Track Listing

1. 9 to 5
2. Gatheration
3. Random
4. Public Warning
5. Love Me Or Hate Me
6. My England
7. Tango
8. A Little Bit Of Shhh
9. Hoodie
10. Those Were The Days
11. Blah Blah
12. Fiddle With The Volume
13. Love Me Or Hate Me
14. Pretty Vacant
15. Splash Page Live Link

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #27781 in Music
• Released on: 2007-02-05
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics
• Dimensions: .22 pounds
• Running time: 52 minutes

CD Description
Debut album from the first superstar of grime, the pint-sized, self-professed "chav" who has hit the charts Stateside with this release and the single 'Love Me Or Hate Me'. Slickly produced and owing more to the current sounds of US hip-hop and RnB than any London scene, this is nonetheless a distinctly British album from a verbose, dextrous and comic lyrical talent.

Customer Reviews

Non stop entertainment
When someone asked me the other day why I liked this album (they are no fan of Lady Sov & I'm rather older than her usual audience, I suspect) I said it was because it always puts a smile on my face. They asked if that was because it was so bad it was funny or purely because it was actually entertaining - I think it could be both but I really don't care. Music should resonate with you, entertain you, or both & Lady Sovereign entertains non stop.
There are some belting tracks on here, I particularly like "My England" , "Those Were The Days", "Hoodies" & her excellent "solo" version of "9 to 5" ("Tango" is the poorest of the lot & sounds like a charver trying to sound superior). Some of her lyrics are very clever (there is some real potential in there), some less so,sometimes bordering on the inane ("Tango" being a case in point) but music doesn't always have to be "serious" does it ? Take it all with a pinch of salt & enjoy the ride. Make way for the S - O - V !!!

It's good, but probably 18 months too late.
I've liked Lady Sov for what must be a couple of years now which immediately causes problems. Firstly timing can be everything with these kinds of thing and its an easy suggestion to make that Sov, or her record label, has somewhat missed the zeitgeist as far as releasing Public Warning in this country goes. Secondly many of the songs on this collection are ones that anyone with more than a passing interest in Lady Sov will already be very familiar with, the majority being versions of demo's that have been doing the rounds for a year or more.

All of this, of course, is due to the fact that Jay-Z picked her out in the States and as such the main focus was cracking America, a task Lady Sov has somewhat achieved. Over here though, a lot of her buzz has been superseded by the likes of Lily Allen, who may stylistically be miles away from what is on display here but in the terms of the music press is probably seen as a like-for-like contemporary.

What is also clear is that its the tracks that seemingly have the American market in mind the most that are the ones that fall most flat. Those Were The Days comes across all sentimental but just seems false whilst My England seems tailored to American stereotypes of how we English really are. Both fail to shine in the translation.

Luckily most of the rest is quite good indeed. Latest single Love Me Or Hate Me is a catchy one (and appears here twice - the Missy Elliot featuring mix adding little) and whilst 9-to-5 still jarrs in comparison the the rest of the Sov catalogue, both Random and Hoodie benefit from new production jobs and justify the decision, in part, to stick to older tracks for the album.

Much like the single states, your choice really is to love Lady Sovereign or hate her; there certainly seems little opportunity for middle ground. Personally I lean more to loving her than hating her although over the course of a whole album the Lady Sov persona can get a little annoying. Still Public Warning is an enjoyable collection which, whilst perhaps not converting the unimpressed, has enough to prove to her fans that they were right to support her.

[] Public Warning
Overall its a good album because I have merely heard all the songs before bar a few. It's a shame that there wasn't more new material on the album but overall its still a good album which contains some S.O.V. classics on there.

Overall I think you should buy this album just so you can say you've heard Lady Sov's stuff because shes a great upcoming artist.

P.S. The remix to Love Me Or Hate Me ft. Missy Elliott is excellant!