Corinne Bailey Rae

Performer: Corinne Bailey Rae
Producer: Tommy D; Paul Herman
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Corinne Bailey Rae (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, Spanish guitar, bass guitar, percussion); Steve Brown (various instruments, sampler, background vocals); Rod Bowkett (acoustic guitar, bass guitar); Steve Chrisanthou (electric guitar, programming); Jason Rae (alto saxophone); Andrew Hale (piano, programming); Paul Siddal (keyboards); Colin Waterman (drums). Despite the fact that English vocalist Corinne Bailey Rae has the name of a country artist, and got her start playing in a grunge-inspired hard rock band, her self-titled debut is heavily steeped in 1970s-style soul and singer-songwriter intimacy. Rae's girlish, sultry voice might remind some listeners of Macy Gray, while the subtle shadings and jazzy textures of her tunes may bring to mind Nora Jones and Alicia Keys. Yet Rae, who wrote or co-wrote each of the album's 11 tracks and provides much of the album's instrumentation as well, brings a distinctive stamp to the neo-soul formula. Her songwriting is strikingly personal and well-crafted, and her singing, which can be as cool as a Lester Young saxophone solo (the lilting "Like a Star") or as soulful and swinging as Sly Stone (the breakthrough single "Put Your Records On"), sets her apart from the pack. CORINNE BAILEY RAE is a solid and very promising debut. When songstress Corinne Bailey Rae released her sashaying single "Put Your Records On" in her native U.K. it was a feel-good adult alternative phenomenon -- a kind of Norah Jones, Joss Stone, David Gray, or Macy Gray phenomenon. One listen to her breakout soft soul anthem and it's easy to hear why, since Rae is a mix of all the above but not a contrived one concocted by some major label's scientist. Her self-titled debut sounds a wee rushed and sometimes meanders its way into background music territory, but this comfortable effort is pleasingly homegrown, warm, and poignant in parts, especially when Rae doesn't weaken her strong lyrics with space-filling "doo de do do do"s and "mmmmmmm"s. So if she doesn't make an Alicia Keys-size splash with her debut, she's still a breath of fresh air, and hardly a one-hit wonder. It's risky to open an album with a lazy ballad, but the great "Like a Star" paints Rae as Billie Holiday's pop-influenced granddaughter. Mellowing Style Council or Brand New Heavies fans should dig "Trouble Sleeping," while "Butterfly" beautifully captures the full range of emotions that come with leaving the nest. The well-written and direct "Butterfly" suggests Rae could release a more accomplished full-length someday, but attention to "feel" often seems like the driving force in this album's creation. Adjust your expectations accordingly and Rae's languid debut is very rewarding. ~ David Jeffries

Rolling Stone (pp.98-99) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[Her] voice suggest a warmer, less weird Macy Gray, and she uses it without a hint of diva showiness on breezy, sometimes sleepy songs..." Entertainment Weekly (p.70) - "Rae's an attractive neo-soul songbird with a caressing voice that's got an adorable Macy Gray-esque croak." Q (p.124) - Ranked #12 in Q Magazine's "100 Greatest Albums of 2006" -- "[Her] eponymous debut album immediately stood out."

In an era when female R&B singers are often little more than pitch-corrected fashion divas, Corinne Bailey Rae's 2006 debut album was a heartening triumph of vocal chops and genuine soul. The U.K.-born singer/multi-instrumentalist got her start singing in her church choir, but followed the siren song of indie rock and joined the all-female metal band Helen in the mid-1990s. When Helen's album deal fell through, Bailey Rae looked for other avenues of musical expression and, influenced by classic jazz singers, tried her hand at a mellower, more emotive style of singing. By 2005 Bailey Rae had been offered a solo record deal with EMI. The resulting album was an international hit, charting high all over Europe and the U.S.

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