| The Cappuccino Songs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 7 September 1998 | |||
| Recorded | July 1996 – May 1997 | |||
| Genre | Rock, pop, folk | |||
| Length | 41:14 | |||
| Label | Mother | |||
| Producer |
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| Tanita Tikaram chronology | ||||
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The Cappuccino Songs is the sixth studio album by British singer-songwriter Tanita Tikaram, released by Mother in 1998.
"It sounds clichéd but there is something romantic about the entire Mediterranean lifestyle. Cappuccino is not just a drink, the whole culture around it is sexy."
—Tanita Tikaram discussing the album's central theme. [1]
In 1996, Tikaram left WEA, her label of eight years, and spent some time pursuing other interests than music, including art and travel. For her next studio album, Tikaram decided to re-evaluate her musical direction and reinvent her image. She signed to a new label, Mother Records, and found new management. On this album, Tikaram chose to work with Italian musician Marco Sabiu, who produced the album and co-wrote seven of the tracks. The two had first worked together in 1996, when Sabiu and his producing partner Charlie Mallozzi (known collectively as The Rapino Brothers) produced Tikaram's version of "And I Think of You - E penso a te", which was included on The Best of Tanita Tikaram . The pair's collaboration resulted in an album with a distinctively poppier, more electronic sound than Tikaram's earlier folk-rock releases. [2]
Speaking of her collaboration with Sabiu, Tikaram revealed in 1998,
"Working with Marco was a real joy. He was serious about the music but had a great sense of humour that stopped me taking it all too seriously. Marco's classically trained but he's not patronising. He loves pop music and trying to communicate things in the simplest way he can. That's what all good pop music is. Marco works just like me [and] being in the studio was very natural. We talked about things in the same way, we describe music in the same way." [2]
Like on her previous album, 1995's Lovers in the City , Tikaram collaborated with the London Session Orchestra for the string sections on her new album. She also recorded ABBA's "The Day Before You Came", one of the few times she has covered another artist's song. In 1998, she described her version as "a bit spooky, a bit weird, almost electro". She added that "Amore Si" has a "very kitsch, melodramatic love story", and "Back in Your Arms" and "If I Ever" are "straight European pop songs, with a twist". [2] "I Don't Want to Lose at Love" samples the 1992 song "Seelinnikoi" by the Finnish folk music band Värttinä, who receive a co-writing credit. [3]
In later years, Tikaram has described The Cappuccino Songs as her "poppiest album" but one which she feels some ambivalence towards. She revealed in 2020, "The record company got very excited and brought in a star producer. To be honest, the whole thing became a bit of a nightmare for me and Marco, so much so that I sort of blanked the album out of my mind. My ambivalence about some of the songs stems from the feeling that some are 'well-written' as oppose[d] to [being] written from the heart. Perhaps a lack of identity is a risk you take in a collaboration." However, she added that on reflection she enjoys the album's "Europeanness", "variety" and Sabiu's "fabulous" arrangements. [4]
The Cappuccino Songs was released in continental Europe and Japan. After promotion of this album ended, Tikaram was let go from Mother Records and retired from the music scene for several years. Three singles were released from the album: "Stop Listening", "I Don't Wanna Lose at Love" and "If I Ever". The Italian and Japanese pressings of the album featured "And I Think of You - E penso a te" as a bonus track, and it was released as a promotional single in Italy in late 1998.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
| The Guardian | [6] |
| Melody Maker | [7] |
| NME | 4/10 [8] |
| Select | [9] |
On its release, David Cheal of The Daily Telegraph praised The Cappuccino Songs as "a collection of sultry and evocative songs about love and yearning from the woman with the golden larynx". He also praised the "greater range and variety of styles and instrumentation" on the album in comparison to Tikaram's previous releases. [10] Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian described the album as "surprisingly modern by the sombre songstress's standards" and "better than you'd expect". She added that the use of "sharp Latin horns, bumpy percussion and silky strings is an attractive change from the guitar-shaped blandness of before". [6] Neil Mason of Melody Maker gave the album zero stars out of five, writing: "Even the coffee tables of the world are running for the hills [...] Eighties jokers Blancmange managed a better job. Yup, that bad." [7]
All tracks are written by Tanita Tikaram and Marco Sabiu except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Stop Listening" | 4:23 | |
| 2. | "Light Up My World" | Tikaram | 3:36 |
| 3. | "Amore si" | 4:02 | |
| 4. | "Back in Your Arms" | 4:01 | |
| 5. | "The Cappuccino Song" | 3:50 | |
| 6. | "I Don't Wanna Lose at Love" | Tikaram, Sabiu, Värttinä | 4:20 |
| 7. | "The Day Before You Came" | Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus | 4:25 |
| 8. | "If I Ever" | 3:41 | |
| 9. | "I Like This" | 3:58 | |
| 10. | "I Knew You" | Tikaram | 4:58 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "I Don't Wanna Lose at Love" (Single Version) | 3:53 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "And I Think of You - E penso a te" | Lucio Battisti, Mogol | 4:17 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "And I Think of You - E penso a te" | 4:17 |
| 12. | "Feeling Is Gone" | 3:21 |
Production
| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [11] | 47 |
| UK Albums (OCC) [12] | 69 |
Tanita Tikaram is a British pop/folk singer-songwriter. She achieved chart success with the singles "Twist in My Sobriety" and "Good Tradition" from her 1988 debut album, Ancient Heart.
