The deep blue sea of Corinne Bailey Rae’s feelings

When British performer Corinne Bailey Rae emerged on the show business scene like a super nova, her identity and charm were noticed by many professionals. The singer was compared to several different divas at a time, but the critics did not come to a conclusion, whom she reminds more – because Corinne Bailey Rae possesses her own uniqueness. She showed herself assuredly and bravely with the self-titled debut, filled with the optimistic and sunny pop music songs. The artist was in the limelight and no one could even suspect the tragedy was making its way into her life. In March 2008, her husband, a well-known in his native England saxophonist Jason Rae, died of a drug overdose. Almost two years after the accident, Corinne released her second studio attempt The Sea. It is devoted to the singer’s feelings that are really deep and changeable as the sea. As before, the artist wrote all the lyrics and music herself for the songs she performed. She also dedicated the majority of the tracks to her deceased beloved. Part of the material was written before Jason’s death – as the result of family quarrels, for example, as the single I'd Do It All Again, or some other family affairs.

Light is her sorrow

It may seem that an album like The Sea must be stuck with grief and desperation. However, it is not that way in this case – the disc has even happy, sometimes playful moments, while Corinne’s memories radiate warm and light sorrow. The artist transmits all her rich emotions in a surprising precise manner, without bursting into shouts or cries. The disc gets its start with the sad and filled with emotions song Are You Here, in which Corinne desperately tries to accept the loss. It is followed by the powerful and retrospective single I'd Do It All Again. The rock track The Blackest Lily is playfully decorated with the vocodered vocals, and the singer shows us with this song that the life goes on in spite of anything. The love song Closer demonstrates us the gorgeous voice of Bailey Rae in all its beauty with the assistance of the stylish retro soul move, while the arrangement has a successful party of horns. Well, the most memorable track on the disc is Paris Nights/New York Mornings with the infectious guitars. This song lets us know that Corinne Bailey Rae can write something as attractive or even more unforgettable as her single Put Your Records On. The disc finishes with two compositions on the sea topic at once - Diving For Hearts and The Sea, the latter giving the title to the disc. The first song is going to touch you with the wonderful lyrics, while the closing tune explores seeing the sea as the power, capable of cleaning up a persons’ heart of his sorrows and passions, recreation and even resurrection.

The Sea: a touching and tender dedication

According to Corinne’s statements, she wrote this disc with a strong wish to cheer Jason Rae – actually, as everything she did. Well, it is obvious that The Sea is a successful album. It is no filling material, while the listed tracks are like a necklace of precious pearls, collected on a string of sorrow and pain of a loss. Corinne Bailey Rae did not change her personal singing manner for this long-play, but she noticeably broadened her sound on The Sea and made several good style experiments. Besides, the disc became a real palette of the emotions – bright, lively and deep as the sea. Such plain and laconic title fits the artist’s sophomore attempt perfectly. Although the disc is extremely personal, it will bring delight to a wide range audience, as it is filled with philosophic speculations and beautiful texts, which can cause esthetic pleasure as they are. In spite of the fact that The Sea is dedicated to the deceased husband of Corinne, it is hard not to see the life-affirming motives in it. Finally, we can say that the second full-length is often a turning point in the career of any artist, as the expectations of the listeners are really high, but Corinne Bailey Rae not only hit the expectations – she definitely overdid them.

Ninelle Kazakoff

08.02.2010

Vote this review: 1 2 3 4 5
Review points: 3.91
Total votes: 12