"It was just lying dormant and needed to come out in the states," Sarah Cracknell says offhandedly about her album Lipslide. Until now, American Saint Etienne fans -- an uncommonly devoted lot -- have had to be content with pricey imports of the vocalist's 1997 solo debut. But with the recent stateside release of the album on Instinct Records, Cracknell devotees have been treated to a revamped track lineup, including one new song, and a CD-ROM version of the video for the opening song, "Anymore."

Cracknell first graced ears on Saint Etienne's third single "Nothing Can Stop Us Now" in 1991. Prior to that, the British band -- actually a conceptual project of musical masterminds Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs -- had remained fluid by borrowing female vocalists from existing groups. But the chemistry with Cracknell proved so potent that she was officially initiated into the fold. During the next few years, Saint Etienne refined a Eurocentric blend of dancefloor rhythms and classic Sixties sounds, creating a soundtrack for a kind of mythical urban sophisticate. With her girlish vocals and glamorous allure, Cracknell became the embodiment of Saint Etienne's panoramic pop.

But, though she had been making songwriting contributions since Saint Etienne's second album, they belied her prolific output. So when the band decided to take a break in 1996, Cracknell struck out on her own.

"I had a lot of songs lurking about that weren't particularly suited to Saint Etienne, and I just wanted an outlet for them really," she says. "They were very personal to me; they were written about lost loves and this, that and the other. Even though they're fairly well disguised as other characters, they're all about my past experiences."

Appropriately, the songs on Lipslide are drawn from all eras of Cracknell's songwriting, from "Coastal Town," written when she was in her teens, to "4 Months, 2 Weeks," conjured up specifically for the American release. With a clean, contemporary production, courtesy of an array of producers including Stephen Lironi (Black Grape, Hanson), Stephen Hague (New Order, Pet Shop Boys, Blur) and Cracknell herself, the album's pleasures are immediate. And though the arrangements don't delve into the musical minutiae of Saint Etienne's productions, they still draw on classic pop sensibilities, with plenty of nods to Cracknell's Sixties forbears. Indeed, Lipslide's gem, "Can't Stop Now," could have been culled from Dusty Springfield's Memphis sessions.

"I wanted it to sound very overtly pop," Cracknell says. "You can do that when you do it on your own, 'cause you've got no one else to feel responsible for. [But] obviously there would be some similarities or I wouldn't be in Saint Etienne in the first place."

Cracknell admits that the album offered her a chance to prove to critics that she had more to offer than just glitzy garb. It would become even more apparent on Saint Etienne's next album, 1998's Good Humor, which would be the first of the band's albums to feature her songwriting contributions on every track.

"Bob and Pete, obviously, know what I'm capable off," she says. "But I get a bit fed up with Bob and Pete being [perceived by critics as] gurus and me being [the showpiece].

Despite such triumphs, however, Cracknell acknowledges that the responsibilities of going solo can be daunting. "The whole experience was quite scary and quite lonely," she says. "I'm not very good at seeing the bigger picture. I tend to get wrapped up in things and lose perspective on it. It isn't until you put it in the public arena that you get any feedback and find out what other people think."

Though she doesn't rule out the possibility of another solo album should the opportunity present itself, Cracknell assures that Saint Etienne is still her primary concern. "I prefer being in a group," she says. "You've got a little support system. You travel all over the place together, and you're like a little gang. It's just so much more fun."

MICHAEL ANSALDO
(March 15, 2000)