Album review: Corinne Bailey Rae

Published on Sunday 31 January 2010 20:10

CORINNE BAILEY RAE: THE SEA *** GOOD GROOVE/VIRGIN, £12.99

&#149 The Sea is an album of 'befores' and 'afters' for Corinne Bailey Rae – and sometimes it's hard to tell which songs were created at which point in time

THE first words Corinne Bailey Rae sings on her new album The Sea are these: "He's a real live wire, the best of his kind, wait till you see those eyes." And the last are these: "The sea, the majestic sea, breaks everything, crushes everything, cleans everything, takes everything from me." The first lyric was written after the death of her husband; the latter pre-dates his passing, though one might feel that the order should be reversed.

In between these two statements is a whole ocean of grief and pain worked out mainly in the soothing soul-pop tones which first brought Bailey Rae success in the UK and across the Pond in 2006. But we're now a long way from the easy listening of that sunny self-titled debut album which, barring a little melancholy indulgence here and there, seemed redolent of all that was right and relaxed in the world.

Bailey Rae was widowed in March 2008. Her saxophonist husband James Rae, so influential on her musical transition from indie she-rocker to soul-jazz chanteuse, died of an accidental overdose of methadone and alcohol – "death by misadventure" was the official verdict of the coroner.

She was home in Leeds at the time, world tour over, and already working on her follow-up album. The next year was a void. She tried to resume work but, in her own words, "nothing came". She couldn't even tap into the therapeutic solace of music – until early 2009, when it became imperative that she channel her shock somewhere other than inwards.

The result is an album of "before" and "after" songs, but it's not always clear which is which. The soulful swelling single I'd Do It All Again was written shortly before Jason Rae's death in the immediate aftermath of a bad argument. Far from being penned in anger, its sentiments are soothing, sad and a little resigned, but the reassurance that "my heart's an open door" could now be read as a declaration of love beyond the grave – as could the lines "I'd willingly surrender all my arms if you decided you won't be long, I'd wait here patient for you, look for you every morning" from lissom soul jazz number Feels Like The First Time.

Opening track Are You Here was the first to come to Bailey Rae on the other side, looming out of the fog of bereavement. In this context, it is impossible to hear her sing "are you here, cos my heart recalls that it all seems the same" and not think of Bailey Rae reaching out for her husband's memory. But it is written in the present tense because that is how she thinks of him. At the time of writing, she was reported as saying she wasn't sure if it was something for sharing or to be kept for her own private, blissful catharsis. The rapturous chorus was intended to be "heavy and sensual" and, by Bailey Rae's mild standards, it is.

I Would Like To Call It Beauty is titled after something her brother-in-law said to her after Rae's passing and, though there is great sadness in the opening line "so young for death" – with the word "young" hanging in the air over several beats – ultimately it is a healing song, concerning the good that can support and envelop you even while in the deepest grief.

Alongside all this there are glimpses of the carefree music for coffee tables which this album might otherwise have been on the insouciant Paris Nights/New York Mornings. And, boy, do we need some levity by this stage, so throwaway music for adverts is fine.

Bailey Rae is back in nostalgic Put Your Records On mode on Paper Dolls, a Hammond-driven retro rocker about being a good girl in the bad girl gang at school, which boasts the catchiest chorus of the collection. She also rocks out after a fashion on funk workout The Blackest Lily, a collaboration with members of The Roots, and gets almost disconcertingly steamy on the smoochy 80s soul-funk of Closer.

Love's On Its Way is a prayer of social responsibility (sample lyric: "when the day comes and I've counted all my sins, I want to be able to say that I did more than pray"), which is reminiscent of Marvin Gaye's What's Going On in that the mellifluous music contrasts with the inner city blues of the lyrics.

But it all comes back to handling grief. Diving For Hearts expresses the desire for sanctuary ("down here there's no fear"), while the valedictory title track is spookily, almost unbearably prescient, in that it is a "before" song written about the drowning of Bailey Rae's grandfather in the 1960s. In it, she tries to empathise with her aunt, who witnessed the accident, and imagine what it must feel like to look on helplessly as tragedy rocks your world. Little could she know…

CRITIC'S CHOICE

Municipal Waste

King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow, tonight

THE first – and possibly last – Critic's Choice mention for a thrash metal band: Municipal Waste, whose latest album is the plain-speaking Massive Aggressive. The main reason for the nod is that February is King Tut's 20th birthday month and this is the first of 28 chances to help the venue celebrate.

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