Continuing my look at the albums of 2006…
It turns out the perfect antidote to yesterday’s Joanna Newsom experience was Corinne Bailey Rae’s self-titled debut. This collection of soulful pop is the opposite of critic bait — it’s music to water your plants to on a lazy Sunday morning.
English singer-songwriter Bailey Rae started as an indie rock performer before shifting to R&B and neo-soul. This album, buoyed by lead single ‘Like a Star,’ debuted at #1 in the UK, making her just the fourth British woman to achieve that feat with a first album.
The soothing music and warm vocals scratched the same itch Norah Jones had satisfied with her massive selling 2002 and 2004 albums. And while Bailey Rae didn’t reach the same heights, she did go 3X Platinum in the UK and sold just shy of two million albums in the U.S.
Second single ‘Put Your Records On’ became her biggest hit and earned Grammy nods for Record and Song of the Year.
The rest of Corinne Bailey Rae is in the same vein as its two singles, for better or worse. You know exactly what you’re gonna get, and you know it’s gonna go down easy. Sometimes that’s uninspiring, but sometimes (like after listening to Joanna Newsom’s Ys), it’s just what the doctor ordered.
Three little birds sat on my window
And they told me I don’t need to worry
Summer came like cinnamon, so sweet
Little girls double-dutch on the concrete
[Pre-Chorus]
Maybe sometimes we’ve got it wrong, but it’s all right
The more things seem to change (Ooh)
The more they stay the same
Oh, don’t you hesitate
[Chorus]
Girl, put your records on
Tell me your favorite song
You go ahead, let your hair down
Sapphire and faded jeans
I hope you get your dreams
Just go ahead, let your hair down
[Post-Chorus]
You’re gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow
[Verse 2]
Blue as the sky, sunburnt and lonely
Sippin’ tea in a bar by the roadside
Just relax, just relax, don’t you let those other boys fool you
Gotta love that afro hairdo
[Pre-Chorus]
Maybe sometimes, we feel afraid, but it’s all right
The more you stay the same
The more they seem to change
Don’t you think it’s strange?
[Chorus]
Girl, put your records on
Tell me your favorite song (Yeah)
You go ahead, let your hair down (Girl!)
Sapphire and faded jeans
I hope you get your dreams
Just go ahead, let your hair down
[Post-Chorus]
You’re gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow
[Bridge]
‘Twas more than I could take
Pity for pity’s sake
Some nights kept me awake
I thought that I was stronger
When you gonna realize
That you don’t even have to try any longer?
Do what you want to
[Chorus]
Girl, put your records on
Baby, you go ahead, let your hair down (Uh, let your hair down)
Sapphire and faded jeans
I hope you get your dreams (Hope you get your dreams)
Just go ahead, let your hair down (Baby, let your hair down)
[Chorus]
Girl, put your records on
Tell me your favorite song (Yeah, oh, go)
You go ahead, let your hair down (Hey, hey)
Sapphire and faded jeans
I hope you get your dreams (Sapphire faded jeans)
Just go ahead, let your hair down
[Outro]
Ooh, you’re gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow
Meet Me In Montauk 
Love this song, though I’ve never heard the whole album. Might have to remedy that during my morning workout.🤣
Thanks for reminding me about this album. It is lovely to listen to every now and again…
Definitely easy to listen to ❤️