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: #5218 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

"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.

Where'd you run off to, Vanessa? You're being missed.
One of the more talented and precocious young females to emerge within this decade, Vanessa Carlton disappeared way too quickly, and when you think of some of the more successful people she was competing with at the time, this is a sad fact. If you want a fresh, unspoiled talent to listen to, I strongly suggest this album. The smash hit "A Thousand Miles" (one of the most justifiably biggest hits of 2002) is a great pairing of her sweet singing style with her great piano skills, and this song still gets strong airplay on a lot of soft-rock stations nowadays. She also boldly shows off her harder side with her cover of The Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black", which is of course not as good as the original, but still very good when you consider how legendary the Stones were/are.