Vanessa Carlton - Be Not Nobody

With her much-anticipated debut, ex-ballerina Vanessa Carlton more than makes good on the promise of her first single, "A Thousand Miles." Augmenting her classical training with a broad range of pop she soaked up playing New York City clubs and listening to classic rock in her father's car, Be Not Nobody finds the phenom decorating her fierce piano playing with orchestration, guitars, and percussion galore. "Prince" is sizzling and funky, while "Ordinary Day" displays a majestic grace and "Unsung" is a stomping blues-bar breakdown. Comparisons to Fiona Apple and Little Earthquakes-era Tori Amos (especially on the haunting "Sway" and "Wanted") are inevitable and justified. Yet Carlton sounds fresh, even on a menacing interpretation of the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black." With the exception of the anemic ballad "Pretty Baby," this impressive debut makes a strong case that a new star has emerged. --Annie Zaleski Amazon.com

"In the palm of your hand..."

Be Not Nobody is the debut album from Vanessa Carlton. It is not her best as Harmonium and Heroes and Thieves but nonetheless, Vanessa's voice and songwriting showed amazing potential back then. Some of the songs are gorgeous like Ordinary Day, Sway, Twilight, Wanted, Paradise, and of course A Thousand Miles. Some songs don't stick like the previous ones I mentioned but I think Carlton was just finding her voice in 2002 and she more than made up for it with her last two LPs. There are some stunning moments on Be Not Nobody but you want real magic then check out her later works instead. Good luck! January 31, 2008

Poetic Beauty

Vanessa Carltons' first atempt in the musical world was an instant hit. Her album, Be Not Nobody, took the world by storm, with lyricly driven verses, and catchy chorus tunes.

The most famous of her first songs, A Thousand Miles, has become a staple of any movie/road trip theme. Here skills on the piano have only helped raise her above the rest of the music world, by giving her that edge few artists ever find.

The best song on the album though, would have to be the first track, Ordinary Day. The semi love song speaks wonders to the true feelings of many young people in their first relationship. And the musicality of the song is undenieable.

Look for her second album to really step up her game. January 30, 2008

Where'd you run off to, Vanessa? You're being missed.

One of the more talented and precocious young females to emerge within this decade, Vanessa Carlton disappeared way too quickly, and when you think of some of the more successful people she was competing with at the time, this is a sad fact. If you want a fresh, unspoiled talent to listen to, I strongly suggest this album. The smash hit "A Thousand Miles" (one of the most justifiably biggest hits of 2002) is a great pairing of her sweet singing style with her great piano skills, and this song still gets strong airplay on a lot of soft-rock stations nowadays. She also boldly shows off her harder side with her cover of The Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black", which is of course not as good as the original, but still very good when you consider how legendary the Stones were/are. October 23, 2007

Amazing CD

I am a musician myself, and am pretty critical when it comes to music. But this CD has blown me out of the water. Vanessa Carlton has talent beyond her years. Every line of every song is profound, if you listen well enough. This CD will always be at the front of my favorites list. Song to Listen To...Twilight. Listen closely and you will realize exactly what she is singing about. October 17, 2007

Hyped and laudable debut full of liveliness

Be Not Nobody, the debut CD from piano pop sensation and ballerina Vanessa Carlton, actually makes for one whopper of an album. Her dazzling piano playing--along with lilting, jazzy vocals that are instantly recognizable--makes for a unique and radio-friendly style that couldn't be any more polished if it tried. Despite all of her hits, namely 2002's inescapable ballad "A Thousand Miles", Vanessa still has a firm grip on her craft to ensure that it doesn't become lost in mainstream chaos.

Her words are just as fleshed-out as her sounds. Of the twelve tracks, only three or four have a more depressing nature, but as a pop album that fact works out fine. "Ordinary Day", the fantastic, swelling opening song, tells Vanessa's tales of an unsuspecting lover who gave her the advice to "take my hand / Live while you can". Unsurprisingly, unrequited love and lovesickness play quite a role in her songs, adding a sprinkle of realism among the concoction of sensationalism and glittering piano melodies contained herein. "Rinse", for example, is a morose but fantastic account of a girl slowly driving herself insane over her unreturned feelings for a boy. It starts off almost rushed, but explodes into a tempest of guitar licks and desperate lines that lash out with nothing but the naked truth.

The low point here is probably "Prince", during which the album seems to be winding down into a rather lazy final 1/3, but it picks itself back up immediately with a cover of the Rolling Stones' classic "Paint It Black" and (the real gem here) "Wanted", which has a great deal of Vanessa's distilled voice unaided by instrumentation. She shows off a natural and viciously honest side of herself that is only exhibited once on the whole CD.

But through the whole thing, there is always the reassurance that Vanessa knows what she is doing and knows the right way to do it. After this album and her follow-up Harmonium exploded onto the music scene, there's no question about this artist's exuberance and, above all, just plain talent. April 28, 2007

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