Emeli Sandé - Our Version Of Events

[firefly_86]

From the snippets, there are just too many wet piano-driven stripped down slow ballads, they must make up half of the album!

She could have shredded about 4 off and just had a really strong 10 track album. But I'll reserve full judement til we hear the whole thing.

[topopMAC1]

Reviews are starting to come in now...

BBC review:

Emeli Sandé Our Version of Events Review
Album. Released 13 February 2012.
BBC Review
Lou Thomas 2012-02-01

A charming and occasionally moving record full of care and polish, effort and grace.

Emeli Sandé’s aptly-named solo debut single Heaven was arguably the finest British pop song released in 2011. The Scottish singer-songwriter’s seraphic vocal swoops and producer Shahid ‘Naughty Boy’ Khan’s reassuring old-school breakbeats were warmly received by listeners, while a striking similarity to Massive Attack’s Unfinished Sympathy can rarely hurt a song’s success.

Considering Heaven, which opens Our Version of Events, and the fact Sandé has written for everyone from Alicia Keys and Leona Lewis to Tinie Tempah, Sugababes and even Susan Boyle, it's perhaps reasonable to expect the most consistently great pop album since Girls Aloud’s Out of Control. Although this doesn’t arrive, we do have a charming and occasionally moving record full of care and polish, effort and grace.

"I can’t buy your love, don’t even want to try / Sometimes the truth won’t make you happy," sings Sandé on My Kind of Love, amid filtered pianos and surprisingly understated gospel chants. Lovely stuff, but it would have been a more compelling listen if the track was ludicrous and overblown, like the brilliant George Michael and Mary J. Blige cover of Stevie Wonder’s As.

Previous single Daddy is better. There’s a dose of believably bad male behaviour: "But friends keep telling you what he did last night / How many girls he kissed, how many he liked." Fittingly, the brooding mood created by a trip-hop beat and dramatic strings is reminiscent of another man famously lacking caution in his relationships: James Bond. On this evidence, expect Sandé to soundtrack a 007 movie within the next five years with the help of former grime man Khan.

A change of tone towards slow folk for Breaking the Law brings forth the album’s best lines: "Point it out, I’m gonna steal it / I will break in late at night, shake up how you’re feeling." Metaphorical though Sandé’s lyrics are, they retain a heartfelt truth, and it’s easy to imagine her peering round a corner at last summer’s protests and riots jotting notes feverishly.

Lifetime has a reference to books being burned and statues falling, while Hope includes the line, "I hope we can fix all that we burn". Barely a year after the Arab Spring, is it too much to hope for a politically-conscious pop star? One who can write brilliant songs and get fans thinking about something other than their broken hearts and rampant libidos?

The album ends with a version of Read All About It, the number one song she performed with Professor Green – whatever her motivation for including it here, neither Sandé’s talent nor ambition are in question. It seems unlikely she’ll make another album as restrained as this one, but it will be interesting to see whether she embraces a bolder sound, develops her own big ideas or, perhaps, delivers a captivating combination of the two.

Digital Spy review:

Emeli Sandé: 'Our Version of Events' - Album review
****
Released on Monday, Feb 13 2012
Published Friday, Feb 3 2012, 10:12 GMT | By Robert Copsey

The winner of the annual Brit Awards Critics' Choice prize has always been a safe as houses option (previous ones include Adele and Jessie J), but there's no denying they're always spot on with their selections. The same could be said in part for this year's winner Emeli Sandé, whose much-hyped debut might play it safe, but nonetheless gets it just right.

As we mentioned in our first listen piece last month, lead single 'Heaven' - a homage to proper '90s dance music - stands alone in its genre (and beats-per-minute range) here, but there's plenty elsewhere that equals its brilliance.

The militant drums and ecclesiastical string section interwoven with Sandé's gospel-like tones on preceding cut 'My Kind of Love' is the real tone-setter for the album. It's a sound that continues best on the sermonizing 'Where I Sleep', the sky-soaring 'River' and latest single 'Next To Me' - the latter also serving as a much-needed uptempo moment among the slightly too ballad-heavy collection.

Her vocal - while remaining flawless throughout - falls somewhere between the power of Leona Lewis on the piano-led numbers (see 'Hope'), and the sultriness of Beyoncé on R&B-tinged 'Mountains'. The former is also an example of the record's occasional heavy-handedness ("I'm hoping that change isn't hopeless/ I'm hoping to start it with me"), but nonetheless, it's impressive penmanship from a once-upon-a-time medical student.

In fact, given the passion, desire and overcoming-the-odds message felt in Our Version of Events, it's hard to imagine Sandé was destined to do anything else in life. Better yet, it sounds like she's only just got started.

