Review

CORRINE BAILEY RAE: Corinne Bailey Rae (Special Edition)

At the risk of blowing our own trumpet (well why not!) we here at B&S were amongst the first to draw attention to the talents of Corrine Bailey Rae.

Since then (the back end of 2005) she has of course taken the world (even America) by storm. Now EMI in an attempt to maximise their investment in Leeds’ finest have re-issued THAT album in De Luxe format. The two CD pack offers the original LP and a set of rarities, B-sides and covers. That original set needs no further comment other than to suggest that “Put Your Records On” is on its way to standard status while the Bacharach-esque “Call Me When You Get This” is still an utter joy. On the second CD we get 10 cuts including a wonderfully bassy Amp Fiddler remix of “Enchantment”. From a soul perspective it’s got more to offer than the ‘Weekender’ mix of “I’d Like To”. Clearly “Weekender” in this context isn’t the retro soul kind. Corrine also offers her versions of Led Zeppelin’s “Since I’ve Been Loving You”, the Editor’s “Munich”, Bork’s “Venus As A Boy” and Aretha’s “Daydreaming”. That last one is a measure of how far the singer’s come in just a year. Confident to take on a real classic, she does it her own way and makes it a typical Corrine Bailey Rae track.
Words Bill Buckley