KT Tunstall - Drastic Fantastic [Limited] Review

When I first purchased the CD "Drastic Fantastic," I bought it for the song "Hold on."  I listened, someone skeptically, of the songs weaved together by KT that seemed too good to be true.  I wondered if they were formulaic, lacking in emotion.  I was critical and felt that KT had a checklist: "folksy song? Check.  Bluesy song?  Check. Hook in each song?  Check."   In otherwords, as Rob Sheffield from Rolling Stone said, "Some fans complained the album was overproduced, glossing over the rough edges Tunstall shows in concert."  I still think this is may be true, but after about the 3rd listen to the CD, I started "getting it" and I now feel as Betty Clark from the Guardian: "But beneath the glitz, buttery harmonies and glaring hits, there's the sadness of Funnyman, which details the mental anguish suffered by her friend Gordon Anderson (of the Aliens); the self-deprecation of Hopeless; and a sense that Tunstall is torn between her folk past and pop present."  In otherwords, the CD may seem overproduced, but, regardless, it is real.  The first 5 songs on the CD are my favorite (right now) and I listen to them over, and over.  "Funnyman" in my opinion, is the best song on the CD.  It has stunning lyrics, an upbeat tempo, and a lot of emotion.

Lyrics from the CD

"Do you remember that night
When I had to play your angel, Saving your soul?
Even though you were holding on tight
A part of you was taken by the demons below

With no one to lose, Said you feel like a bruise
On a beautiful body.
And all the damage you do
Is so honest and true
I don't want to feel sorry for you

Funnyman, gotta try to be something wonderful
Funnyman, listening to the world turning on its sail
Turn it into a brand new universe
Funnyman could never be anything else."

--from the song, "Funnyman"