was also said to have had plans to also tour Ireland, continental Europe and Australia to support the album and promote the singles around the world. However, the world tour component was never officially confirmed.[4]

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for Trip the Light Fantastic
Chart (2007) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[29] 108
European Albums (Billboard)[30] 28
French Albums (SNEP)[31] 81
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[32] 87
Irish Albums (IRMA)[33] 93
Mexican Albums (AMPROFON)[34] 85
Scottish Albums (OCC)[35] 19
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[36] 28
UK Albums (OCC)[37] 7

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Russia (NFPF)[38] Gold 10,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Video: Sophie Ellis-Bextor speaks". Digital Spy. 2 August 2007. Retrieved 8 February 2007.
  2. ^ "Sophie Update". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 11 May 2007.
  3. ^ A guy called Dimitri (Sophie) Archived 11 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine SophieEllisBextor.com Retrieved 11 August 2012
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h "Sophie Ellis-Bextor >> Discography >> Trip the Light Fantastic". Sophie.Online.Net. Archived from the original on 26 February 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Sophie Ellis-Bextor Catch You: Allmusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  6. ^ a b c d e Hoffman, K. Ross (21 May 2007). "Trip the Light Fantastic - Sophie Ellis-Bextor: Allmusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  7. ^ Eyre, Hermione (28 April 2007). "Ice queen: Sophie Ellis-Bextor, pop's coolest diva". The Independent. Archived from the original on 22 April 2008. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
  8. ^ "Catch You - Chart Positions". "A-Charts". Retrieved 16 June 2007.
  9. ^ https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/if-you-go-single/id313337808 [If You Go - Single Sophie Ellis-Bextor]
  10. ^ "Sophie Ellis-Bextor Me and My Imagination: Allmusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  11. ^ Jonny Evans. "Sophie Ellis Bextor slams iTunes error". macworld.co.uk. 16 May 2007. Retrieved 2 July 2007.
  12. ^ a b Sophie Ellis Bextor Today the Sun's On Us UK 2-track CD single Archived 14 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine. "Eil.com". Retrieved 11 August 2007.
  13. ^ "The Greatest Singles of 2007". Popjustice. Retrieved 12 June 2008.
  14. ^ a b c Levine, Nick (23 May 2007). "Sophie Ellis-Bextor: 'Trip The Light Fantastic'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  15. ^ "Today the Sun's on Us Charts". aCharts.us. Retrieved 12 June 2008
  16. ^ "If I Can't Dance by Sophie Ellis-Bextor: Reviews and Ratings - Rate Your Music". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  17. ^ a b Kraines, Talia (24 May 2007). "BBC - Music - Review of Sophie Ellis Bextor - Trip the Light Fantastic". BBC. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  18. ^ Sullivan, Caroline (18 May 2007). "CD: Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Trip the Light Fantastic". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  19. ^ Haider, Arwa. "Trip The Light Fantastic review". Metro. 21 May 2007. Retrieved 9 July 2007.
  20. ^ a b Cashmore, Pete (23 May 2007). "NME Album Reviews - Sophie Ellis-Bextor - NME.COM". NME. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  21. ^ a b Empire, Kitty (20 May 2007). "CD of the Week: Trip the Light Fantastic by Sophie Ellis Bextor | Music | The Observer". The Observer. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  22. ^ a b McCaighy, Stuart (21 May 2007). "Sophie Ellis Bextor - Trip The Light Fantastic". This Is Fake DIY. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  23. ^ a b O'Leary, Matt. "Sophie Ellis-Bextor: Trip the Light Fantastic review - Album reviews - Music - Virgin Media". Virgin Media. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  24. ^ a b MacKay, Emily (24 May 2007). "Sophie Ellis Bextor - Trip The Light Fantastic - Yahoo! Music". Yahoo! Music. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2012.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  25. ^ "Blackout entre los mejores discos del año para dos criticos de Billboard". Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  26. ^ Raposa, David (17 December 2007). "Staff Lists: Top 100 Tracks of 2007 | Features | Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  27. ^ "Trip the Light Fantastic by Sophie Ellis-Bextor". iTunes Store. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  28. ^ "Trip the Light Fantastic". Pop Plastic. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  29. ^ "Part of Sophie Ellis Bextor's ARIA chart history 2000 to 2022, received from ARIA in 2022 page 1". ARIA. Retrieved 3 December 2023 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
  30. ^ "Sophie Ellis-Bextor Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  31. ^ "Lescharts.com – Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Trip the Light Fantastic". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  32. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Trip the Light Fantastic" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  33. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Sophie Ellis-Bextor". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  34. ^ "Sohpie Ellis-Bextor – Trip the Light Fantastic". mexicancharts.com. Archived from the original on 7 March 2012. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
  35. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  36. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Trip the Light Fantastic". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  37. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  38. ^ "Russian album certifications – Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Trip the Light Fantastic" (in Russian). National Federation of Phonogram Producers (NFPF).
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