Be Not Nobody - Vanessa Carlton > Reviews > She May Be Nobody Tomorrow

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Average
Lyrics	Standard
Quality and consistency of tracks	Mixed
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Not applicable
Value for Money

Advantages:	Good voice, own music
Disadvantages:	Nothing that stands out

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I'm not sure exactly why I bought this album, to be honest. I'd heard the first single, "A Thousand Miles" on one of the music channels, and it seemed OK, but nothing that was going to make me rush out and buy the album. I'd read a couple of opinions on the album, which made it sound pretty good, but not the sort of thing that a fan of 1980's and -90's rock music would want to dash out and buy immediately. So, what did I do? I bought it immediately!

It wasn’t really an intentional purchase. I was at work one Saturday and, as usual, had forgotten to take any music to listen to. So when I went to the little Sainsbury’s for lunch, and saw this CD for only £9.99, I thought I’d take a chance on it. Especially as staff discount brought it down to £8.99. A bit like buying from CD-Wow, only without having to wait for delivery.

There seems to have been a rush of female solo artists coming from North America in 2002. There’s clearly a kind of rebellion against the Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera type of artiste. For a start, the look is also vastly different to what has come before. Between the three of them, there is barely an inch of cleavage, of either the breast or bottom variety, to be seen. What you get are three attractive young women who would prefer to be judged on their music, rather than their appearance. Whether this is to be a mistake, only time will tell.

The music is meant to be taken more seriously as well, with all three writing or co-writing their own material and all with their own individual sound. Norah Jones has the rough voice and jazzy music of a younger Billie Holiday, and Avril Lavigne has claimed the popular high ground with her skater-pop-punk-whatever you call it these days kind of sound.

By comparison, Vanessa Carlton has taken a very middle of the road pop sound, involving just her and a piano. Comparisons to Tori Amos and Kate Bush have been bandied around, much to Carlton’s own disgust. You can see that the image is the same, but Carlton shows little of the quirkiness of those two, and certainly appeals to me musically in a way Bush and Amos never did. Vanessa Carlton is very much the Dire Straits of the trio, doing things very competently, but not in a way that grabs you by the throat.

She’s a brunette rather than a redhead, too, which means comparisons also fail on that score. While they appear to have a fiery edge. Vanessa Carlton reminds me very much of Ciaoer goodasgold, in that she’s beautiful in a very elfin, laid back way. Anyone who’s met goodasgold will know what I mean. Incidentally, I mentioned this to goodasgold herself, and she also saw the likeness.

Vanessa Carlton’s sound is pretty much pure pop, with a few slightly jazzier influences thrown in. She does try to get a little rockier on some of the faster paced numbers, but really falls way short of even the likes of Avril Lavigne and Natalie Imbruglia. What you end up with is something that flows over and around you, but doesn’t do a great deal to imprint itself on your consciousness. My first listen was at a low volume while I was in the office, and it passed very pleasantly. Later listens at a higher volume did the same. It’s music for a lazy Sunday afternoon, which makes it quite appropriate that I’m writing this when I am.

Album opener “Ordinary Day” instantly sounds familiar. Carlton’s vocals and a simple piano accompaniment are fleshed out with strings and a gentle drum beat as we go along. It’s a slower number about how you can make your own dreams come true. It’s a track that passes you by, washing over and around you, but without really grabbing your attention. It’s a nice enough song, but “nice” doesn’t really do a great deal for me.

The pace picks up with “Unsung”. There’s a bit of an attempt to introduce a rockier feel to proceedings. Even the opening piano is played further towards the bass end of the keyboard, and there’s an electric guitar involved in parts. Carlton has tried to introduce a harder edge to her voice as well, to fit in with the music, but it doesn’t quite work. She doesn’t seem to have the range of expression to quite make it fit, and her voice is really too light to perform a rock style track. However, the song does provide a nice contrast to what has gone before, and is certainly my favourite on the album.

It is when the first single “A Thousand Miles” kicks in, that you suddenly realise why “Ordinary Day” sounded so familiar. Although the tempo is a little higher, it’s essentially Carlton and a piano, with some strings in the background again. There’s a little more of an edge than in the album opener, but there’s again nothing that really grabs you.