Tracks to download: 'Heaven', 'My Kind of Love', 'Where I Sleep', 'Next To Me', 'River'
If you like this, you'll like: Leona Lewis, Beyoncé, Mary J Blige

[MichielMC]

I really like her voice and music. The snippets sound amazing in my opinion. Bit made, but it's okay. I hope it gets the succes it deserves. She sounds like a true artist.

[Pompeii]

RWD Magazine:

Online Review: Emeli Sandé – Our Version Of Events

The spotlight on this Scottish singer and songwriter is burning BRI(gh)T right now*. Having written hits for half of the pop charts – as well as herself – will Emeli Sandé’s debut album deliver in the same way as singles Heaven and Daddy have? Hattie Collins finds out.

Well, the BRITS Critics Choice winner might not please everyone with this record, but she’s certainly kept RWD happy. While the previously mentioned singles are two of a small handful of upbeat tracks on the album, there’s plenty of heartbroken slow-jams for fans of Adele and Ed Sheeran to appreciate. Unconcerned with being ‘cool’, the 24 year-old plays to her strengths and sings insistently and convincingly about love, heartbreak, disappointment and hope. My Kind Of Love is utterly brilliant; searing, spine-tingling, eye-watering and empowering, Sandé sings the hell out of the song that could be a follow up to . The Alicia Keys collabo doesn’t disappoint either; team two talents like those two and you get Hope, a socially conscious, uplifting slice of soul that will no doubt appeal both sides of the Atlantic.

Third single Next To Me, dangerously close to God-bothery, steers clear of schmaltzy spirituality with its tribal percussion and sweeping strings. In fact a dedication to her love of music rather than a higher power, the Craze & Hoax created composition should give the Scot her next top 3 hit. Dolly Parton gets a Sandé remix on the amazing country and western flavoured Suitcase, a track recent dumpee’s will be hitting repeat to while sobbing into their chardonnay-soaked tearstained pillows. Lovers of a great lyric will appreciate River while Professor Green fans will be interested to hear Read All About It [Part III], a stripped back version of the original and one that we can’t wait to see performed live. Other excellent moments include Maybe and the brilliant Breaking The Law. With this, as with much of Emeli’s songwriting, everything is not quite as it seems. Metaphorical meanings lurk underneath her writing, making the listening to her songs an in-depth experience. Sit back and enjoy or try to crack the deeper meanings, if you choose. At the end of the day, they’re a joy to listen to, either way.

There are small missteps – Lifetime is both a bit twee and sonically mismatched with the rest of the record, though saying that, it has the potential to bag Naughty Boy’s musical Mrs. another huge hit with the teen market. And yes, the album will no doubt be criticised for being somewhat slower than the first two singles might have suggested. But essentially this is a pop-soul album; it’s an A Minor, a 19, a Get Lifted a Floetic for 2012. It’s not trying to be cool. But what stands out, and also stands up to the hype, is the incredible songwriting on display. Epic sounds underpinned by a global sensibility, Our Version… is likely to skyrocket Sandé’s around the world. This is music that millions will love.

Naughty Boy, Craze & Hoax, Mojam and Emile Haynie (Kid CuDi, Tinie Tempah) provide the production Emeli needs to showcase her incredible vocal and astute lyrics. This is an album that deserves all the success it will no doubt receive.

Rating: 4 out of 5

*Sorry, we were trying to do something clever with BRITS and bright. It needs work, we know this.

Words by Hattie Collins

Pyro Magazine:

Emeli Sande ‘Our Version Of Events’ Album Review

Having already enjoyed success through collaborations with Wiley and most recently Professor Green, as well as her own solo top 5 single, Emeli Sandé’s debut album ‘Our Version of Events‘ has become one of the most anticipated releases of 2012 and after just one listen it becomes clear exactly why she has been hailed as one of the most exciting artists to emerge from the UK in recent times.

Bursting with real emotion, great production and amazing vocals the album is a true credit to Emeli Sande’s talent, her potential as the UKs new favourite singer is definitely showcased throughout ‘Our Version of Events’ with a great tracklisting that takes you on an emotional journey from start to finish.

The opening song of the album ‘Heaven‘ makes for a great intro and sounds just as fresh today as it did when I first heard it, the only thing is that this song is the only record of its kind on the entire album and although I absolutely adore it to pieces I personally would have liked to hear at least one more uptempo record to balance it out. Needless to say, it doesn’t effect the quality of the material throughout the rest of the album and what you do get is more then your moneys worth, you can’t put a price on something timeless, which is just what this record is.

‘My Kind of Love‘, a song which sounds like the sort of thing that Alicia Keys would have written and performed herself is very emotive and delivers raw lyrics such as ‘sometimes the truth won’t make you happy, so I’m not going to lie‘ where as the wonderful ‘Where I Sleep‘ makes great use of nice chord changes and stunning vocals. This leads onto ‘Mountains‘ which is one of the more dramatic songs on ‘Our Version of Events’ whereas ‘Clown‘, one of my personal favourites on the album is a piano led tune that deals with insecurities and sounds flawless with Emeli Sande’s vocals. This leads on to ‘Daddy‘, a song about foolish love which is showcased through epic arrangements and lyrics such as ‘he pulled you closer, said he’ll never let go, you couldn’t trust him but you never said no‘.

