Artist: Sara Bareilles
Album: What’s Inside: Songs From Waitress
Review Date: 02/04/2016
Sara Bareilles is by all means a famous celebrity but maybe without the shiny nonsense that usually comes along with popular music and that is why I thought this album could be interesting, and it is.
This album contains the songs recorded for a Broadway musical, an adaptation to the previously released movie Waitress. I unfortunately have not seen the movie but this album tells you enough to get a high level understanding of the story. A waitress, of course, who is married and pregnant, falls in love with her doctor. She goes through some emotional challenges like anybody else would in a situation of this type. She is insecure, afraid and is cheating on her husband, she wants to find a stronger sense of purpose in the world. Afterwards she has her baby and “everything changes”, the waitress feels like she was born again.
The album covers some of the most universal love topics. Fear, excitement, affairs, love just happens, closure and some more.
In What’s Inside she oddly starts by taking the ingredients from the pantry but it later makes more sense in how she is just getting what she needs to go on in life. With Opening Up you get a glimpse of a monotonous life, without dreams. Door Number Three again describes a situation that doesn’t change, and she has been through it for far too long, now she is ready for a different adventure.
When He Sees Me is a perfect song to explain that everyone is scared of meeting new people because they might be different from us and everything could go wrong. But there is a deeper fear, what if you like the person but that person doesn’t like you the same way. Then she keeps adding sugar and butter in Soft Place to Land.
Bad Idea is faster song and it definitely stands out musically and lyrically from the rest. The other ones might be melancholic, a little depressive and at the end cheerful. This one is about cheating. A sweet sounding song about two married people who are cheating on their respective spouses. She is aware it’s a bad idea but she postpones dealing with it.
“Let's make mistakes Let us say "so what?" and make worse what was already pretty bad No reason to throw it away when there's love to be had”
She Used To Be Mine was my favorite track because it is the most emotional or soul tearing, she makes it so with her voice. It’s easy for anyone to find something to relate to in this song.
“She's imperfect but she tries She is good but she lies She is hard on herself She is broken and won't ask for help She is messy but she's kind She is lonely most of the time She is all of this mixed up And baked in a beautiful pie She is gone but she used to be mine”
Everything Changes and Lulu’s Pie Song give this story closure, even though we are not told what happened with the love story she finds her true purpose, being a mother, once she has her baby all her life straightens up. And yes, she adds more sugar and butter at the end, just like salt and pepper it can either please you or irritate your tasting buds/ears.
The quality in this album is there and you realize it from the beginning. It’s not only meant to make into the charts, radio or the sorts, it has a stronger feeling and knowing that the songs are made for a Broadway musical it all makes sense. The piano is also very good throughout the record. This album as whole was a pleasant surprise, however I don’t see myself coming back after a couple years longing to listen to it too many times because one of the strongest points it’s the history behind it and if you already know it then it doesn’t give you that much.
Overall rating: 7 out 10.
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