I’ve been seeing this commercial for Rhapsody online music for a while now featuring this “new” artist Sara Bareilles. At first I didn’t think much of it. Sure it was a nice snippet of a lil’ cute song, but it was all that it was to me until I saw the actual video and heard the full song. I wasn’t shocked and amazed by the song, but I liked it enough to download her latest album “Little Voice”.The following is my review of the album.
The album starts with her popular hit, “Love Song”.I must say that I really enjoy this song. From the clean and clear piano keys in the beginning to the lyrics, it’s a very delightful song. The back story on this song is that it’s not a song about a guy at all. Sara wrote this song in response to her record label pushing her to well, write a love song as single for this album. With further inspection the lyrics backs up this story. “Blank stares at blank pages/ No easy way to say this,/you mean well, but you make this hard on me/ I'm not gonna write you a love song,/cause you asked for it /cause you need one, you see” I have to say I can really dig a chick that rebels against her record label, and then has it turned into a hit record. She didn’t write Epic a love song, but I’d bet that they’re not complaining.
The next song, “Vegas’ is about, you’d guessed it, Las Vegas, well not completely she also add in New York, and Mexico for a lyric or two. The song is more about starting over than sight seeing, with they lyrics “Listen up now honey, you're gonna be sorry/Can't get out from under a sky that is falling” This song has more of a progressive bluesy feel to it, which really gets you into the mood that the lyrics are trying to present. Next up is “Bottle It Up” I must say this is a nice pop song about the struggles of finding love/being in love. “I am aiming to be somebody this somebody trusts/With her delicate soul/ I don't claim to know much except soon as you start/to make room for the parts/ That aren't you it gets harder to bloom in a garden of/Love love love love/ Love Love love love” The first thing I thought after I heard this song was that this would be perfect for a second single, and unbeknownst to me, this is her second single. Someone at her label really likes her. The next song “One Sweet Love” is a acoustic guitar driven introspective song about what else love. I am starting to succumb to the fact that this entire album one way or another is about love. The title of the song say sit all. It’s about her one sweet love, but a love that is already gone. “The time that I've taken /I pray is not wasted/ Have I already tasted my piece of one sweet love?”
The depressed themed “Come Round Soon” is up next. This is a song about a lover who’s just no good. Following that is the“ I want to leave but I just can’t” anthem “Morningside” . And just when you think the album is going to go in a softer direction with the ballad “Between the Line” The mood pops right back up with the up beat “ Love on the Rocks” a song about a love that she is having a hard time with. “Here's a simplification of everything we're going though /You plus me is bad news /But you're a lovely creation and I like to think that I am too /But my friend said I look better without you”. It’s a really good song, which would serve a really good third single.
The final string of tracks are slower, softer songs to close out the album, with the bluesy introspective love song, “Many the Miles” being the standout song of the bunch. Honestly I can’t find a bad word to say about this album, as there is not a bad song on to be found. The lyrics are great and so is the accompanying music. This is a very well put together album with songs that about love and relationships, but never goes the route of being mushy, or over sexed. They are simply put, true love songs, which are a rarity in today’s popular music market. Although she this is not her first album, as many of the songs found on her 2003 album “Careful Confessions” like “Love on the Rocks” , One Sweet Love” and “City’ among others also appear on the 2007 “ Little Voice” so for all purposes this is her debut album, or rather a retry album for a major label debut for Epic. This isn’t just one of those albums that are good for being a debut, but it is truly a good album. I look forward to hearing more music from Sara Bareilles in the future.
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