KT Tunstall's Acoustic Extravaganza (With Bonus DVD) (Digipak)

I stumbled across this album purely by chance. Watching Channel 4 one night, I happened to see the 'making of' documentary for this album. It features KT and her band recording this great collection of songs from what appeared to be the living room of one of her friends in a house on the Isle of Skye. From what I saw on the documentary and from the sound of the album, the tracks were recorded in single takes (rather than with the usual clinical cut and paste methods of traditional studio production). The result is a really inspiring and powerful acoustic performance which maintains a very intimate feel thanks to the snippets of background conversation and goofing around one can hear between tracks.

Having been a fan of KT Tunstall's first album 'Eye To The Telescope', I had been patiently waiting for her second studio release. While this isn't really it (as there were no singles, promotion, touring of the material, etc.), it's a brilliant find for any KT Tunstall fans to savour… more »

I stumbled across this album purely by chance. Watching Channel 4 one night, I happened to see the 'making of' documentary for this album. It features KT and her band recording this great collection of songs from what appeared to be the living room of one of her friends in a house on the Isle of Skye. From what I saw on the documentary and from the sound of the album, the tracks were recorded in single takes (rather than with the usual clinical cut and paste methods of traditional studio production). The result is a really inspiring and powerful acoustic performance which maintains a very intimate feel thanks to the snippets of background conversation and goofing around one can hear between tracks.

Having been a fan of KT Tunstall's first album 'Eye To The Telescope', I had been patiently waiting for her second studio release. While this isn't really it (as there were no singles, promotion, touring of the material, etc.), it's a brilliant find for any KT Tunstall fans to savour in the meantime. My only criticism of 'Eye To The Telescope' was that, at times, the production was just too slick and clinical and, having seen KT perform live, the raw charisma and energy which she naturally transmits through her songs when fronting a band on stage seemed somewhat stifled. Of course, it's always easy to point out such things after the fact.

To my delight then, this whole album has much more of the natural KT Tunstall dynamic of which I'm such a big fan. This translates into some absolutely magical moments with my absolute personal highlight being her performance of 'Boo Hoo' which would not have sounded out of place, for example, in the midst of Eric Clapton's outstanding 'Unplugged' performance. In a sense then, I almost wish that this material had been recorded with a live audience who could have responded to a truly awe-inspiring performance. While 'Boo Hoo' may be the pinnacle of this set, my other particular favourites are 'One Day' which is infused with a similar infectious and irrepressible energy of the kind heard in 'Black Horse And The Cherry Tree'.

Sandwiched between the exceptional 'Boo Hoo' and 'One Day' is a cover version of Beck's 'Golden Age' which is a beautiful, smooth, laid back song with a soft and intimate performance to match. The ability of Tunstall and her band to switch so successfully between moods and dynamics with each song is testament not only to their collective talent but also to the arrangement of the album which after a "take it or leave it" opening pair of songs, never fails to deliver at a wonderfully high level.

If you, like me, are eagerly awaiting the release of KT Tunstall's next featured album, provisionally entitled 'Drastic Fantastic', and you don't own this one already, buy it now. You won't be disappointed.