Rating: ***
Sophie Ellis-Bextor is one of Britain’s most underrated pop stars and her latest release, Songs from the Kitchen Disco, showcases her impeccable discography.
Released off the back of her hit lockdown Instagram Live Kitchen Disco series, the greatest hits collection brings together Sophie’s best-loved recordings, all of which she performed during the weekly virtual gatherings, plus a handful of cover versions.
Kicking off with a re-recording of her 2000 hit with Italian electronic music producer Spiller, Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love), the new album journeys through highlights from the hitmaker’s six studio albums: Read My Lips, Shoot from the Hip, Trip the Light Fantastic, Make a Scene, Wanderlust and Familia.
All the hits are there – Murder on the Dance Floor, Take Me Home (A Girl Like Me), Heartbreak (Make Me a Dancer), Bittersweet – minus, of course, I Won’t Change You, of which she’s made no secret of her disliking.
Rounding off the set, which is ordered chronologically, is a handful of cover versions, including lead track Crying at the Discotheque, along with her BBC Sessions cover of New Order’s True Faith, a live version of Do You Remember the First Time? and a new recording of My Favorite Things from The Sound of Music.
The new songs, most of which were outed during the Kitchen Disco series, are, of course, a joy to the ears, showcasing Sophie’s trademark vocal stylings and annunciation, along with her admirable versatility. However, they also pave the way for frustration.
Throughout the shows, Sophie covered so many classic hits – Madonna’s Like a Prayer, Kim Wilde’s Kids in America and Baccara’s Yes Sir, I Can Boogie – none of which are featured here. Of course, not all of those 14 covers from the original Kitchen Disco series could be included on Songs from the Kitchen Disco, but they’re what make this release more than just a greatest hits collection and, somehow, they fall short.
Issues with the theming become even more noticeable when contrasted with 2019’s The Song Diaries – featuring orchestral re-workings of 19 of Sophie’s classic hits, including Theaudience’s A Pessimist is Never Disappointed. It felt like a labour of love; this, somehow, doesn’t quite live up to the Kitchen Disco promise.
Perhaps that comes from just how brilliant those weekly Kitchen Discos were and the fact that we could listen to Sophie for hours on end. The shows were so new, so fun, so quirky… this album comes close, but doesn’t necessarily hit the mark
Sophie is not only a brilliant pop star – she’s also one of Britain’s premier songwriters and, 20 years into her career, her music is as wonderful as ever. So, while Songs from the Kitchen Disco is a nice counterpart to the live shows and deserves a place in Sophie’s catalogue, we’ll hold out for the slick greatest hits her discography truly deserves.
Songs from the Kitchen Disco is out now.
