I have a problem with procrastination these days. Actually, who am I kidding? I’ve always had a problem with procrastination. Why do I wait till the last hour to do my post for the day? I need to get in the habit of writing in the morning. Tonight I got sucked into watching Lost. I’m trying to re-watch season 5 before Tuesday. I have 6 hours left. But I need to get through 4 hours by Thursday afternoon so I can watch the finale with my Stevie. Since I kicked out 4 episodes tonight, I am confident with getting the other 4 done tomorrow night. But enough about Lost.
Two weeks ago Entertainment Weekly did a short feature on Corinne Bailey Rae. Her newest album “The Sea” came out today. I am a fan, so without even listening to the album I bought it. I didn’t buy it totally blind because I had read a few reviews about it and most of them were positive. What really caught my heart with this album though, is what happened in Rae’s personal life while making the album.
Rae began working on the album in November of 2007. On March 21, 2008, halfway through recording “The Sea,” Rae’s husband suddenly died. It is a sad story of bad choices. He was drinking and hanging out with friends when he decided to sample methadone (an opioid). He overdosed on accident. He was 31. Rae put the album on hold. Unable to write or even think of her musical future. But by the end of 2008, she began to find comfort in her guitar and slowly began to write. She went back into the recording studio in early 09 and finished the album by the fall.
Although Rae’s melodic and sultry voice is the same, there are a few changes in song style. While there are still tracks that remind us of how we first fell in love with Rae, i.e. “Diving For Hearts” & “Little Wings”(bonus song from iTunes) there are even more tracks that catch you by surprise. “Paper Dolls” is one song that as soon as it came on, sounded nothing like Rae has ever done. It reminded me a little bit of The Decemberists. It could be played in a castle in Transylvania. “Feels Like The First Time” feels like an Alicia Keys song. The chorus has a real jazz feel to it. The title track and first song written for the album,”The Sea,” is probably the most dramatic song. Definitely takes you to a place of hurt, leaving, and moving on. But my favorite song is “Paris Nights/New York Mornings.” It’s a fun, upbeat love song. I can imagine this track played in the background of some cute indie flick like “(500) Days of Summer.”
OK, my bedtime has come and gone. And my deadline was an hour ago…what’s a girl to do. If you like the singer/songwriter genre of music then I recommend Corinne Bailey Rae’s newest “The Sea.”
Until next time…PEACE OUT!
The One... 