Not Cheap, and Not Easy4 Out Of 5 Stars
"The piano isn't firewood yet," declares Regina Spektor on the melancholy "Firewood," and like so many singers of her ilk, she finds many ways to make you beg her to stay at the keyboards. "What We Saw From The Cheap Seats" is an album filled full with optimistic despair, desires quenchless, and Spektor's own unique take on the world of pop tunes. There's a finesse to her songwriting that is now taking on the likes of Randy Newman for elegance in the darkness of the human condition, from the aforementioned "Firewood" to the poignant ballad "How."
I think it should be noted that her producer this time is Mike Elizondo, the man who helped Fiona Apple rescue "Extraordinary Machine." Unlike the multi-producer helmed "Far," "Cheap Seats" maintains a consistent feel and sound. Be it the guttural rasps that she uses to punctuate "Open" or the longing she drives out from "All The Rowboats" ("...keep trying to row away"), she's pulling no emotional punches. Yet, even with the album's cohesiveness and dour lining, there are moments of childlike glee. She pulls the chorus of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" into "Oh Marcello" with such cheer that you'd think she was the original writer, or the warm calypso feel of "Don't Leave Me," which bounces along chipperly.
Don't kid yourself, however. Spektor buries the cruelest cuts in her poppiest moments, like "The Party." "You're like a big parade through town, you leave a mess but you're so much fun." "What We Saw From The Cheap Seats" is on a par with "Far" and her acknowledged masterpiece "Begin to Hope," and is the type of CD that rewards you the more you listen it it. Her track record continues unbroken.
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