Valentina

Valentina is a musical album by Musty Li'Okra, released in 1993. The album is Li'Okra's only solo album which was not re-released with deluxe or bonus tracks: in an interview with The Works Li'Okra said that this was because she was working hard on her 1994 follow-up, Colourblind.

Critical Reception
Music Magazine TheWorks gave Valentina a mixed-positive review, with four critics marking it as 'fine', six as 'decent', eight as 'somewhat pleasant', and two as 'quite pleasant' on their listenability scale. Overall, they labelled it as being 'campy, glamorous, surprisingly clever; but irritatingly distracted in its second half.'. The album was given a score of 71%.

Track-by-track review (summary)
Valentina: 'A strong, definitive title and opening track. Sets the mood for following album. Somewhat lengthy, but tells somewhat amusing dramatic story of a woman lost in love.

Seeing Stars: 'Sugary, radio-friendly first single. Stays in line with album concept, but does little to add to any storyline.'

Evangelical: 'Brilliant 1920s-inspired latin-gothic ballad with meticulously engineered instrumental, especially in middle-8 and outro sections.'

Broken Heart: 'What essentially feels like a sequel to 'Seeing Stars'; track about a heartbroken woman with repetitive chorus (I've had a broken heart/Ever since we've been apart). Saved only by its masterful metal-inspired instrumental.'

Dusk: 'Pleasant track about a wilting relationship - nicely established lyrical scenery which showcases Li'Okra's experience and ocassional brilliance in songwriting. Accompanied by soft but pleasant drum beat and guitar section, which carry song along.'

The Aloe: 'By far the best of the three singles from the album: Li'Okra's stating that this track was three years in the working makes sense, as it is one of the more timeless, established tracks on the album. Transition between verse and chorus is immensely satisfying, partly due to the excellent percussion.'

Crescent (Interlude): 'Spectacular interlude: Li'Okra delivers original poetry effortlessley in a beautiful, albeit short, track.'

Wilted ft. Redbrick: 'The first signs of the problems that this album exhibits in its second half. Dry, repetitive, and with a dizzyingly slow and painful feature. Saved only by some impressive lyrical back-and-forths between Li'Okra and Redbrick in the second verse'.

Tale of the Glamorous Virgin: 'A very entertaining song about a powerful and famous woman who is secretly a virgin. This is Li'Okra at her campiest and most playful, and it suits her extremely well'.

White Rum: 'Another spectacularly entertaining song, this time about a middle-aged housewife who is addicted to hosting parties, which seem to get worse and worse. Hilarity may in part be thanks to Symmonds, who also writes lymericks and childrens' fiction'.

Flooded Mansion ft. Spencer Bryce: 'Entertaining and lush upon first listen, but upon closer inspection, a baseless, hollow, badly-produced radio track. It should always be worrying when the feature on the track outperforms the lead artist'.

The Highwayman: 'The only really sad song on the album - haunting, yes, and a nice listen, but feels out of place on un album, especially as it directly follows two rap features.

Sparse (Instrumental): 'A pleasant, if not somewhat dull closing instrumental. Perhaps a heavier beat or more cinematic sound could have freshened it up a bit.'

Waning Moon: 'Completely unneccessary, dark closing instrumental that feels entirely disconnected from the rest of the album, complemented by suitibly strange and mismatched vocal layering.'

BEST TRACKS: Evangelical, The Aloe, Crescent (Interlude), Tale of the Glamorous Virgin, White Rum.

WORST TRACKS: Wilted ft. Redbrick, Flooded Mansion ft. Spencer Bryce, Waning Moon.