KT Tunstall - Drastic Fantastic

Good Sophomore Effort, But Takes A Slightly Different Direction

I was impressed with KT Tunstall's previous CDs Eye To The Telescope and KT Tunstall's Acoustic Extravaganza, and I was eager to see what Drastic Fantastic had to offer. While I like this CD, I didn't find it to be a step forward based on her overall body of work. I am going to have to disagree with the Editorial Review about the implications of the cover of the CD. Drastic Fantastic has a much more electric/overproduced sound to it that Tunstall's previous CDs. While "Funny Man" and "Saving My Face" are listed as having been recorded for Eye To The Telescope, they seem to fit much more with this collection of songs. Even the more low key songs such as "Beauty Of Uncertainty" come off rather polished.

Tunstall has not lost her lyrical edge, though. On "If Only" we find the gem "For hearts tell the truth/It isn't just a piston in an engine". Then on "White Bird" she writes "Half of you is heavenly/Showing off your purity/The rest of you is from the street/Like a line where they both meet". Others are more straightforward such as "I Don't Want You Now" that finds the more edgy side of Tunstall that we saw on "Ashes" from Acoustic Extravaganza.

At the end of the day, I expect that people will have a mixed reaction to Drastic Fantastic. People expecting a sequel to Eye To The Telescope will probably be disappointed. That does not make Drastic Fantastic a bad CD. It is just different. There are just as many catch songs here - see "Hold On" and "Saving My Face" - as her previous work. It just has a different feel to it. New listeners will enjoy the music at face value, but they will also be in for a bit of a surprise if they go back to her earlier material. There's room for all of Tunstall's CDs to be good so do yourself a favor and try them all. November 17, 2008

KT Tunstall_ one of the greatest female artist of all time

(In America) it is incredibly hard to know who the real artist are. The industry promotes so many over glamorized puppets, that we start to assume that all good looking artist must be fakes. This is not the case with KT Tunstall. Like Elvis, she has incredible musical talent, singing talent, and happens to be good looking. I was lucky enough to see her recently in concert and I swear she sounds (vocally and musically) even better live than on her album.

Drastic Fantastic is a really great album, which compliments her first album Eye to the Telescope very nicely. All of the tracks are good, but my two favorites are "If only" and "Hopeless".

If you liked the great alternative sound of the 1990's, give KT a listen. August 15, 2008

Almost Fantastic

KT Tunstall has become one of my favorite female artists quite quickly. I loved the Telescope CD, the Acoustic CD, and then with Drastic Fantastic here it continues to add to the catalog of great songs.
I still have a difficult time getting into slower tracks like "White Bird", "Someday Soon", and "Paper Aeroplanes" even after repeated listens I tend to skip those tracks. I do appreciated the slower songs, it's just the mood perhaps set by the other tracks that makes me wanna avoid the detour into this area. It's not that the songs are bad, it's just not my speed...but in time I may come to appreciate them....I just have a good time rocking out to her more upbeat tunes more often than the others.

My fav right now is "If Only", that one along with "Little Favour" is a great way to kick off the CD I think, "Saving My Face", and "Funnyman are a couple other up tempo favs along with "I Don't Want You Now". "Hold On" is a song I like somewhat, but it doesn't grab me quite like the other up tempo songs.

Overall some nice material that is continuing on what she accomplished on Eye To The Telescope. Which is the better CD I'm not really sure at this point, both are near perfect....not quite there yet perhaps, but she's putting out so much great material so soon, it's hard to keep up perhaps.

She has a great voice, great talent. It's nice to hear the real deal more often, there are more and more female artist out there who are making their own music their way, and it's good to know it can be done, and KT along a handful of others are in a class by themselves right now. June 27, 2008

Couple of good tunes.

I think KT kicks major a--.
Drastic Fantastic feels a little rushed.
There are a couple of good tunes, perhaps if she took a little hiatus she can return to her greatness, but lets face it, great songs are a rareity and KT has already had many moments of greatness.
"Mr. GLM" White Plains, NY June 8, 2008

4.5 Stars - Fantasic Album

I have not heard KT's first album, but as a new fan, I can tell you that this album is great. Her faster, more pop tracks are her strongest. The slower songs toward the end are a good way to end the album, but don't pack the power of the other songs.

Stand Out Tracks: "Funnyman" and "Saving My Face"

June 5, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...