Courage

Paula Cole | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 12, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Decca
• ASIN: B000NO39EC
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #65,955 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

With her first album in eight years, there seems to be little doubt that Paula Cole is aiming to shake the Sarah McLachlan-wannabe tag that has hung with her since the days of Lilith Fair. Though she rode the alternative wave during those times to her eventual notoriety, this time around Cole appears ready to paddle the mainstream. Enlisting the help of some notable, if unfamiliar, songwriters, the Massachusetts-bred singer has the striking (and professionally trained) voice to make the cut. Cole devotees will drift to a pair of ballads: the sexy, bass-driven "In Our Dreams" and "Lonely Town," a saga of isolation guided by the piano of Herbie Hancock. And while the 11 songs are cohesive enough to run as a package, cuts that stand out as potential hits include "El Greco," a declarative song of restitution, and "Hard to Be Soft," a jazz number decorated with Brazilian-themed rhythms. Whether this renewal can lead to even greater approval remains to be seen--but the audience left over from years gone by is just happy to hear Paula Cole singing again. --Scott Holter

More Paula Cole

Greatest Hits: Postcards from East Oceanside

This Fire

Amen

Product Description

Grammy-Award winning, singer/songwriter Paula Cole rediscovers her love of music with her new CD, Courage, her first album in eight years. When asked what Courage means to Paula Cole, she says the word was her daily mantra when recording the record, making for a fitting title. Simply put Cole says, "I am searching for the truth. Somewhere, it's in the music."

An intimate and heartfelt collection of songs, Courage is poised to re-establish Cole's seminal role among the top female recording artists today. Delivered with raw emotional honesty, the singer reveals a rare, disarming vulnerability with these eleven new songs. Her arresting vocals and top-notch songwriting also shine, with highlights including "Comin' Down," the striking opening track (co-penned with guitarist Dean Parks), "14," the memorable anthem co-written with Patrick Leonard (Madonna, Roger Waters), and the confessional "El Greco" (co-penned with Mark Goldenberg). The album also features guest appearances from the legendary Herbie Hancock on the haunting track, "Lonelytown," renowned producer David Foster, who guests as pianist on "In Our Dreams," the distinctive vocals of Paul Buchanan of Blue Nile fame on, "Until I Met You," and the Brazilian singer/songwriter Ivan Lins on the samba-laced, "Hard To Be Soft."

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A-May-Zing!!!!!, August 1, 2007

By 

Martha J. Nazzaro "Diamond in the sky" (Rockport, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Courage (Audio CD)

I spotted Paula in Rockport Massachusetts last week....I live there during the summer and I knew that she grew up there and still visits frequently. I "googled" her and discovered that this new album was out. I immediately bought it and can't stop listening to it. The tracks are sexy, hypnotic, jazzy, meaningful, addicting, exciting....just amazing!
I'm so glad she's back....better than before and ready for big big things to come. Paula, if you're reading this....get ready for the grammy's!!!
Please buy this record and listen to it over and over again...Play it while on the treadmill or at an itimate candlelit dinner party. Something for every music taste.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A worthy return to the music industry, September 19, 2007

By 

KHE (Connecticut) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Courage (Audio CD)

Unfortunately, too many people just know Paula Cole as "the girl who wrote that Dawson's Creek song." I strongly encourage everyone to give this disc a good listen. Her familiar brilliant songwriting, musicianship and singing voice are all here and after listening to her music, I somehow always feel more intelligent. It's always smart, but not inaccessible. To listen to her music, you really do have to "smarten up." The tragedy of so much music these days is that you have to "dumb down" to listen to it and so much of it seems as if it's being prdouced with the lowst common denominator in mind, and thankfully, Ms. Cole doesn't do that. Definately worth the buy!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Welcome back, October 8, 2007

By 

Laura Gail (Greenfield, Ma United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Courage (Audio CD)

I first heard Paula Cole the night before her first CD was released when she performed with Peter Gabriel on his "Secret World" tour. I went out the next day and bought her CD. I have loved her work since that night many years ago at the Tweeter Center.


Like all of her albums this one has some songs I just want to play over and over and over again, and some that I don't really like. She is a true artist, constantly testing the limits of what she can do with her music. I don't mind those less than perfect songs because of what they lead to in future songs.

I didn't know that Paula had anything new out, and happened to see this in the store. I promptly put back the CD I had gone out to buy, bought this one, and ran home. "Comin' Down" gave me goosebumps, but it was "El Greco" that made me sit in the middle of my livingroom floor and weep. Yes Paula, you've done a damn good job of "feeling emotions in a deeper shade...(of being) the one who puts them to song, and liberat(ing) the heartache comin' down."

Thank you--and welcome home, we missed you.