Read My Lips (Sophie Ellis Bextor album)

Background

Following the disbandment of Britpop group Theaudience, Ellis-Bextor provided vocals for the song "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" by Italian DJ Spiller. The song was a commercial success, and Ellis-Bextor signed to Polydor. She was contacted by director Baz Luhrmann, who offered her a role in the 2001 film Moulin Rouge!, but the singer refused in order to focus on her career as a recording artist. The success of "Groovejet" also prompted American musician Moby to notice Ellis-Bextor, and revealed interest in working with her due to her "amazing" voice, as he described it. He instructed his record company to "track" Ellis-Bextor "down" so they could start working as soon as Moby finished his tour. The two ultimately wrote five songs in New York, which did not make the final cut of Read My Lips. Furthermore, she also recorded with band Blur bassist Alex James, former frontman of the New Radicals, while Damian LeGassick was recruited for working with programming and keyboards.

The album title was chosen due to the fact of the singer had used strong lipstick for the video of "Take Me Home" and for the LP artwork. The album photography was shot by Mert Alas.

Composition

An "eclectic" album, Read My Lips, is a collection of 1980s electronica and 1970s disco. The album opener and first single is a cover version of Cher's 1979 song "Take Me Home", described as a "disco groove". Betty Clarke from The Guardian observed that her voice in the song is reminiscent of Audrey Hepburn's Eliza Doolittle (in the movie My Fair Lady). "Move This Mountain", co-written by Alex James, is a "vibrant" ballad with a trip hop-influenced sound. Following track and second single, "Murder on the Dancefloor", is a dance-pop and disco record, that utilizes bass guitar and piano in its instrumental. "Sparkle" has "speeding beats and equally speeding keyboards", while "Final Move" contains "tinny beats" and "electro swirls". The latter was deemed a "subdued version" of "Murder on the Dancefloor" with "similar kaleidoscope synth". "I Believe" was described as "funky" and "live-sounding", while "Leave the Others Alone" involves "cold beats" and "big, full-throttle keyboards". "By Chance" was particularly noted for showcasing Ellis-Bextor's accent. Rerelease new song "Get Over You" is a "polite" Euro disco take on "I Will Survive".

Singles and promotion

Promotion for Read My Lips launched with the release of "Take Me Home", a cover of the song by singer Cher, which was released on 13 August 2001. Although its production and Ellis-Bextor's vocal performance in the song were heavily criticized, the single reached number two on the UK Singles Chart. After the release of the album, "Murder on the Dancefloor" was serviced as its second single on 3 December 2001. It peaked within the top 10 of the charts in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. A double A-side single including new re-release song "Get Over You" and original album track "Move This Mountain" was released on 10 June 2002, in a set of two CD singles.

Ellis-Bextor, who had previously felt uncomfortable with the idea of touring, confirmed a UK-only tour in January 2001, to go on from April to May. Later, in July 2002, other dates of the tour were revealed for 2003.

Critical reception

Toby Manning from Q cited "Take Me Home" and "Move This Mountain" as the album's highlights, but, overall, he thought that the record failed to live up to the standard set by the previous collaboration with Spiller. He also found that the album's music and the distinctive pronunciation of Ellis-Bextor's vocal delivery did not work to complimentary effect. Betty Clarke from The Guardian described the album as a "sophisticated package" but said "there's little to love and even less fun to be had". Kelvin Hayes from AllMusic dubbed it "a disappointing debut from Ellis-Bextor, fusing Human League synth with beats and cinematic strings", but described "Murder on the Dancefloor" as the "shimmering highlight" from the album. A critic from entertainment.ie said "the material on her debut solo album only rarely does justice to her distinctive upper-crust voice", and said that "most of the songs sound laboured and plod where they should swing".

In contrast to the previous reviews, Andrew Arora from Blue Coupe had a more positive response to the record. Arora said "it lands somewhere between Pet Shop Boys' synth-pop faculty and Blondie's Parallel Lines album", although he claimed that fans of "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" "should not expect much from this album, but it does deliver a dynamic electro disco sound that is sometimes analogous to her breakthrough-hit single".

Commercial performance

Read My Lips debuted at number four on the UK Albums Chart with first-week sales of 23,023 copies, peaking 41 weeks later at number two. On 21 June 2002, the album was certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). Read My Lips had sold 833,968 copies as of January 2014.

Track listing

Tour

Read My Lips Tour was the first concert tour by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, in support of her debut studio album. Beginning January 2003, the tour visited the European continent. As of 2013, it's the biggest tour Ellis-Bextor has ever headlined.

Background

The Read My Lips tour is the biggest tour Ellis-Bextor has ever gone on, having 38 dates and 2 legs.

Tour dates

The Shepherd's Bush Empire gig was recorded, later being released in Ellis-Bextor's first video album, Watch My Lips.