Katie Melua - The House

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:04
Size: 108,6 MB
Art: Front

(2:57) 1. I'd Love To Kill You
(3:48) 2. God On The Drums, Devil On The Bass
(3:44) 3. Twisted
(5:15) 4. The House
(4:04) 5. The Flood
(3:27) 6. A Happy Place
(3:47) 7. A Moment Of Madness
(4:20) 8. Red Balloons
(4:36) 9. Tiny Alien
(2:54) 10. No Fear Of Heights
(3:39) 11. The One I Love Is Gone
(3:26) 12. Plague Of Love

The House is the fourth studio album by British-Georgian singer Katie Melua, released on 24 May 2010 by Dramatico. This is Melua's first studio album not to be produced by Mike Batt. The first single from the album, "The Flood", was released on 17 May 2010 and was written by Melua, Guy Chambers and Lauren Christy. The second single "A Happy Place" was released in July 2010, featuring a remix of the track by Sparks. The third single "To Kill You With A Kiss" (called I'd Love To Kill You on the album) was released at the end of November 2010. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_House_(Katie_Melua_album)

Personnel: Katie Melua - lead vocals, guitar; Tim Harries - bass, piano on track 12; Luke Potashnick - guitars; Steve Donnelly - guitars; Henry Spinetti - drums; Arden Hart - keyboards

Additional musicians: B J Cole - pedal steel on tracks 1, 5, 9; Dominic Miller - guitar on tracks 5, 9; Jim Watson - piano on track 2; Keith Brazil - drums on track 3; Paul Stanborough - mandolin on track 2; Fergus Gerrand - drums on tracks 2, 6, 9-11; William Orbit - kalimba on track 6

The House

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Katie Melua - Love & Money

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:56
Size: 82,9 MB
Art: Front

(3:34) 1. Golden Record
(3:58) 2. Quiet Moves
(3:45) 3. 14 Windows
(2:48) 4. Lie In The Heat
(3:11) 5. Darling Star
(4:37) 6. Reefs
(3:35) 7. First Date
(3:39) 8. Pick Me Up
(3:26) 9. Those Sweet Days
(3:20) 10. Love & Money

In 2023, Katie Melua celebrates the 20th anniversary of her debut, having earned a legion of fans with her indie folk that fuses elements of blues and jazz. The Georgian-British singer returns with her ninth studio album and first release since 2020, Love and Money.

Opener Golden Record is a departure from what listeners might expect: built around a repetitive drum beat, it’s a long way from her early acoustic work, though still bringing her distinctive, haunting vocals. Quiet Moves continues the sonic shift, more upbeat in tempo and piano-driven – Melua is clearly at ease straying from her comfort zone. 14 Windows will feel more familiar to fans, a comparatively stripped-back listen.

The stunning Darling Star is a beautiful piano-based track that ranks as one of the best on the record, capturing the warmth and depth of the singer’s voice. Meanwhile, Reefs is an almost indie-sounding offering that doesn’t quite come off on the same level as some of its counterparts, but it is a pleasing risk.

The overarching sound here feels looser than in previous work, a deliberate move that feels befitting of the more introspective, reflective nature of the lyrics about her rise to fame over the past two decades and first moving to the UK. This is one of the artist’s most personal releases and spotlights her well-known songwriting ability.

It is a welcome development to see Melua stretching herself musically, employing instruments and genres that we haven’t heard from her before, and proving her vocals and composing style can diverge, often seamlessly. While her soothing delivery is as appealing as ever, the songs themselves tend to meander, resulting in a frustrating record that doesn’t quite hit the peaks it might, in spite of some beautiful moments.

