Katie Melua has met with the sort of financial success that most artists can only dream about. And it was the one-card trick courtesy of talent spotter and mass market musical guru Mike Batt. It was the same sort of one-card trick that has rocketed James Blunt to the top of the album sales league in 2006. But the other major factor for chart and sales success is airplay and especially on BBC Radio 1 and 2 that rule the airwaves. PIECE BY PIECE is Melua’s second album and for her the real tester. Melua has vocal talent, of that there is little doubt, while she can also adapt her voice to a number of genres and moods. However, the big question for me is whether she can prove herself as a classy singer/songwriter. Her first album showed faint traces that under the shallow surface of ‘efficient’ Batt-written pop, there may well be a singer/songwriter waiting to burst forth – quality unknown.

Whether singing their own compositions or interpreting the work of others, good singer/songwriters reveal something of themselves in the music they perform. That’s what attracts me to the genre, and it’s why I would have preferred to have heard more Melua music on this album. It opens, almost inevitably, with a Mike Batt composition called Shy Boy. This tells me absolutely nothing about the lady, and although a pleasant enough song I get the feeling that Melua’s heart just isn’t in it, and why should it be? Batt also contributes the album’s second song, Nine Million Bicycles, and another set of pretty ordinary sentiments: “There are nine million bicycles in Beijing, That’s a fact, It’s a thing we can’t deny, Like the fact that I will love you ‘til I die.” Not the stuff of legends… Then, at last, a Melua penned song in Piece By Piece, and things start to get a little more interesting. The song is sung with great sensitivity and empathy, with lyrics that sound pretty ‘real’: “Piece by piece, Is how I’ll let go of you, Kiss by kiss, Will leave my mind one at a time, One at a time.” Nice one Katie!

The second highlight comes with Melua’s cover of Arlen/Mercer’s Blues In The Night which she carries off beautifully aided by some lovely mouth organ playing. The girl can certainly sing the blues… Then a third highlight, with her composition, Spider’s Web, a dark song that lays on the line her view of black/white racism. It’s a convincing performance with a mature set of lyrics, and a strong melody to underpin the song. Blue Shoes is another Batt song but much more interesting with its blues ballad vibe and delicate string, brass and piano accompaniment. The classic Jones/Wilson song On The Road Again sees Melua up to the challenge, helped by a great big band musical arrangement. Next track Thankyou, Stars is almost a duplicate of her original Batt hit single, albeit better, and I’d be surprised if this is not destined to be a single.

The album closes on two very good Melua songs. I Cried For You reminds me of something straight off the Beth Gibbons (Portishead) solo album. It’s haunting and beautifully performed as Melua picks her way gently through some lovely, moving lyrics. I Do Believe In Love is a love song of lighter weight, while still containing some excellent lyrics and another expressive vocal.

PIECE BY PIECE has begun to show the potential that this young lady possesses, and I look forward to the day I witness a live performance to put more ‘meat on the bones.’ It also proves to me that Melua should be allowed to tread a more independent song writing path (to add to that distinctive vocal quality), and that album three should be 100% Melua. Recommended.

3.75/5