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Once ubiquitous, as her "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone" was a staple on adult alternative radio and "I Don't Wanna Wait" served as the soundtrack to turn of the millennium teen soap Dawson's Creek, Paula Cole suddenly disappeared after her third album, Amen, failed to live up to the commercial expectations set by her 1996 breakthrough, This Fire. Throughout the 2000s she stayed quiet, raising her newborn daughter as she worked toward reviving her muse, eventually resurfacing in 2007 -- a decade after the peak of her popularity -- with Courage, her first album for Decca and her first album in eight years. Immediately, it's apparent that this is worlds away from the stylized worldbeat and vague electronica leanings of Amen, never sounding as self-consciously restless as that album. Not that Cole has abandoned her refined eclecticism -- she dabbles in gentle bossa nova beats on "Hard to Be Soft," duetting with Brazilian singer Ivan Lins -- but never once does Cole sound as strained in incorporating hip-hop beats and electronic textures as she did on Amen. Instead, she sounds relaxed as she eases into a subdued collection of songs jazzy enough to justify Herbie Hancock's cameo on "Lonely Town." Such casual sophistication reigns here, but Courage doesn't sound like a clean break from her past, or a contrived attempt to refashion herself for Norah Jones' audience; the opening "Comin' Down" and the Patrick Leonard collaboration "14" sound like This Fire, only a little more settled yet managing to sidestep slickness while emphasizing her gentle, insinuating melodies. While Courage may stray into sleepiness on the ballads, it nevertheless always flows naturally even at its slowest moments and that comfortable feel is the most appealing thing about the record, since it's evident in the unhurried songs and the unstrained performances. It may be low-key, but Courage certainly qualifies as a successful comeback from a singer/songwriter who had seemed lost to the Lilith Fair era.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
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Dean Parks, Guitar, Recording Engineer, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Jay Bellerose, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - KEVIN KILLEN, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Paula Cole, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Pablo Munguia, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - BOBBY COLOMBY, Producer
℗ 2007 Decca Label Group
Steve Khan, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - KEVIN KILLEN, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Tony Levin, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - JAMES FARBER, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - JEFF LORBER, Keyboards, Recording Engineer, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Paula Cole, Clapping, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Jamshied Sharifi, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Billy Kilson, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Hassan Hakmoun, Lute, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - BOBBY COLOMBY, Producer - Brahim Fribgane, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2007 Decca Label Group
Dean Parks, Dulcimer, AssociatedPerformer - David Piltch, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Mark Goldenberg, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Jay Bellerose, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - KEVIN KILLEN, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Paula Cole, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Pablo Munguia, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Billy Childs, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - BOBBY COLOMBY, Producer - Fredrik Sarhagen, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2007 Decca Label Group
Jeremy Lubbock, ComposerLyricist - Dean Parks, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - KEVIN KILLEN, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - HERBIE HANCOCK, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - JAMES FARBER, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Al Schmitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Paula Cole, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Steve Genewick, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Billy Kilson, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Ian Walker, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - BOBBY COLOMBY, Producer
℗ 2007 Decca Label Group
Mark Goldenberg, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Jimmy Johnson, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Jay Bellerose, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - KEVIN KILLEN, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - PATRICK LEONARD, ComposerLyricist - Greg Leisz, Pedal Steel, AssociatedPerformer - JEFF LORBER, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Paula Cole, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Pablo Munguia, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - BOBBY COLOMBY, Producer
℗ 2007 Decca Label Group
David Piltch, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Mark Goldenberg, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Jay Bellerose, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - KEVIN KILLEN, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Paula Cole, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Pablo Munguia, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - IVAN LINS, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Billy Childs, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - BOBBY COLOMBY, Producer
℗ 2007 Decca Label Group
Dean Parks, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - David Palmer, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Bill Smith, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jay Bellerose, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - KEVIN KILLEN, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Greg Leisz, Pedal Steel, AssociatedPerformer - Paula Cole, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - BOBBY COLOMBY, Producer
℗ 2007 Decca Label Group
Greg Phillinganes, ComposerLyricist - David Palmer, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Jimmy Johnson, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Jay Bellerose, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - KEVIN KILLEN, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - JEFF LORBER, Organ, AssociatedPerformer - Paula Cole, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Pablo Munguia, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - CHRIS BRUCE, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - BOBBY COLOMBY, Producer
℗ 2007 Decca Label Group
David Palmer, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Mark Goldenberg, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Jimmy Johnson, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Jay Bellerose, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Andy Snitzer, Editor - Chris Botti, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - KEVIN KILLEN, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Paula Cole, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Pablo Munguia, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Billy Childs, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Todd Whitelock, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - BOBBY COLOMBY, Producer
℗ 2007 Decca Label Group
Jeremy Lubbock, ComposerLyricist - Dean Parks, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - DAVID FOSTER, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Jay Bellerose, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - KEVIN KILLEN, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Al Schmitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Paula Cole, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Steve Genewick, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Billy Kilson, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Ian Walker, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - BOBBY COLOMBY, Producer
℗ 2007 Decca Label Group
Mark Goldenberg, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Buchanan, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Jimmy Johnson, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Jay Bellerose, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - KEVIN KILLEN, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Paula Cole, Piano, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Pablo Munguia, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - BOBBY COLOMBY, Producer
℗ 2007 Decca Label Group
Album review
Once ubiquitous, as her "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone" was a staple on adult alternative radio and "I Don't Wanna Wait" served as the soundtrack to turn of the millennium teen soap Dawson's Creek, Paula Cole suddenly disappeared after her third album, Amen, failed to live up to the commercial expectations set by her 1996 breakthrough, This Fire. Throughout the 2000s she stayed quiet, raising her newborn daughter as she worked toward reviving her muse, eventually resurfacing in 2007 -- a decade after the peak of her popularity -- with Courage, her first album for Decca and her first album in eight years. Immediately, it's apparent that this is worlds away from the stylized worldbeat and vague electronica leanings of Amen, never sounding as self-consciously restless as that album. Not that Cole has abandoned her refined eclecticism -- she dabbles in gentle bossa nova beats on "Hard to Be Soft," duetting with Brazilian singer Ivan Lins -- but never once does Cole sound as strained in incorporating hip-hop beats and electronic textures as she did on Amen. Instead, she sounds relaxed as she eases into a subdued collection of songs jazzy enough to justify Herbie Hancock's cameo on "Lonely Town." Such casual sophistication reigns here, but Courage doesn't sound like a clean break from her past, or a contrived attempt to refashion herself for Norah Jones' audience; the opening "Comin' Down" and the Patrick Leonard collaboration "14" sound like This Fire, only a little more settled yet managing to sidestep slickness while emphasizing her gentle, insinuating melodies. While Courage may stray into sleepiness on the ballads, it nevertheless always flows naturally even at its slowest moments and that comfortable feel is the most appealing thing about the record, since it's evident in the unhurried songs and the unstrained performances. It may be low-key, but Courage certainly qualifies as a successful comeback from a singer/songwriter who had seemed lost to the Lilith Fair era.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 11 track(s)
- Total length: 00:51:41
- Main artists: Paula Cole
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Decca Crossover
- Genre: Pop/Rock Pop
© 2007 Decca Label Group ℗ 2007 Decca Label Group
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