Love and Money is an ambitious record from Katie Melua that is close to home. The stylistic shifts are intriguing, leaning into some unexpected directions, with piano ballads interspersed with drumbeat loops and indie guitars that don’t distract from the strength of the songwriting. The soft nature of some of the tracks can at times be a tad repetitive but, overall, this is another strong album. And, as her ninth, it proves Melua still has a lot to say and is willing to push herself, exploring new sounds something that should be applauded, even if it doesn’t always land perfectly.By Christopher Connor
https://www.theupcoming.co.uk/2023/03/27/katie-melua-love-and-money-album-review/

Love & Money

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Katie Melua - Album No. 8

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:16
Size: 85,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:07) 1. A Love Like That
(4:27) 2. English Manner
(3:36) 3. Leaving the Mountain
(3:35) 4. Joy
(4:55) 5. Voices in the Night
(3:20) 6. Maybe I Dreamt It
(3:46) 7. Heading Home
(3:25) 8. Your Longing Is Gone
(3:26) 9. Airtime
(3:36) 10. Remind Me to Forget

A beautifully orchestrated album that perfect complements Katie Melua’s unique heartfelt vocals. Album No. 8 was born from a period of exploration and self-discovery, going back to basics and enjoying the creation of something new. Melua’s study of short fiction, musical and literary inspirations provided the spark for the creation of the lyrics. From opener A Love Like That to the closing notes of Remind Me To Forget, the album sparkles the senses delicately and calmly. In between, Voices In The Night slips into a gentle jazz groove with Melua’s voice gliding over the top. The themes hint on personal experiences of love and loss. Lines such as, “I think we’ve given love too much airtime” questions the prevalence of blatant love songs all around us. Melua has a more subtle approach and focuses on experiences and how each one enables us to grow. Uniquely, most of the vocals were recorded during the last studio session as a back-up. Producer Leo Abrahams knew Katie had something more in her and she managed to give “one of the most extraordinary performances I’ve witnessed in the studio”. Altogether the album is indeed a joy to listen to. https://narcmagazine.com/album-review-katie-melua-album-no-8/

Album No. 8

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Katie Melua - Live in Concert

Styles: Vocal And Guitar
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 85:33
Size: 197,8 MB
Art: Front

(2:33)  1. Tu Ase Turpa Ikavi
(3:42)  2. Plane Song
(4:32)  3. Belfast
(3:33)  4. Nine Million Bicycles
(3:59)  5. Just Like Heaven
(3:41)  6. River
(4:21)  7. Dreams on Fire
(2:07)  8. Cradle Song
(4:37)  9. All-Night Vigil - Nunc Dimittis
(4:52) 10. O Holy Night
(3:15) 11. Diamonds Are Forever
(4:50) 12. Perfect World
(2:12) 13. The Little Swallow
(4:01) 14. I Cried for You
(4:36) 15. The Flood
(4:32) 16. The Closest Thing to Crazy
(3:41) 17. Piece by Piece
(6:37) 18. Wonderful Life
(3:56) 19. Fields of Gold
(5:10) 20. Maybe I Dreamt It
(4:36) 21. What a Wonderful World

Plucked from music-school obscurity by songwriter/producer Mike Batt, Katie Melua quickly became the highest-selling female musician in the U.K., a feat that owed much of its success to her wildly popular 2003 debut. Melua was born in Soviet Georgia in 1984 and later moved to Belfast, Northern Ireland. Her family pulled up stakes several years later and relocated to London, where Melua entered the B.R.I.T. School for the Performing Arts & Technology. The record industry-funded school had a habit of graduating talented artists like Floetry, and Melua became its next success when a 2003 showcase caught the attention of Batt, who'd been looking for a vocalist capable in both jazz and blues styles. Call Off the Search, her debut album, was issued in the U.K. in November 2003 by Batt's own label, Dramatico Records. A comfortable, tasteful blend of jazz vocals, pop style, and adult contemporary sway, the album featured two cuts penned by Melua (including a tribute to one of her biggest influences, Eva Cassidy), as well as covers of material from John Mayall, Randy Newman, and the James Shelton classic "Lilac Wine." The single "Closest Thing to Crazy" hit number one in December, and by January of the following year, Call Off the Search had gone platinum (300,000 units in the U.K.). It continued selling copies for years, eventually going platinum six times.

