Sara Bareilles – Little Voice
Can I just say that Sara Bareilles' latest track, Love Song, is like audio “Crack.” It has to be. That’s the only answer I can come up with for the reason I cannot get that damn song out of my head. I think it took three times before I was hooked. Once in a friends car on a rainy day and twice on the radio at work and I was singing along in my head about how I was not going to write you a love song because you wanted one. Stupid poppy, catchy song with your low piano notes and cool bass sounds. Damn it! I guess I could just chalk it up to a well written pop song. That might be easier on everyone now that I think about it.
Just to give you an idea of the hold this song has on me, I actually went out and bought the CD…at Costco…because it had a bonus disc with a stripped version. I never buy physical albums anymore; unless I have to order them, from say Canada, to get Wailin’ Jennys stuff that’s not out in the States. This debut artist on Epic got me out of my house, away from my computer and into a brick and mortar store to pick up a record like I was fifteen again. I’m not really sure what this is all about. To be perfectly honest I shop at that i-something-or-other music store, and now, Amie Street. But I was so taken with the possibilities of Ms. Bareilles debut album, Little Voice, that I wanted it in my hands.
Do I blame it on the flawless poppiness of Little Voice’s tracks? Do I blame it on the perfect sound of the bass guitar that catches my attention every time I hear it? Could it be the subtle Jazz influence in Sara Bareilles choice of piano chords or just the hint of it in her vocal phrasing? My best guess would be it was all of those things and a few more. Other than being a fantastically talented pianist, Bareilles is also extremely capable writer; drawing from the pop divas of today and the singer songwriters that have come before. Think Carol King meets Christina Aguilera meets Norah Jones and you’re in the right neighborhood.
Little Voice if full of a mix of Rock and Roll, Jazz, Pop and Folk culled from the last four decades of popular music and yet Sara Bareilles manages to keep her own voice. She deftly sidesteps the trap of letting influences become the body of her work instead of just the foundation of it. I for one look forward to seeing where the musical road leads this talented artist.
Oh, and incase you were wondering…the bonus disc was excellent.
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