What is wrong with Skye?

A sweet voice but bad lyrics … a talent may be lost if she doesn't work it out soon.

It must have been a pretty devastating blow for singer Skye Edwards when she was dropped from group Morcheeba after recording a string of albums - with total sales of 5 million - with them.

The obvious thing to do was to set out on her own and see if she could make it as a solo artist, and her new long-player Mind How You Go is her attempt to do just that.

When she was with Morcheeba, she was basically a voice who brought to life the songs of bandmates - brothers Paul and Ross Godfrey.

But as a solo artist, as the publicity blurb for her new record says: "For the first time she was faced with the responsibility of coming up with the songs."

And that's perhaps where things have gone awry on her new 11-track record, which was recorded with big name producer Patrick Leonard, who has collaborated with Madonna and Rod Stewart.

There are several good songs, notably the opener Love Show and Say Amen, which has a beautiful choral quality in keeping with the track's name. The best moments on this album deserve comparison with Dido's smash hit album Life For Rent.

Skye has described Mind How You Go as a very personal album - the name itself comes from the phrase her foster mother would regularly say to her - and a few songs do have a genuine emotional force.

All too often, however, the songs do not have a strong melody and are let down by a lack of lyrical flair.

Stop Complaining descends into little more than a list of words while What's Wrong With Me is meaningless. Jamaica Days is no better. Many of the other tracks are simply too wordy.

Skye has a wonderful soft voice but this album shows she needs to go back to singing other people's material if she is not to sink without trace.

And the Daniel goes to …

My favourite track on Mind How You Go is Calling, which is the first song Skye co-wrote with her husband Steve Gordon.

This is a beautifully melodic song about someone reluctant to commit to a relationship and for once Skye keeps the lyrics simple and meaningful.

If only all the tracks on Mind How You Go were as good as this one.

Discography

1. Mind How You Go (2006)

2. Parts of the Process: The Very Best of Morcheeba (2003 - with Morcheeba)

3. Charango (2002 - with Morcheeba)

4. Back to Mine (2001 - with Morcheeba)

5. Fragments of Freedom (2000 - with Morcheeba)

6. La Boule Noire (1998 - with Morcheeba)

7. Big Calm (1998 - with Morcheeba)

8. Who Can You Trust? (1996 - with Morcheeba)

- The writer is the concert-loving travelling bard of Gulf News.