Perhaps even Dido realized that the chief criticism lodged against her first two albums was that they were a bit too placid, so she decided to change things, albeit subtly, on her third, Safe Trip Home.
This album appears five years after 2003's Life for Rent, which is only a year longer than the gap between No Angel and Life, yet it feels like it had a longer gestation: Dido's songs are subtler and richer, and so is the production, largely a collaboration with Jon Brion but also featuring Brian Eno on "Grafton Street." These are two of an impressive lineup of guests who range from Mick Fleetwood to Citizen Cope and ?uestlove from the Roots, but don't be mistaken in thinking that this is a dramatic break from Dido's elegant, shimmering past: it's a deepening, adding layers and textures, both musical and emotional, that are apparent upon the first listen but reveal themselves more with repeat spins.
This is less about the surface -- something that Life for Rent could sometimes seem to be all about -- than what's underneath, as Dido's songs here gently hook their way into the subconscious on.
There are melancholic edges, but it's not haunting, it's comforting, reassuring music that's quietly powerful, music that Dido hinted at before but never quite made.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Don't Believe in LoveDido Armstrong, Rollo Armstrong, Jon Brion | Dido | Play | 03:52 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 2 | Quiet TimesDido Armstrong | Dido | Play | 03:17 | 7 MB | 17 MB |
| 3 | Never Want to Say It's LoveDido Armstrong, Rollo Armstrong, Jon Brion | Dido | Play | 03:35 | 8 MB | 20 MB |
| 4 | Grafton StreetDido Armstrong, Rollo Armstrong, Brian Eno | Dido | Play | 05:57 | 13 MB | 29 MB |
| 5 | It Comes and It GoesDido Armstrong, Rollo Armstrong, Jon Brion | Dido | Play | 03:27 | 7 MB | 18 MB |
| 6 | Look No FurtherDido Armstrong, Rollo Armstrong, Jon Brion | Dido | Play | 03:13 | 7 MB | 14 MB |
| 7 | Us 2 Little GodsDido Armstrong, Rollo Armstrong, Daisy Gough, Rick Nowels | Dido | Play | 04:49 | 11 MB | 29 MB |
| 8 | The Day Before the DayDido Armstrong, Rollo Armstrong | Dido | Play | 04:13 | 9 MB | 18 MB |
| 9 | Let's Do the Things We Normally DoDido Armstrong, Jon Brion | Dido | Play | 04:09 | 9 MB | 23 MB |
| 10 | Burnin LoveDido Armstrong, Clarence Greenwood | Dido | Play | 04:11 | 9 MB | 22 MB |
| 11 | Northern SkiesDido Armstrong, Rollo Armstrong | Dido | Play | 08:55 | 20 MB | 45 MB |
| 49 mins | 113 MB | |||||
| 49 mins | 264 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Ark | Audio Production |
| 2 | Dido Armstrong | Composer |
| 3 | Rollo Armstrong | Composer |
| 4 | Ashley Arrison | Artist Coordination |
| 5 | Mark Bates | Editing, Keyboards, Piano, Programming, Wurlitzer |
| 6 | Jon Brion | Arranger, Audio Production, Bass, Bass Instrument, Brass, Brass Arrangement, Celeste, Cello, Composer, Conductor, Drum Machine, Guitar, Guitars, Keyboards, Mixing, Orchestral Arrangements, Percussion, Piano, Producer, String Arrangements, Strings, Tom-Tom, Vocal Coach, Woodwind, Woodwind Arrangement |
| 7 | David Campbell | Arranger, Conductor |
| 8 | David Paul Campbell | Arranger, Conductor, String Arrangements |
| 9 | Lenny Castro | Percussion |
| 10 | Eric Caudieux | Editing, Programming |
| 11 | Matt Chamberlain | Drums, Percussion |
| 12 | Citizen Cope | Featured Artist |
| 13 | Dido | Audio Production, Bells, Drums, Guitar, Keyboards, Omnichord, Piano, Primary Artist, Producer, Recorder, Vocals |
| 14 | Matt Dunkley | Orchestration |
| 15 | Peter Edge | A&R |
| 16 | Brian Eno | Ambience, Composer, Keyboards |
| 17 | Mick Fleetwood | Drums |
| 18 | Daisy Gough | Composer |
| 19 | Clarence Greenwood | Composer, Drums, Guitar, Vocals |
| 20 | Isobel Griffiths | Contractor |
| 21 | Grippa | Mixing, Vocal Engineer |
| 22 | Greg Koller | Engineer, Mixing |
| 23 | Bruce McCandless | Cover Photo |
| 24 | Justin Meldal-Johnsen | Bass, Bass Instrument |
| 25 | Rick Nowels | Composer |
| 26 | Michael Price | Orchestration |
| 27 | Questlove | Drums |
| 28 | Joanne Rooks | Design |
| 29 | Jim Scott | Drums, Engineer, Mixing |
| 30 | Joel Shearer | Guitar |
| 31 | Sister Bliss | Bass, Bass Instrument, Keyboards, Programming |
| 32 | Sebastian Steinberg | Bass, Bass Instrument |
| 33 | Todd Steinhauer | Assistant, Mixing |
| 34 | Jill Streater | Copyist |
| 35 | Gavyn Wright | Session Leader |
| 36 | Alan Yoshida | Mastering |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |