Rocktrospectiva: The Electronica & Disco Influenced "Read My Lips" Turns 25

Released on 3 September 2001, "Read My Lips" was the debut studio album by the English singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor. After the disbandment of the Britpop group Theaudience, for which Ellis-Bextor served as lead 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. It spawned four singles: "Take Me Home", "Murder on the Dancefloor", double A-side single "Get Over You"/"Move This Mountain" and "Music Gets the Best of Me". The album reached number two on the UK Albums Chart, and has since been certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). 

Following the disbandment of Britpop group Theaudience, Ellis-Bextor provided vocals for the song "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" by Italian DJ Spiller. The song was a commercial success, and Ellis-Bextor signed to Polydor. She was contacted by director Baz Luhrmann, who offered her a role in the 2001 film Moulin Rouge!, but the singer refused in order to focus on her career as a recording artist.

The success of "Groovejet" also prompted American musician Moby to notice Ellis-Bextor, and revealed interest in working with her due to her "amazing" voice, as he described it. He instructed his record company to "track" Ellis-Bextor "down" so they could start working as soon as Moby finished his tour. The two ultimately wrote five songs in New York City, which did not make the final cut of Read My Lips. Furthermore, she also recorded with Blur bassist Alex James, as well as former frontman of the New Radicals, Gregg Alexander, while Damian LeGassick was recruited for his programming and keyboard work.

The album's title was chosen due to the strong lipstick Ellis-Bextor used for the album artwork, the "Take Me Home" music video and "Read My Lips" is sung in the opening verse of the album track "The Universe Is You". The album photography was shot by Mert Alaş and Marcus Piggot.

An "eclectic" album, Read My Lips, is a collection of 1980s electronica and 1970s disco. The album opener and first single was a cover version of Cher's 1979 song "Take Me Home", described as a "disco groove". Betty Clarke from The Guardian observed that her voice in the song is reminiscent of Audrey Hepburn's Eliza Doolittle (in the film My Fair Lady). "Move This Mountain", co-written by Alex James, was a "vibrant" ballad with a trip hop-influenced sound. Following track and second single, "Murder on the Dancefloor", was a dance-pop and disco record, that utilised bass guitar and piano in its instrumental. "Sparkle" has "speeding beats and equally speeding keyboards", while "Final Move" contained "tinny beats" and "electro swirls". The latter was deemed a "subdued version" of "Murder on the Dancefloor" with "similar kaleidoscope synth". "I Believe" was described as "funky" and "live-sounding", while "Leave the Others Alone" involved "cold beats" and "big, full-throttle keyboards". "By Chance" was particularly noted for showcasing Ellis-Bextor's accent. Re-release new song "Get Over You" was a "polite" Euro disco take on "I Will Survive".

The album reviews were mixed some cited "Take Me Home" and "Move This Mountain" as the album's highlights, but, overall, he thought that the record failed to live up to the standard set by the previous collaboration with Spiller. Others described the album as a "sophisticated package" but said "there's little to love and even less fun to be had", while others felt dissaponted with the album sound and a mere copy of The Human League albums sound, althought previous reviews such as Andrew Arora from Blue Coupe had a more positive response to the record. Arora said "it lands somewhere between Pet Shop Boys' synth-pop faculty and Blondie's Parallel Lines album"

 

Read My Lips Track List: 

 

1. Take Me Home 

2. Lover

3. Move This Mountain

4. Murder On The Dancefloor

5. I Believe

6. Leave The Others Alone

7. By Chance

8. The Universe Is You

9. Is It Any Wonder

10. Everything Falls Into Place