I listen to a lot of albums. From Peter Gabriel to Beyoncé, I have found myself jumping between genres, while hitting every step along the way. I think I’m well rounded, while some would say I have ADHD.
There are two categories of albums I listen too. “Albums I like” is the largest category. This consists of the albums I hear and binge on a daily basis. These albums generally rustle my feathers and often give me goosebumps. Then there are the albums that make me stop and say, “Whoa, that is what music sounds like.” Those are few and far between.
Recently, I have found an album that has jolted me to a complete halt. That album is Paula Cole’s Ballads.
I can barely express how excited I am about this album. Once I listened to it on Spotify I immediately went to her website, ordered the vinyl version with signature, checked tour dates, and read countless articles on Cole’s career. I have never evangelized for an album, but I want to tell everybody about this masterpiece.
This is a Jazz album including many of the great standards like “God Bless The Child” and “Skylark.” But, then a wrench is thrown into the collection with such songs as “I Wish (I Knew How it Feels To Be Free)” and “The Ballad of Hollis Brown.” The album consists of 20 songs and was released by Cole independently on her 675 label.
So now it’s a Jazz/Folk/protest album. Also, did I mention it has a hint of Country?
The album begins with “God Bless The Child,” the Jazz classic written by Billie Holiday. The only word that can describe the orchestration to this arrangement is “rootsy.” It’s not your typical arrangement of Jazz, yet it completely encompasses everything that is Jazz. This idea stays with the entirety of the album.
Next, Cole goes into the protest song made famous by Nina Simone, “I Wish (I Knew How to Be Free).” Again Cole evokes an emotion that often gets lost in songs, the core meaning. This song has specific historical significance, but she makes the song relevant today.
“I Wish” is perfectly coupled with Bob Dylan’s “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll” later in the album. “Lonesome” is one of my top 5. The way Cole presents a story song is like a movie. The listener sees everything in detail. She talks about the longing for justice that was desperately needed in the 1960s and still needed today. Her voice literally becomes the rag to dry your tears. The movies continue with the songs “Ode To Billy Joe” and “The Ballad of Hollis Brown.”
Cole gives the uptempo jazz greats a new facade as well with songs like “Never Will I Marry, ” Nice Work If You Can Get It,” and “You Hit the Spot.” These songs show Cole’s skilled vocal technique and her accomplished talent as an arranger. Not to mention her pitch-perfect melancholy tones on the great standards like “You’ve Changed” and “Autumn Leaves.”
The greatest feat of this album is how it portrays Jazz music. All of Cole’s vocals are Jazz in style and soul. Jazz doesn’t belong to a certain instrument or vocal method, it belongs to the approach and deliverance of a song. Jazz encapsulates love, heartbreak, and justice in its purest forms.
Cole then adds a second element to this album. Early in this article, I mentioned how the album feels “rootsy,” but I want to go a step further. This album echoes the foundation of music as a whole. It goes down to the very roots that hold music upright today. This album not only covers some of the best songs ever written, but it is also a tribute to the great musicians that have shaped modern music.
Inherently, I know Cole collaborated, discussed, and had multiple outside influences, but in the end, she was the sole producer of this album. The framework began in her mind, while others added color, yet she filled in the final details. This album is a testament that Paula Cole is a master at the art of music.
The way Paula Cole weaves the themes of heartbreak, injustice, love, happiness, and sorrow seamlessly on one album through Jazz is incredible. This album is so relevant it’s uncanny, yet so nostalgic it’s reverent.
Visit Paula Cole’s official Website here.
Check out her Twitter here.
Check out her Facebook here.
