Sara Bareilles, Little Voice

It occurred to me that I've mentioned Sara Bareilles a few times here at The Blog but I haven't really given her a fair review. Yes, I've mentioned that she's amazing many times, and I've posted up some of my favorite lyrics of hers, but I haven't really told you why yet. I'll try to keep this as concise as possible... but no promises!

The very first sound you hear when Little Voice begins is nothing more than three or four notes on a grand piano, yet they scream with attitude. When the voice joins the otherwise still solo piano, you are immediately convinced it is anything but little. With her words, she not only tells you what she feels, but paints pictures with words in the back of your mind. As you listen through the landscape of the album, Sara's voice is your map, guiding you through with piano licks reminiscent of both Elton John and Ben Folds, and inspired, tell-all one-liners. Sara can say more with six words and a melody than I could accomplish in a five hundred word blog entry. Sara Bareilles' music touches on the traditional piano ballad, fun and funky rhythms, genuinely contemporary piano rock, and even throwing in the flavor of a spiritual here or there. Her voice, though never formally trained, exudes style and agility, at times soft and sensitive, and at other strong and strong-willed. Put all of that together with producer Eric Rosse's dedication to a clean and natural sounding recording, and we have everything pop music should be.