Safe Trip Home represents a big step forward from Dido’s two previous albums. Dido has grown up, immersed herself in the recording process and hand-picked some excellent collaborators. On drums alone, we get Mick Fleetwood, ?uestlove, from the Roots, and Matt Chamberlain, the regular sticksman for the album’s producer, Jon Brion, as well as Dido herself (rather good, actually). The high point is Grafton Street, co-written with Brian Eno. Although this may have begun life as an attempt to get into Guinness World Records (words and music: Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O’Malley Armstrong/Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno), it emerges as a heartfelt and beautiful, stunned but muted song about loss (“Nothing’s left that’s safe here now”) and sets the tone of a quietly powerful album.

Sony BMG 88697162972

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