Wake up in the morning with a head like "What you done?"...

I really wanted to like this record more. When the Scissor Sisters’ self-titled debut CD came out, it was like a breath of fresh air. Campy, brash, yet accessible, it was a huge smash in England, and made significant inroads here in American, where “Take Your Mama” became a adult-top-40 hit. Drawing from equal parts Elton, Bowie, and BeeGees, the discofied punk of the “sisters” found a widespread audience for both the CD as well as their party-style concert, which sold like a superstar act in England. Expectations were high for their sophomore effort, preceded by the Elton John assisted lead-off single “I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’”. The track had everything going for it, the spot-on “Oh What A Night-style” piano going into disco-vaudevillian bliss, where Jake Shears is bopping to the fact that he doesn’t want to go out and party. Well, for Ta-Da, the diversity of their previous album has devolved into exclusive Elton-esqueness, with smatterings of sparse electro-pop. The better moments on the album, like the 007-tribute “Land Of A Thousand Words” and the power-pop closer “Everybody Wants The Same Thing” fall into the updated mid-70s pastiche, which works less effectively on the forced “She’s My Man” and droopy “Might Tell You Tonight”. “Paul McCartney” has a bouncy vibe, though after two listening is still just half-intelligible. The kistchy filler is best off with “Lights”, the most coherent of the “disco” numbers, while Ana Mantronic-led “Kiss You Off” and Shears-sung “Ooh” seemed slapped on. The humor of “Take Your Mama” really only comes though in the bubbling but morose “I Can’t Decide”, where Shears is contemplating which way to “off” his lover. Mind, the album isn’t “serious”, as sophomore albums can be, but more “kooky”. It’s a listenable records, but I want more fun. Greedy me. (Note: my version had a bonus disc with 3 tracks - a horrible mostly-electro take on "I Don't..." that sounds nothing like the original nor adds anything important, a passable "Linus Loves" edit of the same song, and the toss-off "Ambition". feh.)

Grade: B-
Best Cuts: “I Don’t Feel Like Dancing”, “Land Of A Thousand Words”
Weakest Links: “Kiss You Off”, “Intermission”

Ta-Da hit #19 on the US pop albums chart, #1 Electronic albums, and #1 in the UK.
"I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" hit #102 pop singles, #35 Adult Top-40, #2 Dance Airplay, and #1 in the UK.
"Land of A Thousand Words" hit #19 in the UK.
"She's My Man" made #29 in the UK.
"Kiss You Off" made #43 in the UK.
"I Can't Decide" hit #64 in the UK.

Listen: "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" (Linus Loves Vocal Edit) [Link]

Buy: You can pick up Ta-Da at websites like here and here.

And here's some videos...first off the very cool video for "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'"..