Call off the Search [ENHANCED]

Katie Melua

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 8, 2004)
• Original Release Date: November 3, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Dramatico Entertainment
• ASIN: B000255LB6
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (78 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,080 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Call Off the Search was released in the U.K. in November 2003 to deserved acclaim, alongside countless declarations that this 19-year-old British music school-educated, Russian-born singer is "the next Norah." There are similarities--Melua does work within a jazz/blues idiom, is talented beyond her years, and concentrates more on classics than her own material (ten are covers and two originals). But she's far more of a classic showbiz type singer than the sultry and sophisticated-sounding Jones. On the single "The Closest Thing to Crazy," for instance, Melua's phrasing is pure show tune. But it works for her, as it did for Lena and Liza before. The only weak link resides in a few straightahead blues songs, notably the 12-bar stomp "My Aphrodisiac Is You." Melua has the talent, she just lacks the soul to put oomph into a song that namechecks the Kama Sutra (this is as it should be, of course, as she's a teenager, but the choice of material is suspect nonetheless). Melua is a great torch singer who deserves the spotlight; odds are you'll eagerly await her next album before you're even done listening to this one all the way through. --Mike McGonigal

Product Description

Call Off The Search is the 2003 debut album from Georgia born singer/songwriter Katie Melua. The album is a mix of contemporary adult pop, jazz, blues and world music. This limited special bonus edition features a PAL DVD recorded film called Katie Melua --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Call off the search-I found another sweet songbird, February 3, 2005

By	Daniel J. Hamlow (Narita, Japan) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

In the footsteps of Norah Jones and other new jazz-blues artists comes Katie Melua. Like Norah, she's pretty with those large dark eyes and dark hair. Melua's voice though is of a more girlish and sugary Karin Peris of Innocence Mission-ish tone instead of the crystal clear calmness of Ms. Jones. Melua, who also plays guitar, has Mike Batt as producer, writer of six songs, pianist, and organist on her debut album, Call Off The Search and uses more lush strings on her songs than Jones. For someone looking for something soothing and mellow, check her out.

Indeed, the slow melodic piano, violin, and orchestra on the title track veers more towards the jazz/easy listening side. The title has to do with now that she's found that one, to call off the search. The John Mayall-penned "Crawling Up A Hill" is more on the bluesy side, with jazzy piano arrangements that may be at home on an early Sting solo album, and bewails the tedium of a boring job, where she feels like "my life is like a slow train crawling up a hill."

"How can happiness feel so wrong? How can misery feel so sweet?" sings Katie on the melodic jewel ballad of this crown, "The Closest Thing To Crazy." The strings add to the sadness of the aftermath of an affair, where she discovers the link between "being close to craziness and being close to you."

The humorous "My Aphrodisiac Is You" is a languid piano blues tune where Katie dismisses the rhino horns, Spanish Fly, opium, rubber gloves, or the Kama Sutra, and instead warbles the title. It's a close cousin to Nancy Sinatra's cover of "Let's Fall In Love." Katie strums away on another blues-inflected tune, "Mockingbird Song," although the horns steer it more towards jazz.

Upon hearing the line "the blues will taunt you constantly when you're out in a crowd" in the café ballad "Learnin' The Blues," I remembered the Christmas holidays of 2003, the time heralding my breakdown. Yes indeed, "when you feel your heart break, you're learning the blues."

Another Norah-like tune is "Blame It On The Moon." She does a nice cover of Randy Newman's "I Think It's Going To Rain Today," which with its strings and piano arrangements, make this a highlight. And her closing tune, James Shelton's "Lilac Wine," is a haunting number, on how drinking the sweet and heady lilac wine will make one see what one wants to see, and oh yes, unsteady.

Katie writes two tunes, "Belfast (Penguins and Cats)" an acoustic guitar ballad, and her high note reminds me of Maria McKee, and her tribute to Eva Cassidy, "Faraway Voice." In "Belfast," the idea is how important it is to live, "being able to fly" unlike a penguin, and "dying nine times," in other words living it for all it's worth. As for the other, keep in mind that it was only after Eva Cassidy died of cancer in 1996 at age 33 that she found an audience. "Are you over those hills?/Do you still hum the old melodies?/Do you wish people listened?" she sings, in line with that. Another highlight. And "Tiger In The Night" is another sweet string-laden ballad that may owe as its influence the poem by William Blake, "tiger burning bright/deep in the forest of my night."

Some may dismiss her because she only writes two songs here, as opposed to Norah Jones, but Mike Batt's arrangements, Katie's girlish voice and the way she uses it to evoke the emotions of the songs, and the strings supporting her, do her justice. A great opening shot from Ms. Melua-here's someone with great potential, and maybe someone Renee Olstead should take pointers from. Keep'em coming, Katie!

38 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Melua give Easy Listening a new edge, October 7, 2004

By	Nasser Alqatami - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In the past couple of years, genre revivals have been more than evident. Soul, rock and pop have all had a call-back from the past. The most recent genre to receive the modern facelift is easy listening. With Norah Jones getting so much recognition for her debut, it seems that the queen of laze should be credited for her efforts. Even with all its disappointments and utter lack of quality, Jones' Come Away With It won five Grammies and myriad of loving critics. However, everyone seemed to forget KD Lang's previous efforts, such as the classy Drag and the effervescent Invincible Summer, both albums that delivered easy listening with a modern edge.
Of course, after a revival has proven its success, an influx is bound to follow. Currently Jamie Cullum, Michael Buble and, our subject, Katie Melua all hope to carry the same flag.
It is a musical crime to call Melua "the next Norah Jones" because, quite frankly, this Russian-born chanteuse can easily kick Jones' gluteus maximus. One track on Melua's debut Call off the Search, "Blame It on the Moon," manages to cram more emotion than the entirety of Jones' catalogue.
Moreover, her voice is more direct and less lethargic, as demonstrated on lead single "Closest Thing to Crazy" and the title track.
With her smooth ballads, Melua captures urban life in her anthems of lost love and solitude - it's as if the rush of the city is behind her, but all she could think about is her emotional being on "I Think It's Going to Rain Today."
Other tracks continue in that fashion, with "Belfast" and the country-tinted "Mockingbird."
Then Melua visits the haunting with the closing track "Lilac Wine," which closes off the complete effort with a satisfactory note.
"My Aphrodisiac Is You" could have been eliminated as a b-side along with "Tiger in the Night," however, standout tracks like the magnificent somber of "Crawling up a Hill," all with a London attitude, make up for the mishap.
Melua is the one to look out for. Whether it is a drenching or dry song, when it comes to easy listening, this eighteen year old has got it going on.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Phenomenal voice!!!, May 6, 2006

By	l z i e l (LOS ANGLES, CA) - See all my reviews

Katie Melua has a very unique and beautiful voice. I only found out about her, because of James Blunt, who is another newcomer with wonderful voice and great music. I recently got Katie's CD, and I just love how easy and comfortable she sings. Not forced at all. She's in the same gendre as Norah Jones, but I think Katie has a better voice and sound. My favorites so far in this cd, after listening twice are "The Closest thing to Crazy" & "My Aphrodisiac is you." I'm definitely buying her other CD, "Piece by Piece." I'm very satisfied with this CD, and I'm hoping to see her live performance.