Put This Record On, Tell Me Your Favorite Song
Written: Mar 04 '07
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| sslabs's Full Review: Corinne Bailey Rae [2 CD] by Corinne Bailey Rae |
Songstress Corinne Bailey Rae’s self titled debut is a breath of fresh air, and a bit of a surprise to me. With every year that passes, the mainstream becomes more and more clogged with mindless, soulless drivel. One would think this condition precludes Rae’s dreamy, poetic collection from ever getting a melody in the door. This butter-sweet English doll's voice is a like a gentle massage on the ear drums. Rae’s voice, smooth and gliding as Sade, yet younger, and wispier around the edges, is a real charmer. I truly relish Rae’s English accent, and how it just barely pokes through on occasion, most notably on Put Your Records On. Rae’s vibe throughout her debut is one of kicking off your shoes, pouring your favorite drink, and finding a favorite chair.
Her debut is for the most part, devoid of angst or darkness. When Rae moves toward sadness, it’s more like a gentle sleepiness wrapped up in something whipped and creamy. Her jazzy, blues-y tunes move from the gentle love of Like a Star and Enchantment to the more upbeat Trouble Sleeping and Call Me When You Get This. Rae even allows her playful side to shine on the hit song Put Your Records On. This track is one of the best songs to hit the mainstream channels in the last year or more. When Rae croons 'summer came like cinnamon, so sweet' and 'little girls double-dutch on the concrete' she shows off her strengths.
Rae isn't a poet in the league of say Fiona Apple or Jill Scott. Rather, Rae’s talent is in painting thoughtful if simple visuals with her caressing vocals and choice of words. Continuing that thought, the best body mover of the eleven tracks is I’d Like To. Draped in a hip-hop beat, it's a summertime thumper in the vein of Jill Scott’s Family Reunion. Here, Rae describes family and friends gathering, eating good food, and a feeling of warm weather reminiscing. I’d Like To is sweet, endearing, and a dance track all at once.
That’s a tough one to pull off, I’d know, I listen to a lot of music. Corinne Bailey Rae’s debut does swing really low a couple of times, and the best of the bunch is Choux Pastry Heart. Opening with only a piano, and a heartbeat drum, Rae doesn’t really project 'I was just waiting for your phone call' it’s more like something falling softly from her lips.
It’s almost spooky what a dead ringer Rae is for Apple when she sings so casually 'But we didn’t mean the same thing I think.' It sounds like any soft line from someplace on When the Pawn... that I can’t quite nail down. For those of you that have no clue what my aforementioned insight means, well it’s a good thing, trust me. Of the eleven tracks, there isn’t a track skipper in the bunch. That’s right, not one in my humble and always correct opinion, can't say that about too many albums. Shake Your Money Maker by The Black Crowes from a hundred years ago (1990) immediately comes to mind. Another plus in my mind, Rae co-wrote on every song and penned Like A Star all by her lonesome.
If there is a nit to pick, it’s that the album is almost a bit too polished. Its immediately sticky on the brain feeling seems to come at the expense of its legs. In this case, they are short rather than long. After a handful of spins (from beginning to end) I’ve grown tired of the album already. It’s like the first bite of a Mrs. Fields cookie, you’d swear you could eat ten of them. Then the first greasy disc sits in your gut like a brick, and you call off the other nine.
Yes it’s like complaining that the glove compartment in the Ferrari is too small (do they have a glove?) but it’s what a professional admirer does. Sorry but music critic just doesn’t have nearly the same ring to it. Looking for something really brilliant? Disregard everything I’ve shared, and get this CD. You’ll certainly enjoy it, even revel in it, if only for a short time.
© Tony Flores 2007
StrangerSoundLabs.com
Recommended:
Yes
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Member: Tony Flores
Location: Calistoga - Napa Valley Wine Country
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