ATDI did so in December 2000 with an epic performance of live favourite ‘One Armed Scissor’. Dev B followed by stealing the Friday 14 May 2004 show with ‘A Sight To Behold’. And KT, as in Katie, blew away the likes of legends The Cure, Jackson Browne and Anita Baker with her rendition of 'Black Horse & The Cherry Tree' last October despite, or maybe because of, the fact she came in as a late replacement for one of hip-hop’s finest, Nas.

Education, education, education. That pre-election pledge from Tony Blair largely landed him the position of prime minister in 1997. Those three words also sum up the approach to music of KT. Raised in St Andrews, she won a scholarship to the artsy Kent School in Connecticut before enrolling on a music course at London’s Royal Holloway College. Notwithstanding such formal schooling, Tunstall reckons she learnt most from singing teacher Ella Fitzgerald after someone gave her a tape of the First Lady Of Song's.

And you can hear the husky tones of Ms Ella in KT Tunstall´s smoky delivery. Along with folk heroes The Indigo Girls, Judy Collins and Laura Nyro. Tunstall, however, prefers playing with a band than performing acoustically. Which is strange as her voice is strong enough to carry her as a solo performer.

The clue was there all along in the album’s title. Put your ‘Eye To The Telescope’ and you’re bound to see a star. 2005 could well turn out to be Tunstall's year.
(3½/5)

Release Date: 13 December 2004

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Eye To The Telescope