Monday, June 27, 2016

Corinne Bailey Rae

One Liner: Smooth ass soul and R&B

Poster Position: 10

Thoughts:  You've probably heard her fantastic, breezy hit from 2006, "Put Your Records On," which lyrically checks Bob Marley and then flows like a smooth Sunday afternoon spent with Norah Jones and Jill Scott.  Definitely her most popular and most listened to track, with 50.5 million streams.
That video matches the tune just right - sun-kissed and carefree.  Great tune.  Speaking of Marley, she does an absolutely mesmerizing cover of "Is This Love" that is straight-up slinky love-making music.
Hot Damn.  If that right there doesn't make you want to slowly strip off all of your clothing and get all kinds of sweaty with your love then you need to make a doctor's appointment right now.  Do it.  I'll wait.  That song, in addition to being unequivocally bad ass, won a Grammy in 2012. Smokin'.

She has four albums and a handful of singles and EPs, but I think the best of them is definitely that original 2006 album named Corinne Bailey Rae.  It has that large single, as well as the album opener, "Like a Star," which is pretty good.  The newest disc, 2016's The Heart Speaks in Whispers, makes me think of a Prince album.  Still soulful, but kinda danceable, kinda rockin', not too terribly serious.  Also flirts with an EDM sound at times. The top track from that is "Green Aphrodisiac," with 1.8 million listens.
More of her old school sound on that one.  Just fine, nothing I'd look to hear more of.  I have to note that this isn't really a style of tunes I'd listen to much on purpose.  Its like how I bought a few Norah Jones albums when those were the thing to buy, and I haven't even considered listening to one of those again in years.  Her voice is gorgeous, and I generally enjoy the arrangements, but realistically this isn't my type of tunes.  I can't imagine that she'll pull a huge crowd at the festival, but who the hell knows?

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