Shoot from the Hip

Last updated

Shoot from the Hip
Shootfromthehip.albumcover.jpg
Standard edition cover; certain international editions feature the text in a blue typeface
Studio album by
Released27 October 2003 (2003-10-27)
Recorded2003
Genre Dance-pop [1]
Length50:08
Label Polydor
Producer
Sophie Ellis-Bextor chronology
Read My Lips
(2001)
Shoot from the Hip
(2003)
Trip the Light Fantastic
(2007)
Singles from Shoot from the Hip
  1. "Mixed Up World"
    Released: 13 October 2003
  2. "I Won't Change You"
    Released: 22 December 2003

Shoot from the Hip is the second studio album by English singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor, released on 27 October 2003 by Polydor Records. It was produced by Gregg Alexander, Matt Rowe, Jeremy Wheatley and Damian LeGassick.

Contents

Background

The album was released in Europe in October 2003, but little interest was generated outside the United Kingdom, where the album peaked at number 19 on the UK Albums Chart, with the exception of Switzerland, where it peaked at number 35 on the Swiss Albums Chart. As with the single "Music Gets The Best Of Me" the previous year, the album suffered from being caught in a glut of new releases in the approach to Christmas. Consequently, the album was cited as the singer's least commercially successful album until the release of her fourth studio album, Make a Scene , which reached number 33. The album only produced two singles—"Mixed Up World" and "I Won't Change You"—which reached number 7 and number 9 on the UK Singles Chart, respectively.

Apart from "Murder on the Dancefloor", none of Ellis-Bextor's solo material was released in the US until June 2007, when Shoot from the Hip was added to the American iTunes Store. The songs "I Won't Dance with You" and "The Walls Keep Saying Your Name" feature backing vocals (and one verse of lead vocal on the latter song) from Ellis-Bextor's ex-boyfriend and ex-manager, Andy Boyd, although his name does not appear anywhere in the album credits.

Similarly to "Sparkle" and "Final Move" missing from the worldwide version of Read My Lips, the international edition of Shoot from the Hip does not include the opening track "Making Music", "I Won't Dance with You" nor the hidden track following the end of "Hello, Hello", a cover of Olivia Newton-John's "Physical". The international edition also changes all text on the cover, disc and in the booklet to the shade of turquoise instead of the white used on the UK release.

In 2014, Ellis-Bextor reflected on the album to Attitude magazine, saying: "The second album still had the same feel as the first, but it was maybe a little bit darker. During that record I was going through a bit of a break-up so there are a few break-up songs on there. I wasn't feeling quite as funny and breezy as I was on the first album, but I got it back on album three." [2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
entertainment.ie Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
MTV Asia Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Playlouder Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [5]
RTÉ Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]

Writing for musicOMH , Sarah McDonnell highlighted the input from Bernard Butler, feeling that different co-writers make the album "patchy in places" and as a result, Ellis-Bextor's songs "sometimes sound a little self-conscious and clunky, almost a little too earnestly conveying her message". [7] Nevertheless, McDonnell also stated "whatever you might think of Sophie Ellis-Bextor, you can't fault her determination" and felt that the album is a "good effort and displays an ambition – and potential – to produce consistent, high quality, intelligent pop music". [7]

K. Ross Hoffman of AllMusic said that while the album "lacks anything nearly as distinctive as her early singles, [...] it's still a solid, perfectly respectable collection of contemporary dance-pop", pointing to "the smooth disco single 'Mixed-Up World' and the chipper 'I Won't Change You'", the latter of which he compared to "Love at First Sight" by Kylie Minogue. Hoffman further judged "there's enough variety to keep the album from sagging, particularly as things turn slightly darker and moodier towards the latter half with the spiky 'You Get Yours' and the odd, haunted 'The Walls Keep Saying Your Name'." However, he felt differently about Butler's contribution, pointing out "the understated ballad 'I Am Not Good at Not Getting What I Want' [...] rounds things out nicely." [1]

While McDonnell compared lead single "Mixed Up World" to material by the Pet Shop Boys, [7] Lucy Davies of BBC Music felt that track is similar to "the best 80s PWL creations". [8] Although singling out the final two tracks (positively comparing the strings in "Hello, Hello" to Andrew Lloyd Webber and questioning why "Physical" is a hidden track when it "encapsulates Sophie; knowingly dead-pan with a little wink tipped at the listener"), Davies used a line from opening song "Making Music" to say the album is largely "making music by numbers"—calling the two songs Boyd contributes vocals on "naff" and the rhyming on "Party in My Head" "cringe worthy". Davies commented that despite the songs on Shoot from the Hip featuring "chewing gum melodies", "Sophie needs to think long and hard about where she's going next." [8]

