Mary wrote:
> I bought
> "Who is Jill Scott?" and I love it! ... still,
> Michael, if
> you have any other
> suggestions I'd like to hear them.
Awesome! I like her live album, _Experience 828_,
even better. It was just released w/ a second disc of
mostly so-so studio stuff, but some great hidden
tracks. 12 minute rework of "Love Rain" and an
awesome "Long Walk" (probably my fave song of hers).
Another great new R&B record is the latest Maxwell,
_Now_. He's finally learning to mold his great
grooves into actual songs, and there are some
interesting lyrics here and there ("I could do better
/ but there's no one quite like you"!). Prince's
influence shows up all over the place.
And what better place to push my fave yet
again--Me'Shell NdegeOcello. Three albums, all of
them stellar. The most recent _Bitter_ is a mostly
acoustic/rock-oriented affair produced by Craig Street
(Cassandra Wilson) with plainspoken and searing lyrics
about infidelity, breakups and, ultimately, hope.
Also includes an awesome duet with Joe Henry. I wrote
a review of this album a while back that I might
resend just for fun if I can find it.
I saw Me'Shell in concert this past Saturday,
previewing material from her upcoming March album.
The new stuff sounds something like a stew of the
first three with a strong dash of Parliament thrown
in. She's using the speak-song vocal style of the
first album (and its fiercely political lyrics) a lot,
over rock-ish arrangements but with the beat funked up
a bit and some '70s style soul jamming a la _Peace
Beyond Passion_. Should be another winner! Her sense
of humor is also coming back to record; my current
signature comes from a character sketch/song she
played this weekend.
--Michael
NP: Common, "The Light"
=====
____________________________________________________
"Grab your ass and your purse."
--Me'Shell NdegeOcello, forthcoming
Check out Yahoo! Shopping and Yahoo! Auctions for all of
your unique holiday gifts! Buy at http://shopping.yahoo.com
or bid at http://auctions.yahoo.com
