Corinne Bailey Rae, tour review: Once she was reticent, now she oozes charisma

Tidings of comfort and joy from bewitching queen of British soul, says John Aizlewood
Magical: Corinne Bailey Rae oozes charisma during her Tabernacle show
John Aizlewood11 April 2016

Before the release of her self-titled, 2006 debut, Corinne Bailey Rae played a warm-up show at The Tabernacle. Four years later, she played there again before the release of The Sea, her second album and the second to reach the UK and US Top 10.

Last night, on the eve of album number three, The Heart Speaks In Whispers, she was back there once more. “It’s really important to me to play intimate shows where I can connect with people,” she mused. “This is a special moment, we’ll never all be together again.”

Yet, everything has changed for the 37-year-old, who followed Amy Winehouse but blazed a trail for Adele. Her debut was slender, but The Sea was written before and after “a massive fracture in my life” (her husband Jason Rae’s death from an overdose).

Her third unveils her as the most affecting British soul singer since Sade. She has found domestic happiness since 2013 with her long-term musical director/keyboardist/producer, Steve Brown. Coy again, she chose not to mention their marriage.

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She offered glimpses into her past, most notably the closing lullaby Like A Star, made spine-tingling by Bailey Rae bouncing vocal pyrotechnics off a mass, hushed singalong.

The real meat, though was in the uplifting, intimate and hopeful new material and in her bewitching performance: where once she was reticent, now she oozes charisma. The tender Hey, I Won’t Break Your Heart melted into Stop Where You Are and its thumping chorus, but best came with the hook-laden The Skies Will Break, where Bailey Rae pogoed like the punk she will never be, while offering the balm that genuine soul brings.

Corinne Bailey Rae may be comforting, but she’s light years away from her comfort zone. There was magic here.

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