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 Björk and Massive Attack, a solid union was formed. As Andrea says, "with this album, I've written the story and Nellee has painted the picture."
'Shame On You (To Keep My Love From Me)', the first single, is a deceptively pretty song full of fluttery musical notes, its very lightness masking a much heavier message. "It's about conscription and war," she explains, "a protest song through the prism of love, and how these men and women who go off to war are leaving behind partners they will never marry and children they will never have." The rest of the album is a kaleidoscope of colours and style, with Andrea weaving her multiple characters through each song, at once both playful and sombre. 'I Do', about a fairytale marriage, is delicate and bewitching, a song as light as air. 'Anybody There' features some understated pining ("Will there be anybody there to hold me?") delivered adorably. 'Champagne Through A Straw' a wry dissertation on the vagaries of a celebrity lifestyle ("I've got my all-over tan and my tummy-tuck/ Big house in the country, with expensive bags for my scary little dogs..."), and the closing 'Ideal World' is a poignant ballad about the hopeless pursuit of a perfect life. Then there is the one cover on the album, and it's a radical one: a startling re-reading of the Squeeze classic 'Take Me I'm Yours' that she makes all her own. |
