Gig review: Corinne Bailey Rae

Published on Tuesday 30 March 2010 19:03

CORINNE BAILEY RAE *** ORAN MOR, GLASGOW

THERE was a quiet understanding in the room at Corinne Bailey Rae's first Glasgow gig since the death of her Scottish husband, Jason Rae. Even though his passing was not explicitly referenced, it was virtually impossible not to let the knowledge of what the tiny woman on stage has been through in the past two years colour one's appreciation of the show.

The emphasis of the set was on new album, The Sea, written before and after Rae's death and completely coated in his memory. For the most part, those memories are warm and expressed sensually through the rapturous soul jazz of Feels Like The First Time, the surges of emotion on Diving For Pearls, the smoochy, throwback soul funk of Closer and the jazzy reverie of Love's On Its Way.

Even on a purely musical level, Bailey Rae is a long way from the teenage self she addresses in the cutesy Put Your Records On. Next to her latest cathartic outpourings, it sounded thin and throwaway. Like A Star, another early single, also sounded a tad twee but pulled through because of her sincere delivery.

Her voice was sweet but capable of a soft sultriness or a melancholy ache, which suited the bittersweet flavour of some of her love songs.

She was supported throughout by a skilled ensemble of musicians, although they strayed into muso territory with a distended, indulgent soul gospel cover of Que Sera Sera and a snoozy encore.

But at this stage in the healing process, it was enough to leave the venue knowing that the act of playing these songs had made Corinne Bailey Rae "really happy".