Gigs in Europe followed, and in May 2004 Melua made her way to the U.S. for a round of club dates in support of the album's domestic release. She achieved even greater success with her 2005 follow-up, Piece by Piece, a heady blend of worldbeat and jazz-pop that topped both the international and British charts before setting its sights on the U.S. market in 2006. The similarly jazz-inflected Pictures followed a year later, and the concert recording Live at the O² Arena appeared in 2009. In 2010, Melua delivered the studio effort The House, which widened her sound with production from techno mastermind William Orbit. Two years later, she returned with the orchestral pop album Secret Symphony, featuring arrangements by longtime producer Batt. Melua finished out her six-album deal for Batt with 2013's similarly orchestral-leaning Ketevan. Named after her given birth name, the album featured the singles "I Will Be There" and "The Love I'm Frightened Of." Well received, it peaked at number six on the U.K. charts. In 2016, Melua returned with In Winter, her first holiday-themed effort and first album after parting ways with longtime collaborator Batt. Recorded in her native country of Georgia with the all-female Gori Women's Choir, In Winter featured original material from Melua alongside a cover of Joni Mitchell's "River" and several traditional classical holiday songs. ~ Johnny Loftus https://www.allmusic.com/artist/katie-melua-mn0000101522/biography

Live in Concert

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Katie Melua - In Winter

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:27
Size: 82,3 MB
Art: Front

(1:46)  1. The Little Swallow
(3:25)  2. River
(4:24)  3. Perfect World
(1:43)  4. Cradle Song
(3:31)  5. A Time To Buy
(4:07)  6. Plane Song
(3:43)  7. If You Are So Beautiful
(4:05)  8. Dreams On Fire
(4:15)  9. All-Night Vigil - Nunc Dimittis
(4:23) 10. O Holy Night

A gorgeously rendered holiday-themed effort, In Winter finds singer/songwriter Katie Melua backed by the 25-member Gori Women's Choir. The album is Melua's seventh studio production and first since parting ways with longtime collaborator Mike Batt. Recorded in her native country of Georgia (Melua left with her parents at age nine), In Winter is a lushly produced, thoughtfully conceived album featuring arrangements by esteemed choral composer Bob Chilcott. An acclaimed institution, the Gori Women's Choir are famous for their haunting classical harmonies. They prove a superb match for Melua, who both sings along with the choir and frames herself against its angelic, delicately layered harmonies. Although the album is technically a holiday-themed work, it's not a cheery collection of yuletide favorites. Instead, Melua delivers a handful of ruminative and lyrical originals, many inspired by her memories of growing up in what was then the Soviet Union, as well as the complex and often heartbreaking history of Georgia's civil war. She also weaves in several well-curated covers, including poignant renditions of Joni Mitchell's "River," Sergey Rachmaninov's "All-Night Vigil-Nunc Dimittis," and the hymn "O Holy Night." Melua even finds room to sing in Ukrainian, opening the album with a magical rendition of the traditional song "The Little Swallow," whose melody is better recognized to Western audiences as "The Carol of the Bells." These are warmly arranged, beautifully executed recordings that capture the stark, introspective beauty of a rural Eastern Europe in winter. ~ Matt Collar https://www.allmusic.com/album/in-winter-mw0002979418               

In Winter

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Katie Melua - Ketevan

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:24
Size: 102,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:14)  1. Never Felt Less Like Dancing
(5:03)  2. Sailing Ships From Heaven
(3:02)  3. Love Is A Silent Thief
(2:59)  4. Shiver Ans Shake
(3:35)  5. The Love I'm Frightened Of
(3:38)  6. Where Does The Ocean Go?
(3:35)  7. Idiot School
(3:23)  8. Mad, Mad Men
(3:43)  9. Chase Me
(2:48) 10. I Never Fall
(4:18) 11. I Will Be There

