SteveW
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random thoughts on JC 04-Dec-2017 06:38:20
| CorrsClub Time: 19-Apr-2024 16:52:36 |
Now that I’ve had a chance to live with JC for a while, here are some random thoughts in no particular order:
1) It seems like Caroline has been playing more complex drum parts since the return. This was observed by several people during the WL tour, and in JC we have examples like Season of Our Love and the tricky off-the-beat pattern in Butter Flutter. Also listen to the way she plays toms on the second verse of Hit My Ground Running (starting at 1:28) and the chorus of Live Before I Die (2:10). I also like the natural-sounding drums on this album; I'm glad to have lost the synthesized-sounding handclap/drum sounds that were ubiquitous on WL.
2) No Go Baby obviously has sad lyrics, but I find it interesting that much of the music is not particularly sad in and of itself. Listen to the piano in the verses (0:17); it's actually fairly bright and sunny-sounding; it's not a lot of sad minor chords. In fact, the verses sound to me a lot like something you'd hear in a 1950's Broadway play; either the melody or Andrea's delivery has a distinct musical theater sound to my ears. I can picture a scene where the singer is sitting on a bed, getting ready for a big day (perhaps an audition for a big role in a play?), singing the verses to herself as she prepares. The chorus and Sharon's violin parts are more traditionally sad-sounding, but I think this song is another example of how the Corrs often set dark lyrics to deceptively happy music (e.g., Summer Sunshine). Of course, SOS on this album is another example.
3) Listen starting at 2:27 in No Go Baby. In the right channel, you can hear some faint noise in the background that sounds like a truck driving by the studio, or something like that. Odd.
4) Hit My Ground Running reminds me of this song:
Similar piano-based vibe, and the piano part and the underlying chord progression in the verses is similar.
5) We've heard that the album was recorded 'nearly live'. I was wondering which parts were overdubbed rather than being live. I found a couple examples in Live Before I Die. The CD notes say that Sharon plays piano on this track, but you can hear the violin and piano playing at the same time (0:04), so one must be overdubbed. You can also hear Andrea singing over a tin whistle part in this song (2:54).
6) There are several songs in the second half of the album that have a moody, atmospheric sound: Live Before I Die, Season of Our Love, and The Sun and the Moon. The CD notes say that Sharon plays piano on all of these, so presumably these are her songs. This moody kind of vibe is somewhat unusual in the Corrs repertoire; it reminds me a bit of Rain from IB, which was also written by Sharon, and also Somebody for Someone (for which the music was written by Caroline).
7) I mentioned this in another thread, but one of the most striking things about JC is the more raw, rootsy sound, and the vocals seem similarly raw and unprocessed. Andrea’s voice sounds a bit thin in places (the opening to SofS, the end of A Love Divine), and I’m surprised they didn’t attempt to redo these parts. It shows a lot of confidence in their musicianship to keep these imperfect parts; good for them. On other songs, notably Dear Life and Bulletproof, Andrea’s voice still sounds as warm and effortless as ever, especially in her lower range.
8) Overall, I like JC a lot. For me it's their most consistent album: the best songs on the album are not IMO as strong as the best songs on, say, FNF or BH, but the weakest songs are better than the weakest songs on their other albums. I like the raw and organic sound, and I like that the band went in a new direction and chose to do something different rather than being content to be a nostalgia act (not that there’s anything wrong with that).
To sum up:
Songs I don't particularly like: Chasing Shadows, SOS
Songs I like: A Love Divine, Live Before I Die, Road to Eden, Season of Our Love, The Sun and the Moon
Songs I really like a lot: Hit My Ground Running, No Go Baby, Song of Solomon, Bulletproof Love
Songs that are in my all-time Corrs favorites: Dear Life, Butter Flutter
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