I'd Rather Be Naked is the debut album by Penelope Queen, a young French singer-songwriter, produced by pop polymath Isabelle Antena.
Written and recorded between 2010 and 2013, the album features 13 original songs by Penelope, together with a cover of Silly Things, a heartbreaking ballad originally recorded by Antena on Camino del Sol, their Crépuscule debut back in 1983. Also written in the south of France, Penelope's own new album captures many of the same moods - sometimes insouciant, sometimes bittersweet.
1. Drawn
2. L.O.L
3. Just Lay
4. Little One
5. Speechless
6. Who's My Daddy
7. Silly Things
8. My Garden
9. Says the Rain
10. Heart Beat
11. That Thing, That Voice
12. Girls Don't Cry
13. Ms. Nobody
14. When Spring Arrives
Available on digipack CD and digital download. To order CD please select correct shipping option and click on Add To Cart button below cover image, or else contact LDDC by email.
Reviews:
"From opening track Drawn onwards, the order of the day here is simplicity. Voice, acoustic guitar, minimal strings, romantic and relationship-influence lyrics make most of this album a pleasing and very human assemblage. Livelier highlights include the opener Drawn plus Girls Don't Cry, Hey Little One and Ms Nobody, all of which demonstrate Queen's knack for a pop song. Penelope's real forte, however, is with the more forlorn or reflective side of her nature - Just Lay, When Spring Arrives and the super Heartbeat all recall her mother's occasionally plaintive oeuvre, strengthened by the fact she's had time to ably cover an Antena classic in the process - Silly Things from the Camino del Sol era" (Flipside, 05/2013)
"The opener Drawn signposts the direction: energetic yet relaxed handclap rhythm, racy accoustic guitar and a softly swinging voice. Almost every piece breathes in the refreshing atmosphere of an evening sea breeze after a long Sunday. Even on mum's Silly Things (from Antena's 1983 mini album) Penelope succeeds in updating: cool new wave Brasil becomes a cello-lascivious jazz ballad" (Westzeit, 09/2013)
"Intimate, nonchalant, elegant acoustics produced by Isabelle Antena in the style of Camino del Sol" (Blow Up, 09/2013)
