Corinne Bailey Rae – “The Sea” Review. This is Corinne Bailey Rae’s second studio album and was released on January 20th, 2010, some four years after her first self-titled smash hit record.
It features songs written by Bailey Rae before and after her husband’s death, touching on themes of love, lament and solace. The Sea debuted at number five on the UK Albums Chart and was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). It also charted at number seven on the Billboard 200 in the United States, where it had sold 156,000 copies by April 2010.
A critical success, The Sea received mostly positive reviews and was nominated for the 2010 Mercury Prize. Bailey Rae supported the album with a concert tour in early 2010. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sea)
I was really looking forward to this sophomore release when it came out. I still wonder why artists wait four, five, or more years between records, but I imagine it takes a lot of work and energy to produce. especially when you are the one writing the lyrics, figuring out the musical backings, and having to star in music videos for promotional purposes. It has to take a lot out of you. Being a star is tough work.
This is my track-by-track review. I encourage the reader to play the CD while reading my track-by-track reviews.
Here is my track preference list for “The Sea”:
Rank |
Track # |
Title |
1. |
12 |
Little Wing |
2. |
08 |
Paris nights/New York mornings |
3. |
09 |
Paper Dolls |
4. |
03 |
Feels like the first time |
5. |
04 |
The blackest lily |
6. |
10 |
Diving for Hearts |
7. |
05 |
Closer |
8. |
01 |
Are you here |
9. |
02 |
I’d do it all again |
10. |
06 |
Love’s on its way |
11. |
07 |
I would like to call it beauty |
12. |
13 |
Is this love |
13. |
11 |
The Sea |
Track 1
| Are you here | Corinne Bailey Rae | 04:13 |
To me, this is a simple love song, perhaps even a fantasy. It speaks of how someone she’s in love with can make her feel sixteen. When thought of in terms of having just lost her husband, when she keeps asking, “Are you here?” perhaps she still feels his presence. Visuals are evoked of him laying her down in a garden of roses, and don’t forget, “Wait till you see those eyes.”
Bailey Rae told The Sun November 27, 2009 about this haunting lost-love piece: “It’s quite an erotic song, a big love song about the intoxicating feeling of love. I went into a florists one day and saw this massive bunch of tuberose flowers and the smell just blew me away like that feeling of love does and I was overwhelmed and wrote that song about how I felt.” From https://www.songfacts.com/facts/corinne-bailey-rae/are-you-here
I love the way it starts with the acoustic guitar and her smooth vocals. Then the chorus starts, and it sort of transports us to another level. In its slow parts, it feels like it shows her tender, delicate side. As she mentioned above, the tuberose flowers evoke that feeling of love and are what inspired the song.
Track 2
| I’d do it all again | Corinne Bailey Rae | 03:08 |
This was her first single in three years since the release of her first CD. The accompanying video shows her doing normal things such as getting out of bed, getting dressed to go shopping, and walking through a dimly lit subway.
(843) Corinne Bailey Rae – I’d Do It All Again (official video) – YouTube
When speaking of the video:
We agreed that the song had a sad beginning, a hopeful middle, and a sad ending.
To me, the song is about loving someone so much that you wouldn’t have changed anything about the relationship, that you would “do it all again” with no regrets. It also speaks to the powerful spell of being in love with someone, even though there are rough patches. “You’ve got my heart and my head’s lost,” implies she is following her heart even though she may be confused.
The song:
“describes a partner’s commitment to a relationship despite having moments of difficulty, was written by Rae immediately after an argument with her late husband Jason Rae in January 2008.[2] She stated in an interview with The Observer‘s Sean O’Hagan that “It was written literally just after me and Jason had this massive disagreement, a big argument, a bad one. Almost as he was leaving the room, I just sat down and wrote it.
It’s just about how I felt about him at that time. Even right in the middle of the worst times, I remember thinking that I would choose this exact life again, that I would do it all again. It was me saying, I’m not wishing myself out of this situation. I’m 100 percent committed to this person. I don’t have any regrets about this relationship even though there are all these difficult times.”[2] From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27d_Do_It_All_Again
Track 3
| Feels like the first time | Corinne Bailey Rae, Steve Brown | 03:13 |
I love the way the piano starts the song. This is another simple love song, in my opinion.
“Feels just like the first time when you kiss me, my lover
Angels in the sky will descend on our love”
It’s a song about a woman in love.
“Although we talk, talk, talk on the telephone
We laugh, laugh, laugh at the things we know”
Know you knew that I was coming home
But you still won’t give me the answer
This line seems to indicate that she is waiting for him to say something. Will their relationship work? At least from her point of view, it seems clear. I enjoy singing along to it.
Track 4
| The blackest lily | Corinne Bailey Rae | 03:38 |
To me, the title of this song speaks to Corinne’s vivid imagination. The lyrics speak of a broken heart, perhaps broken by her special friend, and how it can be mended when not even the blackest lily can protect her heart from him. I enjoy this song because it is more upbeat and has a more positive feeling. It also has a nice melody with an instrumental backing.
