Posted on: November 30, 2010 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Following on the heels of her recent digital single “Is This Love,” GRAMMY®-winning artist Corinne Bailey Rae will release The Love EP on January 25th, 2011, on Capitol Records. The Love EP is a five-song collection of covers that Bailey Rae calls an “homage to some of my favorite musicians, as well as a conversation between some of my musical influences.”

The Love EP opens with a cover of Prince’s “I Wanna Be Your Lover” – one of Bailey Rae’s favorite songs by the legendary artist. “I met Prince in London at his show at the O2 Arena,” she says. “I was amazed by the gig but even more impressed by the aftershow he did in a small venue where he tore it up on the guitar. I love singing rhythmical music but never seem to write anything like that so getting to do this song was a dream.”

Next up is “Low Red Moon,” written by former Throwing Muses/Breeders singer Tanya Donelly for her band Belly. “Belly were one of the prime influences on my band Helen,” Bailey Rae says. “I was addicted to their song ‘Star’ as a teenager and learnt loads about guitar playing from listening to them. We have made the song, in my opinion, more aggressive and slightly ’60s science fiction.”

“Low Red Moon” is followed by Bailey Rae’s unique take on the 1978 Bob Marley classic “Is This Love,” which cruised up the Urban AC radio chart this fall. “Bob Marley is an incredible songwriter and this is one of my favorites,” Bailey Rae says. “I wanted to bring the tempo back to underline the poignancy of the lyric. Marley’s music is so influenced by American doo-wop, so I loved that guitarist John McCallum gave it this Hendrixy/Curtis Mayfield sound, two musicians who also brought doo-wop into their own sound.”

Bailey Rae also chose to cover “My Love,” a No. 1 hit by Paul McCartney & Wings. “I first heard ‘My Love’ at an event for Paul McCartney at the White House, where I had been invited to play,” Bailey Rae says. “A string section played the song and I was struck by the fragility of that ascending melody on the lyric ‘My love does it good.’ I was also really touched by Stevie Wonder and Paul
McCartney’s relationship. When we recorded this song, it was definitely influenced by Stevie’s sound.”

The Love EP closes with a live version of “Que Sera, Sera” (popularized by Doris Day and Sly Stone) – a song that Bailey Rae and her band have been closing shows with on her recent tour. “I love Sly and the Family Stone’s version, how it takes what feels like a nursery rhyme in Doris Day’s lovely hands and turns it into
a philosophical outcry,” she says. “‘The future’s not ours to see.’ Sometimes I attack this lyric angrily, sometimes I’m peaceful and surrendered to it.”

Bailey Rae co-produced each track on The Love EP with Steve Brown who co-produced Bailey Rae’s latest album The Sea, which bowed in the Top 10 on Billboard’s Top200 chart in February. The strength of that album, which The New York Times hailed as “a major creative leap forward” and People and The Los Angeles Times awarded with four-star reviews, led to nominations for Q, MOBO, BET, American Smooth Jazz, and Soul Train Music awards, as well as inclusion on the Barclaycard Mercury Prize shortlist.

The Sea has been a multi-format smash at radio, giving Bailey Rae her first Top 10 single at Urban AC with the single “Closer” and also receiving play at AC, AAA, and Smooth Jazz formats. She’s toured worldwide in support of The Sea, including two North American outings that featured sold-out headlining shows, a performance at Coachella Music and Arts Festival, and a series of summer dates with Norah Jones. While in the States, Bailey Rae has appeared on numerous television shows, including “TODAY,” “Late Show with David Letterman” “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” “The Early Show,” “Live with Regis & Kelly,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “Ellen,” “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,” “Tavis Smiley” and “The Mo’Nique Show.”

Bailey Rae’s self-titled debut album bowed at #1 on the U.K. album chart in June 2006 and also earned the Leeds-born musician the distinction of being the first British female singer-songwriter in decades to have her debut album enter The Billboard 200 in the Top 20. By year’s end, it was RIAA-certified Platinum. She won a Q award, a MOJO award, an Image award and two MOBO awards, and was nominated for three GRAMMY awards – “Record Of The Year” and “Song Of The Year” for her first single, “Put Your Records On,” and “Best New Artist.” Her performance on the 2007 GRAMMY Awards telecast sent the album into the Top 5 of The Billboard 200. In 2008, “Like A Star,” her second single, was nominated for “Song Of The Year” and Herbie Hancock’s River: The Joni Letters, on which Bailey Rae sang the title track, won the GRAMMY for “Album Of The Year.”

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