Corinne Bailey Rae has a great voice, expressive, warm, and with some unique vocal quirks that could really distinguish her from the pack. This is a woman, who, according to her bio, sang in a Led Zeppelin style band ten years ago, so she's not ever going to be your average ballad singer or sweet little pop star. In fact, if allowed, I bet she could blow almost any female singer on the market out of the water.
Aye, and there's the rub, if allowed. Somewhere along the line, someone has taken her in hand and moulded her into an early 21st century clone of Sade and other earlier purveyor's of mellow, soulless, soul music. Listening to this disc it sounds like she's being aimed directly at the adult easy listening stations with no stops in between.
Of course it's not as if she's an unwilling player in this scheme, she receives a writer's credit on each of the discs eleven tracks, and plays the part in the promotional shots. Artfully messed curls, wide doleful eyes, and elegantly casual clothes combine to make her the complete package of safe, middle of the road soul singer.
The songs are all well-crafted, with lyrics that are of more than average intelligence, but are languid to the point of tranquilizing. A sure sign of a so-called soul singer not willing to commit whole heartedly to the emotional demands of the genre is their music having all the excitement of processed cheese. It bears a passing resemblance to the genuine article, but lacks everything that makes it exciting.
There really ought to be a law against record companies and producers squeezing talented individuals into neat little marketable packages. Corinne Bailey Rae has the voice, and the obvious intelligence to be far more than the limited vision that EMI has imposed on her and that is presented in her debut album Corinne Bailey Rae
Let's hope that once they've established her and she's made them some money, they will give her a little more room to work in. I'd love to hear her unleashed and giving voice to the full range of emotion she sounds capable of producing. Her new album will be officially launched on June 6th and currently you can download three songs from the album at iTunes.
Article comments
1 - John
Although I understand the packaging argument I think you have missed the point that this is a beautiful collection of songs sang with soul and feeling and it is a terrific start from a huge talent