Having reunited with her longtime mentor, former Wombles singer/songwriter Mike Batt, for her 2012 symphonic album, Secret Symphony, vocalist Katie Melua continues in an orchestral vein with her sixth studio album, 2013's Ketevan. Much like its predecessor, Ketevan is a languid, often cinematic-sounding album that builds upon Melua's talents as an interpreter of other people's material as well as her own songs. Having taken a creative detour to work with electronic producer William Orbit for 2010's The House, Melua once again returns to her roots as Batt's protégée. Raised in the Eastern European state of Georgia, Melua moved with her family to England when she was eight. Batt discovered the then 19-year-old Melua while she was attending the Brit School of Performing Arts in 2003. Subsequently, they have worked together on most of her albums. Taking its title from Melua's Georgian birth name, Ketevan features songs and arrangements from Batt, as well as contributions from his son Luke Batt. Melua also earns a handful of co-writing credits herself, as on the sinewy "Love Is a Silent Thief" and the '60s-influenced torch song "Chase Me," both of which beautifully showcase her crystalline technique and softly soulful style. As with other Melua/Batt productions, Ketevan also serves as a vehicle for Batt to flex his melodic skills as a songwriter and arranger. A veteran of '70s bubblegum pop, Batt has also experimented with rock opera and adult contemporary music, all of which he brings to bear on his work with Melua. Here, he frames Melua's voice in grand, sweepingly romantic arrangements on songs like "Sailing Ships from Heaven" and "I Will Be There," which sound something like Kate Bush singing Scott Walker compositions. Similarly, the Melua/Mike Batt/Luke Batt-composed "Where Does the Ocean Go?" is an ambitious folk-inflected epic inspired by poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner." Fluid and utterly gorgeous, Ketevan is a unique and delicate vessel. ~ Matt Collar https://www.allmusic.com/album/ketevan-mw0002558370

Personnel:  Katie Melua – vocals;  Tim Harries – bass;  Mike Batt – piano, accordion, harmonium, backing vocals;  Dan Hawkins – bass;  Luke Batt – guitar, piano, drums, percussion;  Joe Yoshida – drums;  Henry Spinetti – drums, percussion

Ketevan

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Katie Melua - The Katie Melua Collection

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:40
Size: 141.2 MB
Styles: Adult alternative, Pop-Rock-Jazz
Year: 2008
Art: Front

[4:12] 1. The Closest Thing To Crazy
[3:16] 2. Nine Million Bicycles
[4:19] 3. What A Wonderful World
[3:59] 4. If You Were A Sailboat
[3:24] 5. Piece By Piece
[3:25] 6. Call Off The Search
[4:39] 7. On The Road Again
[3:12] 8. Mary Pickford
[3:59] 9. Spider's Web
[3:39] 10. Thank You, Stars
[3:36] 11. I Cried For You
[3:25] 12. Crawling Up A Hill
[3:05] 13. Tiger In The Night
[3:12] 14. Toy Collection
[3:49] 15. Somewhere In The Same Hotel
[2:58] 16. Two Bare Feet
[3:23] 17. When You Taught Me How To Dance

With combined U.K. album sales of nearly three million copies, Georgian-born Katie Melua has quietly become one of the biggest-selling female artists of the decade. Without the media profile of Britney Spears, the powerhouse vocals of Anastacia, or the critical acclaim of Dido, her success has been based purely on old-fashioned songs that have managed to have appeal beyond the usual folk-pop market. Indeed, just like her biggest influence, Eva Cassidy, who appears here on a posthumous cover of "What a Wonderful World," Melua's soothing and jazz-tinged tones found an audience through repeated plays on Terry Wogan's BBC Radio 2 show. So the fact that the majority of The Katie Melua Collection never really moves past first gear shouldn't come as any surprise. But what her detractors may call dull, others may call refreshingly simple. Indeed, her back-to-basics approach sometimes works wonderfully, particularly on her two biggest singles, the naïvely charming "Closest Thing to Crazy" and the Celtic-inspired "Nine Million Bicycles," one of the most lyrically unique love songs of recent times. Elsewhere, "I Cried for You" showcases Melua's heartfelt, impassioned vocals to full effect, while the dramatic "Spider's Web" is a decent stab at a rock-led political song. However, the less-is-more production sometimes renders the songs so nondescript that it's hard to remember anything about them. And the likes of "Call Off the Search" and "Crawling Up the Hill" do little to dispel the unwanted Norah Jones comparisons. However, the three new tracks, Melua's first since her split with longtime collaborator Mike Batt, suggest a different direction for album number four, with the jaunty big-band party song "Two Bare Feet" a particular highlight. Overall, this is a comprehensive roundup of a surprisingly successful, if fairly unadventurous, first chapter of her career. Without the aid of her chief songwriter, it will be interesting to see how she develops from here. ~Jon O'Brien

The Katie Melua Collection

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