Live music review: Leeds star Corrine Bailey Rae brings the house down during intimate show at The Wardrobe
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Fresh from hearing this quote in a recent interview with Nick Cave, Leeds star Corrine Bailey Rae and her fabulous band gave me reason to believe this to be the case with jaw-dropping aplomb.
Performing two sold out nights at The Wardrobe for its 25th anniversary, the 45-year-old treated the compact room to an astounding, technically flawless near-two-hour homecoming show.
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It was a treat to see the Leeds native back at the venue that she clearly has such fondness for; telling the audience about her times there when it was a fledgling jazz and soul venue upon its opening in 1999. And if those memories - or the “magnetic ghosts”, as she refers to them - have inspired Bailey Rae on her journey then for that we should be grateful.
The diminutive singer has garnered international recognition since the 2006 release of mega-hit ‘Put Your Records On’ and this felt like a ‘full circle’ moment.
I have clear and fond memories of jamming to that song and the subsequent self-titled album in the car with my mum upon its release and suspected that the smooth, soulful sound was still her go-to when becoming aware of this gig. But anyone familiar with her latest record - the Mercury Prize Nominated ‘Black Rainbows’ - will know that is far from the case.
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The album pulls heavily from the artist’s experiences in America and the fascinating tales from her times in New York and Chicago that informed the expansive jazz, punk and house inspired tunes were recounted with refreshing familiarity.
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Hide AdThe show starts off straight-forward enough, with ‘To The Moon’, ‘Closer’ and ‘Breathless’ showcasing Bailey Rae’s superb vocal talent and the backing band’s bucket loads of zest. The drums sound tantalisingly marvellous, the flourishes of saxophone envelop the tracks and the guitar gets gradually more exceptional; leading to a stomach churningly good solo during ‘’Till It Happens To You’ that brings the house down.
The more experimental sounds of ‘Black Rainbows’ are then given room to breath as the Le Tigre-like offensiveness of ‘New York Transit Queen’ has the venue feeling like CBGB’s before the free-jazz wig-out and spoken word influences on ‘He Will Follow You With His Eyes’ and ‘Earthlings’ showcase her more otherworldly side. Meanwhile, the three-part odyssey of Put It Down - inspired by a Frankie Knuckles night in Chicago and topped off with an outlandish saxophone solo - is pure bliss.
The room is gauged ready for the finale and Bailey Rae delivers with a life-affirming version of ‘Put Your Records On’ that sees her channel her earlier years as a church singer; issuing goodwill among the audience with impassioned recitations of the line ‘I hope you get your dreams’. This is followed by ‘Like A Star’; the lush first-single from Bailey Rae that preceded the Grammy Awards and multi-million album sales and announced to the world this special, special talent from West Yorkshire.
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