Customer Reviews

Nine Million Bicycles

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Hard to tell if this best-selling performer will mature into something really special, or fade into one of those "do-you-remembers," like Kiki Dee. I'm inclined to think she is growing in stature. It seems unfair to fault her for corny lyrics when 9 out of 10 greats from the American Songbook have even worse ones. We've just gotten so used to hearing that a kiss is just a kiss. But that seems to be the direction Katie Melua is determined to go.

We're fortunate to have a rich crop of women recording jazz classics right now, ranging from the wonderful Madeleine Peyroux, through Jane Monheit and Cheryl Bentyne to Queen Latifah. Those who also write new material in this genre are a smaller group, but again, how lucky we are to be contemporaries of such artists as Norah Jones and Diane Krall, and what a pleasure and privilege it is to watch their careers unfold.

Melua probably outsells some of these artists already. But can she join them on an artistic level? At the moment, one is inclined to say that her contribution is too soft, too easy, too lacking in life experience.

Some of the songs on "Piece By Piece," like the sweet "Nine Million Bicycles," almost reach the level of classics, but don't quite get there due to the artist's youth. But time, as they say, will take care of that. And with such a wonderful start, surely she will go very far.

I hope that Katie Melua continues to ripen and mature, and finally leaves a lasting contribution.

Greatly looking forward to her next step. Recommended light listening.

"nine million bicycles", while not the very best song on the piece by piece album (my vote is for "thank you stars"), offers a very pleasant sample as to what the creative partnership of katie melua and mike batt are capable of producing. the song and video (superbly directed by the former 10cc frontman kevin godley) have a rather gentle and ethereal quality that i found to be most savory. imagine eating a the most delicious spring roll and then picture what it would be like to sing a song about love reflective of that experience. that's "nine million bicycles" in a nutshell. while some have criticized this type of music for being vapid and airy, i would contend that it is more heartfelt that most anything we are subjected to listening to from our current music culture.
there is something special to be said about delicacy in it's many forms. what we have with this song is another 5 star effort from one of the greatest female musicians/performers alive today. it's worth adding that the 'b' songs on this single, "stardust" (which is a very challenging song to sing) and "market day in guernica" (about the somewhat forgotten destruction of a small spanish town by the german luftwaffe before ww2) are fantastic bonus tracks making this 3 track cd a more than worthwhile listening experience.

I discovered Katie Melua through the BBC, and was enthralled with her music! Especially, "Nine Million Bicycles!" It is a
VERY lovely little song! The music and Katie's voice are incredible. She will surely have a very bright future in music,
and her star will shine long. Here is something interesting
about how "Nine Million Bicycles" came about, that I heard Katie
describe during a BBC interview recently. While Katie and friends were traveling in China---in Beijing---a tour guide giving facts said, "There are nine million bicycles in Beijing."
Immediately after this was said, Mike, Katie's producer and fellow songwriter turned around and said to Katie, "Won't that
make a great song title?" Then, a few weeks later, Mike showed
Katie this new song, she liked it a lot, thought it was a "cute,
quirky" sort of song, and recorded it. And the rest, is history. And I for one, am hoping Katie and Mike will KEEP making more wonderful melodious music like "Nine Million Bicycles."

I don't know why Katie Melua is not more well known in North America. She is truly a wonderfully talented new artist. Her latest album, "Piece By Piece", which I could only purchase through amazon.co.uk (and it was well worth the extra shipping costs), is a terrific follow up to her first, "Call Off The Search". Why is it not available on this side of the pond???

Beautiful songs, miraculous voice. What a pity, there are only three songs on the CD. It's something you would never like to stop listening to. Especially if you are in love...

I don't like paying the the price I did for a CD with only three songs on it!!!!