entertainment.ie held a similar opinion, summarising that even though Shoot from the Hip is a "perfectly efficient pop album", "it still leaves you wondering what Ellis-Bextor could achieve if she really tried." [3]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Making Music" (UK-exclusive track)
Damian LeGassick3:36
2."Mixed Up World"
  • Alexander
  • Rowe
3:45
3."I Won't Change You"
  • Ellis-Bextor
  • Alexander
  • Rowe
  • Alexander
  • LeGassick
  • Rowe
  • Jeremy Wheatley
3:40
4."Nowhere Without You"
  • Ellis-Bextor
  • Davis
LaGassick4:53
5."Another Day"Ellis-BextorLeGassick3:20
6."Party in My Head"
  • Ellis-Bextor
  • Alexander
  • Rowe
LeGassick3:34
7."Love It Is Love"
LeGassick3:29
8."You Get Yours"
  • Ellis-Bextor
  • Andy Boyd
  • Ross Newell
LeGassick3:59
9."The Walls Keep Saying Your Name"Ellis-BextorLeGassick4:23
10."I Won't Dance with You" (UK-exclusive track)
  • Ellis-Bextor
  • LeGassick
LeGassick3:59
11."I Am Not Good at Not Getting What I Want"
LeGassick3:33
12."Hello, Hello"
  • Ellis-Bextor
  • LeGassick
LeGassick4:20
13."Physical" (UK-exclusive hidden track)
LeGassick3:53
North American digital edition [9]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
14."The Earth Shook the Devil's Hand"
  • Ellis-Bextor
  • Boyd
  • Newell
  • Boyd
  • Newell
2:48
15."Mixed Up World" (Groove Collision Vocal Mix)
  • Ellis-Bextor
  • Alexander
  • Rowe
  • Alexander
  • Rowe
6:36
2021 LP edition [10]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
14."The Earth Shook the Devil's Hand"
  • Ellis-Bextor
  • Boyd
  • Newell
  • Boyd
  • Newell
2:48
15."Yes Sir, I Can Boogie"
3:59

Personnel

Charts

Chart performance for Shoot from the Hip
Chart (2003)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [11] 107
French Albums (SNEP) [12] 99
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [13] 84
Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico) [14] 25
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [15] 39
Scottish Albums (OCC) [16] 28
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [17] 35
UK Albums (OCC) [18] 19

Certifications

Certifications for Shoot from the Hip
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [19] Silver60,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release history for Shoot from the Hip
RegionDate
United Kingdom27 October 2003
Various28 October 2003
United States (digital)26 June 2007
United Kingdom (vinyl re-release)25 September 2021

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sophie Ellis-Bextor</span> British singer (born 1979)

Sophie Michelle Ellis-Bextor is an English singer and songwriter. She first came to prominence in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the indie rock band Theaudience. After the group disbanded, Ellis-Bextor went solo and achieved success beginning in the early 2000s. Her music is mainstream pop and dance with influences of disco, nu-disco, and 1980s electronic music.

<i>Read My Lips</i> (Sophie Ellis-Bextor album) 2001 studio album by Sophie Ellis-Bextor

Read My Lips is the debut studio album by English singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor, released on 3 September 2001 by Polydor Records. After the disbandment of the Britpop group Theaudience, in which Ellis-Bextor served as vocalist, she was signed to Polydor. Prior to the LP's completion, the singer collaborated with several musicians, including band Blur's bassist Alex James, Moby and New Radicals frontman Gregg Alexander. The record was described as a collection of 1980s electronica and 1970s disco music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder on the Dancefloor</span> 2001 single by Sophie Ellis-Bextor

"Murder on the Dancefloor" is a song written by Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Gregg Alexander, produced by Alexander and Matt Rowe for Ellis-Bextor's first album, Read My Lips (2001). Released on 3 December 2001, the song peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart and became a top-10 hit worldwide, charting within the top three in Australia, New Zealand, and four European countries. In the United States, the single reached number nine on the Billboard Maxi-Singles Sales chart. "Murder on the Dancefloor" is reported to have been the most played song in Europe in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Take Me Home (Cher song)</span> 1979 single by Cher

"Take Me Home" is a song recorded by American singer and actress Cher for her fifteenth studio album. The album, released in 1979, bore the same name as the single. "Take Me Home" is a disco song conceived after Cher was recommended to venture into said genre after the commercial failure of her previous albums. The lyrics center around the request of a woman to be taken home by her lover. It was released as the lead single from the Take Me Home album in January 1979 through Casablanca Records, pressed as a 12-inch single.