I believe an instrument called a “talk box” was used in portions of the song, which was a nice way to set itself apart from the other songs on the CD. When it plays, I start tapping my leg, my head starts bobbing, and I like to sing along to it.
Bailey Rae worked with drummer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and keyboard player James Poyser of The Roots on this song, which she named after The Black Lily, a night that Thompson used to run on Sundays. She explained: “He’d get a chef to come to his house, and Jill Scott and Erykah Badu and the rest of The Roots would come along.
All the Philadelphia scene would jam and hang out and have food. I thought, I’d love to be a part of a community like that. Am I part of a scene like that, or do I feel a bit on my own? And I just liked the image of the blackest lily.” From https://www.songfacts.com/facts/corinne-bailey-rae/the-blackest-lily
Track 5
| Closer | Corinne Bailey Rae | 04:17 |
Corinne performed the song on the Ellen DeGeneres show on January 28, 2010. This is about a woman who wants to take her relationship to the next level to be closer to her partner, perhaps closer than she has ever been. Imagine someone who is in love but is still seeking more intimacy, to be “closer” on all levels. In the video, Corinne has on sexy clothing, and her hair and makeup are well applied. more done up than in her other videos. Again, the use of the horns is an effective tool. The video is an abbreviated version of the song.
(843) Corinne Bailey Rae – Closer – YouTube
Track 6
| Love’s on its way | Corinne Bailey Rae, Steve Bush | 03:55 |
At the beginning of the song, she addresses her “Father,” not her biological father but rather her spiritual father in heaven.
“When the day comes
And I’ve counted all my sins
How many? I’ll see
I want to be able to say that I did more
More than pray”
After that, she exclaims:
“I did more More than pray,
I did more Than just spend my money
Just writing letters
Than just going out marching
I did more than talking and
saying the right thing
Wearing the right thing”
This track seems to be a vow to do better and that her love is on its way to God, and she hopes “it won’t be too late.”
Track 7
| I would like to call it beauty | Corrinne Bailey Rae, Phillip Ray | 4:19 |
I love the organs at the beginning and throughout the midpoint of the song. The opening lyric reads “so young for death,” so we know it is about death, perhaps her husband’s death. Corinne adds clarification:
The song’s title came from a late-night conversation Bailey Rae had with Jason’s younger brother on how they viewed God. Her late husband’s brother said he believed in a force that binds everything, holds everything, adding, “I would like to call it… beauty.” So powerful was the sentiment that the singer took it for the song title, and credited him as its co-writer. Bailey Rae commented in publicity materials:
“I have experienced a lot of beauty in the loss, in the way that I’ve been able to survive. The way I feel like I’m being held – held up. I guess the song is about the amount of beauty that is in grief because of the way that people hold you up, and forces and nature, how they hold you up.” From https://www.songfacts.com/facts/corinne-bailey-rae/i-would-like-to-call-it-beauty
From this, we glean an understanding of how Corinne views death. Yeah, as sad as it is, the fact that we can never have another moment with our lost loved ones is terrible and sad, but on the other side, there is beauty in it. There is beauty in the way people around you comfort you, hold you up, or support you. It takes a special person with a really special point of view to be able to see things from that perspective. an artist, if you will. The song is a slow, if not depressing, tribute.
Track 8
| Paris nights/New York mornings | Corinne Bailey Rae | 03:51 |
The title nearly says it all. This is one of the best songs on the CD, dragging us out of death’s doldrums and back into a more cheerful place. This was her second single and was released on March 29, 2010. In the video, Corinne is shown walking the streets of Paris.
(843) Corinne Bailey Rae – Paris Nights/ New York Mornings – YouTube
The lyrics imply spending seven hours in Paris overnight for a rendezvous before heading back to New York in the morning. I love how she describes the scene as follows:
“Paris and champagne with one brown sugar cube
And we danced while the band played
“She’s not there” Kissed me in the rain by the Rue Voltaire
It’s a perfectly good way to ruin those silk shoes”
To me, she is trying to enjoy the moment because something might be brewing near the end of the song:
“Don’t let me down
You change and you grow
But we were young
We were young and we didn’t know”
But, what the heck, let’s just enjoy ourselves right now, in the moment, and have fun. That’s what I get out of it, and I do enjoy it quite a bit. It puts a smile on my face. The ending organs flow perfectly into the beginning of the next song.
Track 9
| Paper Dolls | Corinne Bailey Rae | 03:20 |
This song breaks the mold from the rest of the tracks on the CD, sort of, as the title implies. It’s not about death or interpersonal relationships with the opposite sex, but rather an incident that occurred when growing up, perhaps with a female childhood friend:
The song is about Bailey Rae’s reflection on how people’s expectations “force you into a certain shape, but also how you can get out of that too.” It is based on her memories of the bad girls she was friendly with in school, even though, “I was really straight and nerdy.” From https://www.songfacts.com/facts/corinne-bailey-rae/paper-dolls
The Lyrics:
“Nobody told me I could do something
Nobody told me I could be something”
These lyrics imply that nobody told her those things, not even her parents, which is what I take out of them. It makes me wonder; I haven’t read much about her relationship with her parents. I find it sad that she may not have had that foundation to fall back on. It’s one of the better songs on the CD.
