So here is the new Corinne Bailey Rae single. Now don't tell me you haven't heard of her. She has been generating acres of press coverage, the kind of coverage that has been near universal in its praise and generous in assessment. The Leeds lass has been compared to the likes of Erykah Badu and the great Bille Holiday. If Corinne is the next Bille Holiday than Shayne Ward is the new Keith Richards. For heavens sake people, get a little perspective please.
Trouble Sleeping is pleasant enough, with a gentle summery drum track and hazy brass fills that drift past like pollen on the breeze - it's got summer hit stamped all over it. Yet it's more like Sade, with its little jazz tinges and sweet vocals, than the soul baring blast of Bille Holiday. I know the hype isn't the fault of Corinne herself but it's as wide of the mark as comparing Michelle MacManus to her namesake Declan MacManus aka Elvis Costello. Bille Holiday led a life from the wrong side of the tracks, drug and alcohol addictions, abusive partners, bad business deals. You could hear the pain and grief bleeding into her vocal performances. I don't wish that kind of life on Corinne as she seems a sweet girl. No one should be forced to suffer for sake of their art. Yet if Corinne Bailey Rae wants to rank along side her heroines then she needs to life a little more and taste the darkness of life.
This is diverting enough, but in the same way that a clever TV advert can be or an ice cream is on a summers day. It's so ordinary that its bound to leave one disappointed.
