Little Voice; Sara Bareilles

Sara Bareilles definitely takes my accolade for the most original artists who emerged in 2007. Her major label release Little Voice is most definitely the best pop rock album from a female entertainer. It has spawned four singles, two of which have sky rocketed to major scale radio play, which I will reveal later.

Bareilles is an artist! An artist who defines herself by her music and not how she looks. Her appearance is nothing glamorous. It's plain simple and sophisticated. se She does not have a big power vocal house voice and she doesn't need that to survive. She has got all of her power play in the authenticity of her songs and how she performs. Speaking of songs, she has written all of the songs from her album. You've got slow power ballads, catchy pop numbers, up tempo jazzy tracks. And it works all over the place! The word for the album cover is cute. And more over, it clearly defines the unstripped, down-to-earth album content. Two thumbs up, girl!

The album opens up with the extremely commercial pop song. 'Love Song' is also the first single from the album. Bareilles wrote this song after being inspired from the comment of a certain critic who said that she needs to write more 'marketable' songs. Go figure! The song is definitely an attention getter with it's catchy piano background and repeatative bass play. The lyrics clearly describe her sassy twinge of smirk on the critic's remark.

The second track is the much softer 'Vegas'. The song is about a girl's frustration of her love life and her dreams to ditch it all for Vegas. The track has this fresh sassy approach and even though being about her frustration, she sure doesn't seem to be giving that image. It's a very radio friendly track!

'Bottle It Up' is the third track off the record and the second single. The word I'll use for this track is odd. That's right! It's oddly catchy, Bareilles vocals emit a playful vibe as she goes about. The thing I said earlier about having a really simple nothing fabulous image is clearly high lighted in the song. It gets eight out of ten for me!

The fourth track 'One Sweet Love' has a slight touch of jazz and folk to it. Though Bareilles has still kept it in the parameters of pop music. The song tells about the yearning to find the one person you can love unconditionally and endlessly. It's a beauitful song! That's the word for this song; beautiful! My favorite part is towards the bridge and the last verse, when the song mellows down to a minimum.

The fifth track 'Come Around Soon' is one of my favorite track from the album. The track has a really classy opening line, which grabbed my attention the moment I heard it. Her vocals are on the spot with this one. She resonates a classiness far expected from her but the best part is the fact that there is this tinge of innocence that is just amazing and I'm definite that no one else can perform this song well enough. It's a signature Bareilles!

'Morningside' is the sixth track from the record. This song clearly high lights the command Bareilles has over the piano. Her vocals are not over powered by the music and the lyrics are playful. The word for them is playful. Bareilles has indeed put down this song like a beauty. It's the first up tempo song from the record and it's really good. Nothingto complain about till now!

'Between the lines' is a heart tearing ballad. It's the seventh track from the twelve track album and is definitely one of the stronger numbers of the pack. Bareilles has given a beautiful performance that has a slight haunting tone to it. And absolutely it's the things like these that makes her one of the artist in my books. Beautiful! Heart tearing! Haunting!

The eigthth track is 'Love On The Rocks'. It displays the naughty but nice side of Bareilles. There is a quirkiness in the lyrics that define Bareilles for us further as an independent and budding artist of the 20th Century. She's definitely one of the people to watch out for. This is one track I'm definitely recommending you to listen to!

'City' gives one the same feeling they get from 'Between the lines'. This track is heavier on guitar rather than a piano but make no mistake, the song is really good! Bareilles pour out her heart and soul into her music, she's definitely one for the books.

'Many The Miles' is a definite crowd pleaser. It's an up tempo song in which Bareilles tell a person who wastes days away worrying is a fool. And I most definitely agree with that! It has a cheerful feel to it that comes through out to the listener and makes the person get up on his feet and start tapping. The background vocals are just so well placed that they blend in so well with the ride of the song. It's a shame this song was not released as a single because it most definitely deserves to be one.

The eleventh track 'Fairytale' is another quirky number from Bareilles. She is such a brilliant song-writer! Although I had accepted it many songs ago but in this particular song, she utilized the very popular fairy tale characters like Cinderella and Snow White. This is the main reason why this track is such a playful number! Not the best but definitely a good one.

'Gravity' is the charm of the album. It's the last song on the album and the third single off the record. For an ending note, Bareilles sure went out on a brilliant finish. The song is the best of her amazing capabilities. The lyrics are beautiful! The music is spell binding! The vocals are perfect to the last note! Right down to the part where she begins singing the bridge, Bareilles holds complete command over every word and this seeps through the song making it the most powerful track from the pack. The video of the song is also better than the video of the previous two singles.

If you happen to have bought the Platinum Bonuspass Edition, the album has anoter track on it's menu. 'Any Way The Wind Blows' happen to be that track, to those who don't have it your not missing out on anything special. It's a very ordinary track and the songs on her album are far better than it.

Bareilles is definitely a star and her next album out in 2010 is definitely on my list!

Copyright © Saad Khan 2009 (Karachi, Pakistan; saadkhalidkhan@gmail.com)