Hear Corinne Bailey Rae’s Breezy Cover of Paul McCartney’s ‘Bluebird’
Corinne Bailey Rae‘s silky croon is the perfect vehicle for “Bluebird,” the jazzy Paul McCartney & Wings classic from 1973’s Band on the Run. Rae’s laid-back cover was recorded for the upcoming tribute LP The Art of McCartney, which features an eclectic group of singers interpreting staples from the former Beatle‘s songbook. “Bluebird,” available to stream above, finds Rae softening every syllable over fluttering acoustic guitar licks and splashy cymbals.
In the behind-the-scenes clip below, Rae talks about joining the project – which was initiated by onetime McCartney producer Ralph Sall in 2003 – and the inspiration for picking “Bluebird.”
“I liked the kind of Caribbean influence in the song,” she says. “My dad’s from Saint Kitts, and I really liked the fact that Paul looks at these different places in the world and is influenced by them and sort of wants to do his take on the folk music of that particular place.”
The Art of McCartney, out November 18th, features contributions from a wide range of influential singer-songwriters – including Bob Dylan (“Things We Said Today”), Billy Joel (“Maybe I’m Amazed,” “Live and Let Die”), B.B. King (“On the Way”), Smokey Robinson (“So Bad”), Willie Nelson (“Yesterday”) and Barry Gibb (“When I’m 64”), among many others. The vocalists are backed by McCartney’s longtime touring band: guitarists Rusty Anderson and Brian Ray, keyboardist Paul “Wix” Wickens and drummer Abe Laboriel Jr.
Last month, Rolling Stone premiered the Cure‘s take on the Beatles’ “Hello Goodbye,” recorded with McCartney’s son James. Meanwhile, hard rock legend Alice Cooper offered an in-studio glimpse at his reverent version of the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby.”
The album will be available in a wide range of formats, including a standard, 34-track edition (on CD, vinyl and digital) and an expansive 42-track deluxe set that includes hardbound books, a DVD “making of” documentary and more. A deluxe box set, limited to 1,000 copies, will include the documentary, an additional audio doc, an illustrated guide to the set, CDs, vinyl, art cards, signed artwork from Beatles associate Alan Aldrige, a USB drive modeled after McCartney’s signature Hofner bass guitar and a certificate of authenticity.