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"Get Over You" and "Move This Mountain" are two songs by British pop singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor. In most countries, "Get Over You" received a solo release, but in the United Kingdom, the two tracks were issued as a double A-side single on 10 June 2002. The former track was taken off the Read My Lips album reissue, while the latter was an album track in the original album release.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Won't Change You</span> 2003 single by Sophie Ellis-Bextor

"I Won't Change You" is a song written by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Gregg Alexander, and Matt Rowe for Ellis-Bextor's second album, Shoot from the Hip (2003). The song was released as the album's second single on 29 December 2003, reaching number nine on the UK Singles Chart and selling 34,000 copies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mixed Up World</span> 2003 single by Sophie Ellis-Bextor

"Mixed Up World" is a song by British singer-songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor, released on 13 October 2003 as the first single from her second studio album, Shoot from the Hip (2003). The single includes a B-side called "The Earth Shook the Devil's Hand". "Mixed Up World peaked at number seven on the UK Singles Chart and was especially successful in Denmark, where it debuted and peaked at number three. It has sold 35,000 copies in the United Kingdom. The music video for the song features various dancers wearing a mix of bright and dark colours.

<i>Trip the Light Fantastic</i> (Sophie Ellis-Bextor album) 2007 studio album by Sophie Ellis-Bextor

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.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sophie Ellis-Bextor discography</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Me and My Imagination</span> 2007 single by Sophie Ellis-Bextor

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Today the Sun's on Us</span> 2007 single by Sophie Ellis-Bextor

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">If I Can't Dance</span> 2008 promotional single by Sophie Ellis-Bextor

"If I Can't Dance" is a song by British recording artist Sophie Ellis-Bextor for her third studio album, Trip the Light Fantastic (2007). It was written by Ellis-Bextor and Dimitri Tikovoi, while production was handled by Tikovi, with additional production by Brio Taliaferro and Jeremy Wheatley. It is a dance-pop, electropop and disco song and a reference to the famous paraphrase of Emma Goldman: "If I can't dance, I don't want to be part of your revolution".

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love Is a Camera</span> 2014 single by Sophie Ellis-Bextor

"Love Is a Camera" is a song performed by English recording artist Sophie Ellis-Bextor for her fifth album Wanderlust (2014). Ellis-Bextor co-wrote the song with Ed Harcourt, who also produced the track. Its lyrics recount the story of a woman who takes photos of her victims and keeps their souls in the pictures. Musically, the song features piano, guitars, double bass, and influences of tango and baroque. "Love Is a Camera" was serviced to hot adult contemporary radio stations in the United Kingdom as the third single from Wanderlust. The song was released on 23 June 2014.

<i>Familia</i> (Sophie Ellis-Bextor album) 2016 studio album by Sophie Ellis-Bextor

Familia is the sixth studio album by English singer and songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor. The album was produced by Ed Harcourt, who also produced Ellis-Bextor's previous album, Wanderlust. It was released on 2 September 2016, by EBGB LLP and was critically acclaimed. It was preceded by disco-pop single "Come with Us", which was released on 19 July.

<i>Songs from the Kitchen Disco</i> 2020 greatest hits album by Sophie Ellis-Bextor

Songs from the Kitchen Disco is the first greatest hits album by English singer-songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor, released on 13 November 2020 by EGBG's, although it was previously announced for 23 October. It features singles from all her studio albums: Read My Lips (2001), Shoot from the Hip (2003), Trip the Light Fantastic (2007), Make a Scene (2011), Wanderlust (2014) and Familia (2016), as well as a number of cover versions of songs by other artists. Songs from the Kitchen Disco serves as the follow-up to her previous release, the 2019 orchestral compilation album The Song Diaries.

<i>Hana</i> (album) 2023 studio album by Sophie Ellis-Bextor

Hana is the seventh studio album by English singer-songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor, released through Cooking Vinyl on 2 June 2023. The album is her third and final to be produced by Ed Harcourt, alongside Wanderlust (2014) and Familia (2016). Musically, Ellis-Bextor sought to create a fantastical world for the album, inspired by a trip to Japan shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

References

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  4. Leong, Gabriel. "Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Shoot From The Hip (Polydor)". MTV Asia. Archived from the original on 15 June 2004. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
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  6. McGee, Linda. "Review: Sophie Ellis Bextor - Shoot From the Hip". RTÉ.ie . Archived from the original on 29 October 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
  7. 1 2 3 McDonnell, Sarah. "Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Shoot From The Hip". musicOMH . Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  8. 1 2 Davies, Lucy. "BBC - Music – Review of Sophie Ellis Bextor – Shoot From The Hip". BBC. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
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