The song Short People was quite successful - it reached No.2 on the American charts -, and also raised some discussion amongst those, who really thought that Newman voiced his own feelings. Actually, it was a "satire on bigotry", as it says on the booklet, and was meant to show how easily one is lead to discriminate people due to some trifles, like having a different look. An example from the lyrics goes as follows:

They got grubby little fingers
And dirty little minds
They're gonna get you every time

This does sound quite harsh and it's far from being politically correct, but it's nevertheless also funny and scaring.

While Short People is probably the most famous song from this album, one must not forget the others, amongst them Baltimore, Rider In The Rain, In Germany Before The War, and Jolly Coppers On Parade.

There has been sort of an ABBA-renaissance in the last couple of years, a phenomenon which didn't surprise me, having grown up with their songs.

This is their one but last album, and they already have perfected their style, which consists of easygoing tunes and not too complicated lyrics. Don't misunderstand me, I'm a fan, but their lyrics don't have the depth one can find in lyrics from Suzanne Vega or Sarah McLachlan. On the other hand, they are more intelligent than songs from the Spice Girls or from the Backstreet Boys - okay, okay, that's not diffcult, I know.

If you don't know any complete album from ABBA - I assume that you've already heard one or the other song - then this one may be a good start. The first albums are really sort of experiments (though I like them a lot), ad the last one is already going more in the direction of songs with not that easy tunes, therefore being my favourite one.

If the only song by Kate Bush you know is "Wuthering Heights" and you don't like her voice, then this album will probably not be your favourite CD of all times, but there are big differences between her first album and this one. So even if you feel that her voice is way too shrill for your taste, she has changed quite a lot and her voice is much more mature than it was at the time of her beginning.

It is separated into two pieces, just like the early LP's were, with the names of Hounds of Love and The Ninth Wave. The first contains "Running up That Hill", "Hounds of Love" and the stunning "Cloudbusting" - you may know the video for this one, it's the one with Donald Sutherland in it. These three songs are very catchy in both music and lyrics and make some excellent singles.

However, in some way, I do prefer the second part. It is made up from songs that still have agreeable rhythms, but the lyrics are much more poetic and entranced, and Bush is ready to try experiments with both, music and voice.

The second album of the group Shakespears Sister has its title from the fact that both members were pregnant during the recording. If the difference between their first album and this one is completely due to this fact, then I can only recommend to all mildly successful female singers/songwriters to go out and get pregnant ;-)

As opposed to Sacred Heart, where you can find some catchy melodies and lyrics (e.g.: You're History), here the arrangements are much more elaborate and the voices are used in a more sophisticated way as instruments. This album was quite successful (Stay, Hello), and so it was a surprise that the group split before they could make another one. It is not quite clear what was the reason for the split, as Marcela Detroit claims that Siobhan Fahey (married to again-Eurythmic Dave Stewart) announced the split on a press conference without talking to her about it before.

Whatever the reason and the manner of the split, it is a pity, because if they would have improved a factor only half the one between the first two albums the third one would have been extraordinary, whereas both of the members didn't have much success on their own.

The first collaboration of Suzanne Vega with producer Mitchell Froom is dedicated to: Ruby, MF, Lolita, the figure of Death, 3 men, 1 woman and a plum, which sums up to exactly nine objects. If you happen to know that there are twelve songs on this album, this is no mistake, but three of the nine objects rate a second song. Which of them you'll have to find out for yourself.

Different in style from her previous records Nine Objects of Desire still has the ingredients that each of Vegas records possesses: clever music and arrangements, her catchy voice that is never drowned in the music and most of all the poetic lyrics that eat themselves into your soul and cling to it.

It wouldn't be fair with her previous albums to say that this is her best, but it is well justified to say that is at least on par with them and much better than most of the albums you can find in the hitlists around the world.