By Chris Moore:
My first official laptop session of the new year! I’ve been listening to 1970’s George Harrison this week–Thirty Three and a Third and George Harrison–but I was reminded today of this track off of his 2001 posthumous release Brainwashed. It’s such a simple song, but it was easy to learn and fun to play, so here it is!
Okay, it’s time for me to contribute to “Original Wednesday.” And for my first selection…
This is one of my original Christmas songs. I know it’s a bit sad for a Christmas song, but it was a clear and simple portrait of how I felt at the time that I wrote it. And it still takes me back. (I suppose the question is, why would I want to?…)
By Chris Moore:
RATING: 4 / 5 stars
Isn’t Sara Bareilles the girl from that Rhapsody commercial?
Yes, Bareilles is the singer you were most likely introduced to through that commercial, playing her “Love Song” on a piano in someone’s living room. He comes in and changes the track, and she switches to “Bottle It Up.” Although it was overplayed, it was a clever commercial, and it seems to have taken Bareilles’ career up a notch.
Her follow-up effort, Kaleidoscope Heart, finds her further developing her piano/power pop sound, writing several more characteristically tight tracks, stretching out for some ballads, and even experimenting a bit.
If she hopes to hold her audience’s attention, or especially if she’d like to expand it, then it would be advisable for her to take some more risks. The a cappella title track and the unfiltered “Basket Case” are promising starting points, though most of the songs on her record conform to the pre-established formula.
That’s not to say that it isn’t a good formula…
Bareilles has tremendous ability on the piano, and she takes to time to tinker with a harmonica this time around (always a positive, in this writer’s book!). She has that deep, yet richly feminine voice that would have served her well in a jazz career and has made her instantly recognizable.
There are, of course, echoes of Vanessa Carlton here, but Carlton’s second album Harmonium found her burying her vocals in overly produced efforts. By beginning with an a cappella track, Bareilles clearly has other priorities.
Some would say better priorities. And I would agree.
Still, early reviews have criticized her (as I have, above) for not pushing the envelope, for being content to stick to that aforementioned formula. While this is a valid criticism, and while I obviously agree to a point, I would also ask such critics to consider not only the formula, but also what she is able to do with it.
Sara Bareilles' "Kaleidoscope Heart" (2010)
While I hesitate to say it is superior to her breakout single “Love Song,” “King of Anything” is an excellent track, and certainly a single-worthy effort. The big attitude, the piano bursts, and the hand clapping all contribute to this catchy and fun song.
“Uncharted” is even better, and the perfect choice for the first full-length track. This is arguably a better candidate for the first single, being the perfect amalgamation of vocals, piano, with strings and electric guitar layered to good effect.
These are only two of the many strong piano rock tracks throughout Kaleidoscope Heart. There is also “Gonna Get Over You,” with its fifties rock sensibilities sped up to meet modern day standards, the uber-poppy “Say You’re Sorry,” and “Not Alone,” a plea for a lover to stay that adopts a slightly darker edge that comes complete with Alfred Hitchcock’s voice in the middle.
This is not to say that Bareilles gets stuck in one gear. Elsewhere — most notably on “The Light” and Breathe Again” — she pulls away from her typical pop sound to embrace slower, more introspective tracks. “Hold My Heart” is indisputably the flagship piano ballad here, anchored by a chorus that will resonate in your head long after the track has faded out.
Perhaps the most interesting, if not the most entertaining, song comes midway through the album. “Basket Case” is an unabashed confession that finds Bareilles on acoustic guitar and harmonica, adopting a traditional arrangement that is distinctive, diverging from the established sound of the album at just the right point to avoid an aura of complacency.
It is aptly followed by “Let it Rain,” another acoustic track and one that rocks out. Whether intentionally or not, she is channeling my favorite female singer/songwriter; I’m referring to Michelle Branch, an artist I’ve been smitten with since I heard her first single on the radio. I have since followed her career closely, from the better-than-solid debut The Spirit Room (2001) to the outstanding follow up Hotel Paper (2003). Branch has since declined, not having released a solo album until her third, dragged along for over two years, was released this year as a six-song country EP. Her partnership with Jessica Harp as The Wreckers was great and all, but Harp contributed the superior tracks to that effort.
I diverge into the realm of Branch’s catalog as a means of complimenting Bareilles. Although Kaleidoscope Heart is no Hotel Paper, “Let The Rain” is a Branch-esque song done better than Branch can manage herself these days. I predict nothing but increasing excellence from Bareilles if she is able to keep her independence by writing her own songs (not even Branch did that on either of her albums) and playing her own instruments, even if it is an acoustic track that takes her away from her trademark piano.
For now, Kaleidoscope Heart is an above average sophomore effort, and expresses the vast potential that I can only hope she will have the fortitude to make good on. Since it’s become painfully clear that Michelle Branch will not be this generation’s premier female rock singer/songwriter, I’m hearing more and more reasons to cast my lot with Sara Bareilles.
By Chris Moore:
With only two days remaining in this decade, I’ve finally completed The Weekend Review’s take on the fifty best albums of the past ten years. I’ve added the modifier “Rock” albums in order to purposely separate out the other genres currently taking up spaces on many of the end of decade lists. The albums you will see here stretch across a wide range — from acoustic rock to alternative/indie rock to grunge rock and many shades in between – but what these works all have in common is that basic rock sensibility, namely a songwriter or band with guitars, bass, drums, and words and music of their own creation.
I had originally planned to post a top thirty list, but there were just too many (as you’ll see below) great albums that deserve ranking. And indeed, this has been a difficult — but enjoyable — task, pouring through my iPod selections and stacks upon stacks of CDs from the decade. I greatly enjoyed discussing and debating where certain albums should fall, and I was introduced and reminded of not a few by my close friends. Perhaps the most difficult part was attempting to remove my bias, wherever possible, from my final rankings. I even had to add the honorable mentions note, highlighting two albums that I could not in good faith rank higher than even one on the list above them and yet felt strongly about their quality.
With that, I enthusiastically thank those people who humored my desires to discuss and debate the greatest music of the decade, and I hope you will enjoy this first installment of the list. Check back tomorrow for the next ten, with annotations included for each album. And, of course, please leave your comments, criticisms, and even your own lists — I’d love to read and consider them!
31) Get Behind Me Satan – The White Stripes
32) Binaural – Pearl Jam
33) The Thorns – The Thorns
34) Rebel, Sweetheart – The Wallflowers
35) In Rainbows – Radiohead
36) Little by Little… – Harvey Danger
37) Reptile – Eric Clapton
38) On and On – Jack Johnson
39) Elephant – The White Stripes
40) American IV: The Man Comes Around – Johnny Cash
41) A Ghost is Born – Wilco
42) Riot Act – Pearl Jam
43) The Wind – Warren Zevon
44) Songs for Silverman – Ben Folds
45) The Ruminant Band – The Fruit Bats
46) (Breach) – The Wallflowers
47) Snacktime – Barenaked Ladies
48) More Than You Think You Are – Matchbox Twenty
49) Wildflower – Sheryl Crow
50) Sea Change – Beck
Honorable Mention
51) Here & Now – America
52) Transatlanticism – Death Cab for Cutie