Track 10
| Diving for Hearts | Corrinne Bailey Rae, Jennifer Birch | 04:51 |
For me, this song is about finding that special someone in your life, to not only capture their heart but also them having captured your heart. And if not, keep on diving in that ocean until your heart is found. Under this ocean I long to keep on diving Til my heart is found Rae “I didn’t want it to be gospel or soulful, I wanted this real English classical sound to it.
I wanted it to sound spiritual, and thought ‘what about a liturgical choir?’ The sort you go and see in an old church.” From https://www.songfacts.com/facts/corinne-bailey-rae/diving-for-hearts
Moreover, the CD does have a spiritual, if not mythical, sound to it. I love when the drums kick in. I do enjoy singing along from time to time.
Track 11
| The Sea | Corinne Bailey Rae | 04:05 |
“The Sea”, being the title track of the CD, is really sort of a downer and was inspired by the untimely death of Corinne’s grandfather in a boating accident. It was written a few months prior to the death of her husband.
She explained: “It was a family story that I had grown up with and never asked much about, but I had never realized that my aunt had been there, on the beach, when it happened. She could see it unfolding but was powerless to do anything about it. It made me think about how that grief and sense of powerlessness can shape a person, watching something that’s going to change your life forever?
So really that song is about how that grief has affected her. And obviously, it’s strange to me having lost Jason since then that I was thinking so much about grief.” From https://www.songfacts.com/facts/corinne-bailey-rae/the-sea
Obviously, after having lost her husband, the song takes on a new meaning for her, and it can mean something different to anybody who has lost a loved one. The target of the song is Corinne’s grandmother.
“I never knew you were standing on this shore.
It says everything. Explains everything.”
She was standing on the shore, unable to help her dying husband. I was puzzled by this lyric:
“Don’t you go around with anyone that makes you feel ashamed.”
Had this just occurred or was it just a friendly warning? “The Sea” is not one of my favorite songs. It’s slow, a downer, and unfortunately, it’s at the bottom of my preferred tracklist. It is not a song that is easily sung along with, and I often skip it.
Track 12
| Little Wing | Jimi Hendrix | 04:07 |
This is a cover of the Jimi Hendrix original, which I was not aware of before writing this review. After having heard it, the original is definitely much more of a rock and roll version and is darn cool, to begin with. On this track, the background vocals help elevate it along with the use of the organ.
The slow nature of the song, and just the sheer amount of effort put into making it her own, certainly pays off in an amazing rendition. It’s a great song to sort of conclude the album with, and even though it is the penultimate song, I do have it listed as my favorite track on the album in the number one position.
Track 13
| Is this love | Bob Marley | 03:29 |
I have a little bit of confusion as to what the official track 13 is for this album. When I purchased it digitally from Amazon many years ago, track 13 was “Is this love?” but now on Amazon, they list a different track, and over on Wikipedia, they list yet another song. So for the purpose of this review, I am going with what I received when I originally purchased the song. “Is this Love?” was originally a song by Bob Marley released in 1978. The original is more in Bob Marley’s reggae style.
Corinne doesn’t do a whole lot to change it up and make it her own. Although it is a respectable rendition, I feel like the original captures more of the spirit of the lyrics and is my preferred version. Having said that, I still like it better than track 11, “The Sea.”
Conclusion:
“The Sea” is a much more somber album release this time around. She had a lot more life experiences to draw from for the tracklist this time in “The Sea.” To borrow someone else’s poignant term, she has “sugar-sweet vocals.” I feel like the album arrangement flows smoothly and builds up to a nice climax with “Little Wing.” This album is her statement saying, “I am all grown up now.” Indeed, she is.
I enjoy the increased usage of the horns and organs in many of the tracks. If I were forced to choose a favorite between her first two albums, although close, I would still go with the first album this time around, which takes nothing away from the fact that “The Sea” is an amazing album.
My Opinion:
These reviews are strictly my opinion. I understand many of these songs can and do mean different things to different people. I would be interested to hear your opinion. Perhaps I got it wrong on a few songs? I’d be interested to know how Corinne’s music has impacted you and what her songs and/or album mean to you as well! So please don’t be afraid to leave your opinion in the comments.
*****
Highly recommended! See also:
Corinne Bailey Rae – Corinne Bailey Rae – Gray Defender
Corinne Bailey Rae – The Hearts Speaks in Whispers – Gray Defender
P.S.
Released on 13 August 2021: Corinne Bailey Rae’s multi-award winning and critically acclaimed self-titled debut album is to be reissued on 180g vinyl for the first time since its original release. Available on black vinyl as well as a special edition brick red version, this is the first time it has been issued on vinyl as per the original LP tracklist, which now includes the bonus track ‘Another Rainy Day’.
