Track Listing

1. A Thousand Miles
2. Unsung
3. Rinse
4. Ordinary Day
5. Twilight
6. Say You Would
7. Pretty Baby
8. Paint It Black
9. Paradise
10. Prince
11. Wanted

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1309 in Music
• Released on: 2002-04-30
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
With her much-anticipated debut, ex-ballerina Vanessa Carlton more than makes good on the promise of her first single, "A Thousand Miles." Augmenting her classical training with a broad range of pop she soaked up playing New York City clubs and listening to classic rock in her father's car, Be Not Nobody finds the phenom decorating her fierce piano playing with orchestration, guitars, and percussion galore. "Prince" is sizzling and funky, while "Ordinary Day" displays a majestic grace and "Unsung" is a stomping blues-bar breakdown. Comparisons to Fiona Apple and Little Earthquakes-era Tori Amos (especially on the haunting "Sway" and "Wanted") are inevitable and justified. Yet Carlton sounds fresh, even on a menacing interpretation of the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black." With the exception of the anemic ballad "Pretty Baby," this impressive debut makes a strong case that a new star has emerged. --Annie Zaleski

Customer Reviews

think michelle branch but with a piano = vanessa carlton
To be honest,at first i really noticed that vanessa carlton looks and sounds alot like michelle branch but with a piano instead of a guitar But too bad she didn't get the kind of fame and number of hits as michelle did even though vanessa is still around today making more music than michelle who i last saw her in that duet with carlos santana.

I think all her fans (including myself) will know her the most for her biggest hit "one thousand miles" just like bic runga will always be remembered for her song "sway", but still i think vanessa is still very tallented regardless of the comparisons to other female singers around when vanessa made this album.

"In the palm of your hand..."
Be Not Nobody is the debut album from Vanessa Carlton. It is not her best as Harmonium and Heroes and Thieves but nonetheless, Vanessa's voice and songwriting showed amazing potential back then. Some of the songs are gorgeous like Ordinary Day, Sway, Twilight, Wanted, Paradise, and of course A Thousand Miles. Some songs don't stick like the previous ones I mentioned but I think Carlton was just finding her voice in 2002 and she more than made up for it with her last two LPs. There are some stunning moments on Be Not Nobody but you want real magic then check out her later works instead. Good luck!

Poetic Beauty
Vanessa Carltons' first atempt in the musical world was an instant hit. Her album, Be Not Nobody, took the world by storm, with lyricly driven verses, and catchy chorus tunes.

The most famous of her first songs, A Thousand Miles, has become a staple of any movie/road trip theme. Here skills on the piano have only helped raise her above the rest of the music world, by giving her that edge few artists ever find.

The best song on the album though, would have to be the first track, Ordinary Day. The semi love song speaks wonders to the true feelings of many young people in their first relationship. And the musicality of the song is undenieable.

Look for her second album to really step up her game.