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Corinne Bailey Rae’s latest offering, The Sea, is a fascinating glimpse into the heart of an English songstress whose mellow voice beautifully transfers emotions from one soul to another.
The Rise of Corinne Bailey Rae
Corinne Bailey Rae first came onto the commercial music scene with her upbeat self-titled album in 2006. Her child-like voice that belies the maturity evident in her music got the world talking. Very soon everyone was tapping to her neo-soul tunes that embodied elements of jazz, pop, soul, folk and shocks of dance.
All wanted a piece of her as she gracefully touched the hearts of many with her honest, raw moods, but then it all came crashing when her husband, musician Jason Rae, was found dead in a friend’s apartment in 2008. She disappeared from the music scene for almost two years before releasing The Sea in January 2010. It has been nominated for the 2010 Mercury Prize Album of the Year.
After the Death of Jason Rae
I must admit I was curious as to what she’d reveal in this album. With the death of her husband it was as if the curtain that had opened in 2006, allowing us into her home, closed sharply and all the doors were locked. In 2010 she opens the curtains again, but this time the colour has changed from a warm lemon pastel to heavier, crimson veils. Despite this, Ms Bailey Rae still beckons from within; inviting us to come inside.
Her sound this time round carries a vestige of truth learned from life’s harsh lessons. Her voice is given room to go low and resonate sorrow as in the song ‘I Would Like to call It Beauty’, but remains ever hopeful as she explores life’s dark areas as in the song ‘Are You Here’. The album was produced by Steve Brown and Steve Chrisanthou, who also produced her debut album.
The Sounds of The Sea
They have kept the lovely, simple overlay of instruments that add to her voice and lyrics, rather than move to play over, drowning her. I love the rather rock ‘n roll feel to ‘Paris Night/New York Mornings’, which shows her playful, flirtatious nature and stands a good enough prelude to the very sixties/seventies feel of ‘Paper Dolls’ that makes me imagine a night boogying away at Studio 54 with Andy Warhol and the gang.
My favourite track on the album, ‘Closer’, shows a very sensual side to the more modest Corinne Bailey Rae. She admits she wrote this song after an argument with her husband and, as if in response to him, she tells him that ‘she wants to get close to (him)’. The video for the song takes advantage of the sexy nature of the song. It allows the singer to move from scene to scene not quite a femme fatale, but definitely a siren.
Still Rocking after Two Years
And yet, it takes nothing from the original Corinne Bailey Rae whose rawness still emanates from every verse if you listen to the soulful ‘I’d Do It All Again’. She opens the album telling the story of her husband and ends with the haunting ‘The Sea’ where she cries out, ‘goodbye’; while the nine songs in-between tell the story of the last 2 years.
If you feel like being moved and love music for more than its dance effect quality, then Corinne Bailey Rae’s The Sea is something you want to get. If only to shed tears and let go of your own love.
