A Forgotten Talent

One of the most underrated and sadly forgotten talents to emerge from the late-1980s folk-pop scene is itinerant songstress Tanita Tikaram. Tikaram's most distinctive quality is her sultry, smoky lower-register tenor, a wondrous voice that has lent its magic to an array of almost perfect songs. Tikaram's first album, 1988's "Ancient Heart" remains her most accomplished and realised work, a melancholy yet hopeful collection of tracks that is one of the most remarkable debuts of all time.

There's a whole variety of moods to be found on "Ancient Heart": measured celebration ("Good Tradition", "World Outside Your Window"), airy calmness ("Cathedral Song", "He Likes the Sun"), blissful insouciance ("Sighing Innocents", "I Love You"), sombre thoughtfulness ("Twist in My Sobriety", "For All These Years"), lovelorn longing ("Valentine Heart") and sheer resignation ("Preyed Upon"). This makes for a terrific, under-appreciated album that has aged extremely well - too bad that it's long out of print.