| Black Rainbows | ||||
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| Released | 15 September 2023 | |||
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| Length | 44:34 | |||
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| Corinne Bailey Rae chronology | ||||
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Black Rainbows is the fourth studio album by English singer and songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae, released on 15 September 2023 by Black Rainbows Music and Thirty Tigers. It received acclaim from critics.
Bailey Rae stated that Black Rainbows was inspired by an exhibition on Black history by artist Theaster Gates at the Stony Island Arts Bank in Chicago that she attended, which "summoned thoughts about slavery, spirituality, beauty, survival, hope and freedom". [4]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 91/100 [5] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| Mojo |  [3] |
| MusicOMH | [7] |
| NME | [1] |
| Pitchfork | 8.0/10 [8] |
| Record Collector | [2] |
| Uncut | 8/10 [9] |
Black Rainbows received a score of 91 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on seven critics' reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". [5] Uncut described it as "an inspired left turn", [9] while Mojo stated that "the music, which is characterised by extraordinary switches in style, reflects the diversity of the archive, morphing from bleepy electronic and futuristic R&B to churning garage rock with distorted megaphone vocals". [3] Record Collector 's John Earls wrote that Black Rainbows "magnificently roars around garage rock, jazz and even, on Erasure, Black Flag hardcore", concluding that "although Bailey Rae is hardly prolific – this is just her fourth album – she's worth the wait". [2]
Jordan Bassett of NME remarked that the album "swings from crunching glam-punk to skronking experimental jazz that wouldn't sound out of place on David Bowie's Blackstar . There are left turns, and then there's this." [1] MusicOMH 's John Murphy found it to be "a huge change in direction for Corinne Bailey Rae, a big, sprawling album that bounces between genres and flies off in directions you'd never expect". [7] Jon Pareles of The New York Times opined that Bailey Rae "boldly jettisons both pop structures and R&B smoothness to consider the scars and triumphs of Black culture" and its "songs flaunt extremes: noise and delicacy, longing and rage". [4] Allison Hussey of Pitchfork felt that "it sounds like a departure but feels like a renaissance", and the "softer turns on Black Rainbows feel nearest to Rae's earlier material, but those, too, subvert expectations". [8]
Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Andy Kellman compared it favourably to Bailey Rae's earlier work, writing that "although Black Rainbows is a uniquely conceptual work and sticks all the way out from" her prior albums, it is "at least as personal" as them, observing that "contrary to her reputation for making pillowy adult contemporary R&B, Bailey Rae started in a punk band that was hard enough to be courted by Roadrunner Records" and "Black Rainbows taps into that spirit more than once". [6]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Spell, a Prayer" | Corinne Bailey Rae | 5:26 |
| 2. | "Black Rainbows" |
| 1:57 |
| 3. | "Erasure" | Bailey Rae | 2:46 |
| 4. | "Earthlings" |
| 3:38 |
| 5. | "Red Horse" |
| 5:42 |
| 6. | "New York Transit Queen" | Bailey Rae | 1:49 |
| 7. | "He Will Follow You with His Eyes" | Bailey Rae | 3:45 |
| 8. | "Put It Down" |
| 8:29 |
| 9. | "Peach Velvet Sky" |
| 5:50 |
| 10. | "Before the Throne of the Invisible God" | Bailey Rae | 5:12 |
| Total length: | 44:34 | ||
Musicians
Technical
| Chart (2023) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Scottish Albums (OCC) [10] | 54 |
| UK Album Downloads (OCC) [11] | 32 |
| UK Independent Albums (OCC) [12] | 13 |
| US Top Album Sales (Billboard) [13] | 92 |
Corinne Jacqueline Bailey Rae is an English singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2006 single "Put Your Records On". Bailey Rae was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2006 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2006. She released her debut album, Corinne Bailey Rae, in February 2006, and became the fourth female British act in history to have her first album debut at number one. In 2007, Bailey Rae was nominated for three Grammy Awards and three Brit Awards, and won two MOBO Awards. In 2008, she won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
Corinne Bailey Rae is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae, released on 24 February 2006 by EMI. The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and has been certified triple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). Four singles were released from the album: "Like a Star", "Put Your Records On", "Trouble Sleeping" and "I'd Like To". Corinne Bailey Rae has sold over four million copies worldwide.
"Put Your Records On" is a song by English singer Corinne Bailey Rae from her self-titled debut studio album (2006). Written by Bailey Rae, John Beck, and Steve Chrisanthou, it was released as the album's second single in February and early March 2006 throughout Europe and as the lead single in North America.
"I'd Like To" is a song by English singer-songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae from her self-titled debut studio album (2006). It was released on 12 February 2007 as the album's fourth and final commercial single. It was released digitally in Mexico on 19 February 2007. In the United States, the song was serviced to hot adult contemporary radio on 11 June 2007.
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