Andrea Corr - Ten Feet High

Japanese pressing scheduled to include a bonus track. 2007 debut solo album from one-fourth of the Irish Pop quartet The Corrs. Produced by Nellee Hooper, with Bono at the helm as Executive Producer, Ten Feet High reveals Andrea Corr's wealth of hidden riches, a natural gift for lyrical storytelling, and a voice that errs more on the side of deadpan and understatement than traditional diva delivery. After twelve years and thirty million albums, The Corrs decided it was time for their much-mooted hiatus following the release of 2005's 'Home'. Each one of them went home to Ireland, but whilst Sharon, Caroline and Jim began to raise their families, Andrea undertook a new life of her own as a solo artist. When mutual friend Bono introduced Andrea to Nellee Hooper, who she had particularly admired for his work with Bjork and Massive Attack, a solid union was formed. Album Description

I wanted to like it

I don't believe being a critic means automatically hating everything, to me that's not objective and it shows weak character (because it is easier to tear something down than stand up for what you belive in). I bought this album a few weeks ago on import as it still has not been released in the U.S., and from everything I'm reading and hearing it doesn't look like it's going to be. Tried to buy this several times at one of the local bookstore chains which said the official release date was July 24th. When that day rolled around I was told the American release date had been pushed back indefinitely; think that probably speaks for itself more than anything. That's disappointing because I was looking forward to a tour and that now seems in doubt.

I wanted to like this album, a lot. I've been a fan of The Corrs since their first major label release. The siblings, all of them, are extremely hard working and very talented. What's more, from all the interviews I have read they are also very down-to-earth and personable unlike so many in high profile careers. I can't fault Andrea for wanting to strike out on her own while Caroline, Sharon, and Jim focus on raising their families. Andrea has said she looks forward to that time, but it's not her path right now. I do however think she needs to re-evaluate where she wants to go if she is in fact going to distance herself from The Corrs.
Andrea has written some very good lyrics (for example the fairy tale words of, "I Do", or the self-reflecting "Stupidest Girl in the World"), but the melodies of this pop album are for lack of a better way to put it, all over the place. Andrea is young and I think if she wanted to do a Dance-House record she could have gone a long way with that; the catchiness of "Shame On You" proves that. But, the rest of the album is hard to enjoy, and the syncopated rhythm of "Anbody There" has become so grating to me that after just a few times hearing it I now have to press the skip button over this song when I listen to the album in its entirety.

I imagined myself having a casual conversation with Andrea and if she posed the question, "What is your favorite song on the album?", I think I would be hard pressed to answer in a way that wouldn't seem like I was obviously hiding my true thoughts. I'm going to continue to listen to the album, maybe there is a gem here I am missing, but so far it hasn't struck me. And if I could say anything to Andrea it would be that on the next album, and I do want to see a next album, go with a melodic theme that is consistent enough to be cohesive in a genre, whether it be pop, dance, Celtic, or anything else, so long as it holds the album melodically together. August 11, 2007

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