Dido Life For Rent CD

Personnel includes: Dido (vocals, programming); Adam Zimmon, Paul Herman (acoustic guitar); Rick Knowles (guitar, keyboards); Rusty Anderson, Dave Randall (guitar); Sister Bliss (piano, keyboards, programming); Mark Bates (harmonium, keyboards, percussion, programming); Aubrey Nunn (bass); Andy Treacy, Mako Sakamoto (drums); Carlos Paucar (percussion); P*Nut, Steve Sidelynk (programming); Pauline Taylor (background vocals).
"White Flag" was nominated for the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.
Life for Rent doesn't offer anything that drastically different from Dido's debut album, No Angel -- the dance beats are marginally fresher, the production is clean and new -- but this predictibility is actually rather refreshing because the album delivers on its promise, unlike many sophomore affairs in 2003. That its promise is rather modest doesn't really matter, since Dido is successful at modest songs. She has a sweet, warm voice and a knack for tuneful modern folk-pop that sounds intimate while being confidently catchy and nicely atmospheric. In other words, it retains the feel of No Angel and its two big hits, "Here With Me" and "Thank You," without ever rewriting either song, but contributing songs like "White Flag," "Stoned," "Life for Rent," and "Do You Have a Little Time," which are nearly as memorable. The appeal of Life for Rent is what makes Dido appealing -- she's unassuming and gentle, but her songs are so melodic and atmospheric they easily work their way into the subconscious, and the records are well-crafted enough to be engaging on repeated plays. So, Life for Rent isn't much different than its predecessor, but that's a very good thing in this case. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Imagine Beth Orton with a bit more of a pop lilt, and you'll have a good idea of the general approach on LIFE FOR RENT, UK pop siren Dido Armstrong's long-awaited follow-up to her 1999 debut album. Dido's light, feathery voice and simple, purposefully delivered melodies sit atop a mixture of Jewel-like folk-pop and more contemporary, electronics-laden production a la her former group Faithless. Like Orton, Dido injects a touch of highly accessible trip-hop into her sound, as on the moody, clever "See You When You're 40," with its loping, funky groove, or "Who Makes You Feel," with its evocative, atmospheric samples. The mood throughout is a soft, girlish one, as Dido weaves gentle portraits of a woman going through the whole emotional spectrum, with the lightness offset by smarter-than-your-average-pop-star lyrics and small surprises in the arrangements.Entertainment Weekly (10/3/03, p.72) - "...the British singer smartly picks apart shaky relationships and brings to the subject of romance something rare: a level head." - Rating: B
Mojo (Publisher) (11/03, p.125) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Intelligent, yet without pretension, Dido distils every acute observation down to its emotional pith..."