“Pretty Baby” is a ballad in the old tradition of ballads. That is to say, it’s a slow paced number, all about loving someone. Unusually for this album, however, the piano takes a bit of a back seat, especially early on, although it does appear. Carlton has a high, quite soft voice, which does make her well suited to performing something like this. However, there’s nothing particularly special here, either lyrically or musically, and Carlton’s voice isn’t unique enough to stand out. It’s another one that floats you away and passes you by.

“Rinse” takes you to the other end of a relationship. The piano is back, and the tempo is a little higher, not dissimilar in style to “A Thousand Miles”. Again, there’s an attempt to convey the emotion of the situation in Carlton’s voice, which proves partially successful. However, as before, her voice is too soft to really convey much in the way of the anger the lyrics suggest there should be, although when it comes to desperation and sadness, it fits a lot better. The tinkly piano does get a little annoying after a while, though.

The introduction to “Sway” sounds a little like “Pretty Baby” speeded up slightly, and with more emphasis on the bass, although the vocals are more reminiscent of “Rinse”. Carlton’s voice mixes well with the piano, and her slightly breathy delivery works well here. There is an attempt to break away from the mould, but it is only partially successful. The volume seems slightly louder as well, but this still isn’t something that would stand out anywhere else.

The piano introduction to “Paradise” reminds me very much of the Ben Folds Five, which is one of the few musical influences that are obvious on the album. After the excitement that creates, the track is not unlike what has gone before, with it certainly being in a similar vein to “Ordinary Day” and “A Thousand Miles”. It’s a nice enough song, but another that wanders past you, rather than staying around to chat.

The introduction to “Prince” is enough to make you sit up. It’s a fast paced drumbeat, with some synthesised sounds over the top. The piano and vocal does eventually come in. It sounds like an attempt to add a little raunchiness into proceedings. Strangely, the tone in her voice is actually less breathy than elsewhere, which is a shame, as something softer might have worked quite well, with the voice Carlton has.

“Paint it Black” is, as the title suggests, a cover of the Rolling Stones song. This is one that does make you sit up and take notice. Not because it’s special, but because the lyrics are clear enough that you realise it’s a Rolling Stones cover, and not a terribly effective one at that. As on “Unsung”, Carlton’s voice is not strong enough to match the pounding beat. It’s an interesting attempt that falls some way short, and sounds more like something Avril Lavigne might try.

“Wanted” again starts with a piano introduction, much akin to “Rinse”. It’s a quicker paced song, but without the attempt to give it a rockier background. The change of tempo and tone in the choruses is certainly noticeable, but not enough for the song to place itself in anything more than your subconscious.

The final original track is “Twilight”. Again, unusually for this album, the piano does not appear in the introduction, although it comes in softly after the first verse. This is a slower paced song to close off, and the music and vocals are quite low key, making for a relaxing end to the album.

The “Wanted (Ripe Mix)” added to the end seems fairly pointless to me, I must confess. It removes the piano from the majority of the song, and adds a drum beat and more sound effects. However, the vocals have not been altered, and there is not enough difference to make this worthwhile, although with the piano removed, this is a slightly less aggravating version. I would also question the track position of the two songs, as being so close together towards the end of the album doesn’t leave space between them to avoid becoming suddenly repetitive.

At a little over 50 minutes long, you’re getting quite good value for your money here, if nothing else. And, sadly, you’re not getting a lot else, unless you’re a fan of middle of the road pop tunes. It strikes me as being modern music for the Dire Straits generation, and is possibly laid back enough to sit alongside Travis and Coldplay in a CD collection.

This is very much an album, and indeed a whole style for playing in the background whilst you’re doing something else. It’s not going to be great at parties, and it’s not the kind of thing that you’d want to play while getting ready to go to one, either, and I certainly wouldn’t play it in the car, unless I was stuck in traffic, and needed to calm down.

I’ll quite happily admire anyone who writes their own songs, as there seems to be so little of that around at present, and anyone who plays the music they want to, in these days of Pop Idol and the like, has to be praised. However, Carlton doesn’t have a gimmick, something that will make her stand out. She doesn’t have a famous parent, she’s not playing to the current trends, and she doesn’t wear revealing clothing.

It would be nice to think that, for all these reasons, Carlton will succeed where others have failed. However, while Norah Jones has collectd in style at the Grammy’s, and Avril Lavigne picks up sale after sale, Carlton has merely appeared as a backing vocalist for the Counting Crows. This suggests that the future may not be as bright for Vanessa Carlton. Does no-one listen to music for relaxation any more? If you do, this is for you.