"Twist in My Sobriety" is a song written and performed by British singer-songwriter Tanita Tikaram. Released as a single in October 1988 from her debut album, Ancient Heart (1988), it was Tikaram's biggest international success, achieving top-10 placings in several European countries. The song reached number two in both Austria and West Germany. Its music video was directed by Gerard de Thame and filmed in Bolivia.
Ancient Heart is the debut studio album by British pop/folk singer-songwriter Tanita Tikaram, initially released by Warner Music Group on 12 September 1988. The album was a hit globally, launching 19-year-old Tikaram's career. Guest musicians include Rod Argent, Mark Isham, Peter Van Hooke, Paul Brady, and Brendan Croker; Argent and Van Hooke also produced the album. Four singles were released from the album: "Good Tradition", "Twist in My Sobriety", "Cathedral Song" and "World Outside Your Window".
Sentimental is the seventh studio album by Tanita Tikaram, released in 2005. The album was released only on the French label Naïve Records.
Lovers in the City is the fourth studio album by Tanita Tikaram, released by East West Records in 1995. Jennifer Warnes provided backing vocals on four tracks on the album. One of these songs, "I Might Be Crying", was released as lead single. A video for this single was filmed in Vietnam. The album reached No. 75 in the UK charts. "I Might Be Crying" was the first single to be released from the album, and peaked at number 64 in the UK. "Wonderful Shadow" was the second single to be released and peaked at number 198 in the UK. "Yodelling Song" was the third and last single to be released and then only in some countries in continental Europe.
Eleven Kinds of Loneliness is the fourth studio album by Tanita Tikaram, released in 1992. All songs were written and produced by the singer herself. "You Make the Whole World Cry" was the only single to be released from this album.
Everybody's Angel is the third studio album by Tanita Tikaram, released in 1991.
The Sweet Keeper is the second studio album by British pop/folk singer-songwriter Tanita Tikaram, released in 1990. Like her debut album Ancient Heart (1988), it was produced by Peter Van Hooke and Rod Argent. Three tracks from the album were released as singles: "We Almost Got It Together", "Little Sister Leaving Town" and "Thursday's Child".
The Best of Tanita Tikaram is the first compilation by pop singer Tanita Tikaram, released in 1996 by East West Records. Containing fifteen songs from 1988 to 1995, it also included one new track "And I Think of You - E penso a te" which was released as a promotional single and a special remix of her biggest hit "Twist in My Sobriety" which was also released as a single in UK.
"We Almost Got It Together" is a song by British singer-songwriter Tanita Tikaram, released in 1990 as the lead single from her second studio album, The Sweet Keeper (1990). It was written by Tikaram, and produced by Peter van Hooke and Rod Argent. The song was a top 30 hit in Finland, Ireland and Italy, while peaking within the top 40 in Belgium and the Netherlands.
"Only The Ones We Love" is a song by British singer-songwriter Tanita Tikaram, which was released in 1991 as the lead single from her third studio album Everybody's Angel. It was written by Tikaram, and produced by Tikaram, Peter van Hooke and Rod Argent.
"I Might Be Crying" is a song by British singer-songwriter Tanita Tikaram, released on 23 January 1995 as the lead single from her fifth studio album, Lovers in the City.
"Wonderful Shadow" is a song by British singer-songwriter Tanita Tikaram, which was released in 1995 as the second single from her fifth studio album Lovers in the City. The song was solely written and produced by Tikaram. "Wonderful Shadow" reached No. 198 on the UK Singles Chart in April 1995.
"Stop Listening" is a song by British singer-songwriter Tanita Tikaram, which was released in 1998 as the lead single from her sixth studio album The Cappuccino Songs. The song was written by Tikaram and Marco Sabiu, and produced by Sabiu. "Stop Listening" reached No. 67 on the UK Singles Chart and remained in the Top 100 for two weeks.
"I Don't Wanna Lose At Love" is the second single to be released from Tanita Tikaram's sixth studio album The Cappuccino Songs.
Marco Sabiu is an Italian-born musician and composer who has worked with Take That, Kylie Minogue, Lydia Canaan, Barry Blue, Christopher Lee, and made music for television.
Can't Go Back is the eighth studio album released by the British singer Tanita Tikaram. Released in September 2012 through Ear Music, the album marked Tikaram's first album in 7 years, after 2005's Sentimental.
"E penso a te" is a song composed in 1970 by Lucio Battisti based on the lyrics by Mogol. Initially sung by Bruno Lauzi, it was subsequently re-recorded by numerous other artists. The most popular version remains the one which its author gave in 1972.
"You Make the Whole World Cry" is the only single to be released from the album Eleven Kinds of Loneliness by British musician Tanita Tikaram. The record was issued on 10 February 1992 via East West Records label. In 1996 the song was included in her album The Best of Tanita Tikaram.
To Drink the Rainbow is a compilation album by the British singer-songwriter Tanita Tikaram, which was released by Needle Mythology in 2019.
