Corinne Bailey Rae
It becomes self-evident the moment you hear her sing the very first note on the first track 'Like A Star', that it showcases a slice of sublime Billie Holiday blues delivered with a voice that pins you, in the softest but most persuasive of ways, to the wall; a voice that floats up effortlessly, full of caress, subtlety and the very purest quality. It is wonderful, this voice, and surely a discovery to treasure, but it belongs to a young woman not from somewhere musically exotic, say Mississippi or even Manhattan, but just East of the M1: Leeds. Her name is Corinne Bailey Rae, and she was born to do this. 11 tracks. EMI. 2006.