Sara Bareilles - Little Voice Review
Posted by Samuel Berman on 07.12.2007
Where has a record like this been?
Sara Bareilles Little Voice
Epic
Original Date of Release: Tuesday, July 3, 2007
A couple of weeks ago, “Love Song”, the first single from Sara Bareilles’ Little Voice album, was the free download of the week on iTunes. Almost as soon as I saw that, I told a number of people to immediately get the track. “Get it now for free, because you’re going to want it anyway once you hear it on the radio!” I exclaimed to each of them. In short order, each of those people got back to me, each with glowing praise for what they had heard. A week or so before that, I had been standing in the public market downtown when the very same track began to play on the radio. It was immediately noticeable how many patrons had started to tap their toes or fingers along to the beat, even if next to none of them had actually heard the track before. I made a point of telling a few of them exactly what the song was and who had written it. It was clear even in those brief conversations how much people seemed to gravitate to what they were hearing.
It is that same catchy, engaging feeling the helps to make Little Voice amongst the most fantastic major label debuts in recent memory. Bareilles, primarily a pianist by trade (she also plays guitar), is an accomplished musician and songwriter who has assembled a dynamic and interesting 12-song record, one that will no doubt draw comparisons to Fiona Apple’s landmark Tidal album as well as Tori Amos’ Little Earthquakes. And indulge me for a moment: what is it about ingénue pianists using the word ‘little’ in the title of their debut album? I suppose the irony is that if Bareilles follows in Amos’ footsteps, then this album’s title may be the last ‘little’ thing she ever does. But I digress.
Bareilles’ choice to lead off the album with “Love Song” (the de facto first single) was a good one, as it is probably the album’s most commercially friendly track. That said, it is far from the album’s best, though please consider that a testament to the quality of the other tracks rather than as a criticism of the single. Other particularly strong tracks are “One Sweet Love”, which boasts some of the best mixing on the entire album, and “City”, where Bareilles slows her pacing down to a crawl and in so doing invokes the atmosphere of a smoky piano bar. And lest you think that there’s no edge to this album, behold “Come Round Soon”, a heart-wrenching tale of an absentee father. “The angels said I’d smile today / well who needs angels anyway?” she sneers towards the song’s conclusion. Trust me, this is no simple piano pop. It’s probably no mistake that “Come Round Soon” has a musical essence reminiscent of Apple’s “Criminal”. And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the music from “Love On The Rocks” would have worked just as well on Maroon 5’s It Won’t Be Soon Before Long, containing just enough of that 70’s funk to stand out as something special on an already extraordinary album.
Bareilles’ voice is amongst the most melodic and appealing that I have ever heard. Where Norah Jones is too slight and Ani DiFranco is too rugged and Sarah McLachlan is occasionally too consuming, Bareilles has found that place in the middle that combines fullness and resonance with sweetness and subtlety. For example, on “Many The Miles”, she brings a bluesy sensibility that helps the song move along with a bouncing optimism, while “Gravity”, the album’s final track, sees her strip away the complications, leaving only an intimate, personal piece that seems to have been ripped straight from her diary. The song’s climax is one of those classic, magnificent moments that far more experienced singers have all-too-often failed to achieve. Think Mariah Carey before her diva personality overshadowed her talent.
Perhaps better than any other aspect of Little Voice is the sense you get while listening that this is only the tip of the iceberg for Sara Bareilles. Talent like hers is a true rarity, and is the kind that tends to lend itself to a series of interesting, successful records rather than a single aberration of excellence. Though Little Voice was released only a week ago, I am already eagerly awaiting Bareilles’ sophomore effort, a true indication that her talent goes beyond any single track or lyric.
First Single: “Love Song”
Must Downloads: “Many The Miles”, “Love On The Rocks”, “Gravity”
Best Lyric: “Ready and waiting / for a heart worth the breaking / but I’d settle for an honest mistake in / the name of one sweet love” (from “One Sweet Love”)
Track Listing
1. Love Song
2. Vegas
3. Bottle It Up
4. One Sweet Love
5. Come Round Soon
6. Morningside
7. Between The Lines
8. Love On The Rocks
9. City
10. Many The Miles
11. Fairytale
12. Gravity
More information on Sara Bareilles can be found at sarabmusic.com. More information on Epic Records is available at epicrecords.com. Little Voice is available from amazon.com as well as other major music sellers.
The 411: This album is of the highest order. Bareilles has put together a record with staying power and variety, a debut truly worthy of her immense talent and potential. Listeners looking for a talented newcomer who they will be able to watch develop and grow over the next decade will find in Little Voice a reminder that there is truly great music yet to be discovered. My only gripe: where has an album like this been since Tidal?