The next song on the album is the beautiful ‘Maybe‘ which is just adorable, it describes the end of a relationship where as ‘Suitcase‘ explores folk territory and brings a new musical element to the album. ‘Breaking The Law‘ illustrates intense love as crime which is sung very melodically over a beautiful acoustic strum whereas ‘Next To Me‘, her latest single to be released from the album explores her fondness for her other half.

‘River‘ is another big song, it cleverly refers to the word river as an oceanic metaphor to describe the power of love as she sings ‘follow me, I’ll be your river, I’m here to keep you floating‘. This leads us onto the infectious ‘Lifetime‘ which treads the boundaries of uplifting whilst dealing with the ever changing nature of life. ‘Hope‘ changes up the entire vibe completely, in a good way that is. It’s a song for change which expresses the need for positive difference in the world through lyrics such as ‘I hope we stop taking for granted, in all of the land and all of the sea’.

The albums closing record is a beautiful rendition of her collaboration on Professor Green’s ‘Read All About It‘ which she has beautifully turned into a solo ballad that speaks about making your voice count, a great way to end such an amazing record.

Throughout the album there is a great warmth, real soul that the young Scottish born singer demonstrates with ease making ‘Our Version of Events’ a fine example of what real music is all about, it’s a masterpiece that I’m sure Emeli Sande is more then proud of. Definitely a record that has been carefully structured throughout with each song having been crafted so well and vocals that soar with true conviction.

9/10

[Pompeii]

RWD TV: Emeli Sandé - Where I Sleep

Beautiful!

[UKMusicLova]

#1 on all the major online store pre-order charts!

#1 iTunes pre-order! Also #12 on the Album list
#1 on Play.com pre-orders
#1 on HMV pre-orders
#4 on Amazon Top Albums

[UKMusicLova]

SB.TV A64 - River & Hope

Flawless performance!!!

[topopMAC1]

The album is only £6.99 at Sainsbury's. My copy was dispatched this morning! Can't wait to get it, have avoided the clips and have only heard the singles.

[Pompeii]

Mountains

I really hope this album is half as good as those live performances she has been turning out.

[Pompeii]

Listen to the studio versions of Clown, Mountains and River here!

[nickf1]

album leaked in full OMG!

[MichielMC]

album leaked in full OMG!

Can I ask where?

[nickf1]

check ur pm

[Eamon]

I can't wait to buy this!!!!

[nickf1]

Lifetime, River, My Kind Of Love, Mountains, Maybe + singles totally slayed, album of the year so far.

[Eamon]

God I don't know whether to listen to the leak or wait!!!!!

I'll try wait!!

[Jesper]

I never had much interest in her, idk why, but I heard the studio of Mountains Yesterday and I was impressed, so probably gonna check the album out!

[firefly_86]

Anyone know where I can check out some more tracks online? I want to listen to them at work! Hopefully someone puts them on Youtube soon...

Out of the 6 tracks on the Daily Mail sampler (inc. the 3 singles), I can take or leave Clown but the other 5 are all fantastic!

[UKMusicLova]

My Kind Of Love = best song of 2012 so far!

[urbanmusik]

I don't want to listen to the album until I get my physical copy, but I played 'My Kind Of Love' and wow is it amazing.

Anyone know where I can check out some more tracks online? I want to listen to them at work! Hopefully someone puts them on Youtube soon...

Out of the 6 tracks on the Daily Mail sampler (inc. the 3 singles), I can take or leave Clown but the other 5 are all fantastic!

I don't know if you've heard it yet, but for anyone who hasn't I uploaded 'My Kind Of Love' here on my tumblr. Sorry for the plug, but it's a great song and I haven't seen a streaming link anywhere else so far.

[arronlei]

Just listened to samples,sadly not impressed. It sounds very bland adele type of faux soul,shame as I thought she seemed quite creative.

It's quite a bit better than previously thought

[Jesper]

The album reminds me of something Leona Lewis could do (I know Emeli worked with Leona).
I must say I really like the album, though less ballads and more Heaven-esque tracks would not have hurt

[Pompeii]

Not as good as I thought it would be

[Thriller]

I'm really impressed, it's got some gorgeous songs on there - notably "Mountains" and "My Kind Of Love". The only thing I'd have liked more of is tracks like "Heaven" and "Daddy".

[Jesper]

I'm really impressed, it's got some gorgeous songs on there - notably "Mountains" and "My Kind Of Love". The only thing I'd have liked more of is tracks like "Heaven" and "Daddy".

I agree