RUMER: THE VOICE OF 2011

Whilst Adele achieved critical and commercial saturation during 2011, Rumer was also a worthy frontrunner for the Voice of 2011.

Rumer [real name: Sarah Joyce, and of Anglo-Pakistani origin] quietly released her debut long-player “Seasons Of My Soul” in late 2010, however with a voice equal parts Karen Carpenter & Dusty Springfield it didn’t take long for the music industry to recognise a major talent in the making.

Within reason, if “Seasons Of My Soul” was released 40 years ago Rumer would be a huge star in the music industry. The songs are written and recorded with real instruments, and in the main tell real stories of which music lovers can all appreciate. Rumer has “lived her life”, and she has the voice to articulate these stories to perfection.

It is interesting to note that Rumer has been endorsed by such music heavyweights as Burt Bacharach, Jools Holland and Elton John. Further to this, Rumer’s vocal tonality is a perfect fit for Bacharach’s melodic song writing style. It comes as no surprise that Rumer has recently worked with Bacharach on his new compositions.

Whilst “Seasons Of My Soul” has been critically acclaimed and sold well in Europe, it is far from perfect. The media has focussed on the songs “Slow” and “Aretha” [the latter of which sounds similar to Corrine Bailey Rae’s “Put Your Records On”], however my favourite track is the bouncy opening song, “Am I Forgiven”. Rumer’s voice can’t be faulted on any track, however the collection leans too heavily upon brooding “torch” songs. Rumer shares the writing credit of the long player’s original songs with her mentor, Steve Brown, however CD Number Two would benefit from the inclusion of some tracks from writers external to their inner circle. The three cover versions [David Gates’ “Goodbye Girl”, Cilla Black’s “Alfie” and Steven Bishop’s “It Might Be You”] all work well to a degree, noting that Rumer has now sung the definitive version of Bacharach & David’s “Alfie”.

Rumer is no overnight sensation, and “Seasons Of My Soul” is one of the better long player releases of the past 12 months, notwithstanding a very solid debut collection. Noting that Adele is suffering from media & vocal overload, it will be very interesting to see whether Rumer can attain global popularity whilst Adele stays out of the limelight. With a voice as pure as one has heard, Rumer deserves to be a success. How ironic that an extremely talented musician raises her presence in an era where marketability presides over substance…