0 Sly Stone - Thank You! Review

• Review
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 01/24/2024

I love this in-depth story about Sly Stone: Thank You (Faletttinme Be Mice Elf Agin). He tells the whole truth and nothing but the truth in his electric 2023 musician memoir, co-written by Sly with Ben Greenman.  During my entire professional radio career I played Sly's music: the hits, the heavies, and the near misses. Mr. Stewart's word-driven, song-laden, narrative timeline is accurate and all-encompassing as he tells the Sly story. The book is long. It's almost 300 pages before you get to the selected discography and other back of the manuscript matter. Who is Sylvester Stewart, the architect of the hit making Sly & The Family Stone machinery? Sly enters the world of Denton, Texas in 1943. He says "a little while after I was born, we moved out to California." He and family settled in Vallejo, a port city that was the home of the first naval shipyard on the west coast. Soon there were seven members in the family unit. Sly recalls that music was front and center as the eighth sibling of the clan. Sly became a jack of all instrument trades playing piano, keyboards, bass, guitar and other melody maker devices, joined by his eventual Family Stone brother Freddie (on guitar). The whole family rejoiced together singing gospel songs at home and at church. They bonded through the chorus of praise.  After high school, a strong music theory teacher at Vallejo Junior College was a big influence. Sly credits instructor David Froehlich for helping him "recognize chords, scales, intervals, and rhythms." He says he "learned how to learn," crediting Froehlich for his appreciation for "music as a language." We learn how Mr. Stewart acquired the sobriquet "Sly." Not how you might think! Before jumping into music full-time, the medium of radio knocked as a possible opportunity. If you want a broadcasting job, you have to be aggressive. Our hero explains how he got his first radio gig at KSOL San Francisco after completing training at the Chris Borden School of Modern Radio Technique. Listen to this aircheck of Sly Stone at KSOL inside my blog post from 2006: The Secret Life of Sly Stone. Singing and Playing Simple Songs Progressive forward thinking creative people at Black radio stations always open up the song airwaves to multi-cultural artists. KSOL was a Black station. Sly took some heat in 1964 for including "Beatles, Stones, Bob Dylan, and Mose Allison" in his on-air playlist. This era was the heyday of the three minute or less hit song. Stations could jam in more ads by playing short records so artists created those records! Sly emphasizes his philosophy of writing short tunes throughout the book. Even in the radio studio, Sly was never far from a musical instrument. Styling the thank you words If you've ever watched a Sly Stone talk show interview, you may have noticed his innate ability for non sequiturs. The Random House Dictionary defines them as "an inference or a conclusion that does not follow from the premises." So when Sly says "arrest records were my new records" or "I didn't really keep score except when it came to scoring" (talking about good and bad days), you know this is authentic and this is the real Sly. The book uses this technique to move the story along. Another of his gems: "if I wasn't straight, I didn't have much interest in being straightforward." Producing hits While still at KSOL, Sly shares anecdotes about early success producing hits for Bobby Freeman "C'mon and Swim," and both "Laugh Laugh" and "Just a Little" by the Beau Brummels. Sly Stone shares ideas and interacts with a who's who of performers, stars, and musicians. He has a lot of interaction with Bobby Womack, Billy Preston, George Clinton, and others. George 'Mr. P. Funk' Clinton is at the center of a famous story related by Sly. If you've watched the documentary "Tear the Roof Off: The Untold Story of Parliament Funkadelic," this birthday suit story is shown in the film and recalled by Sly's summary in the book. Sports, Cars, and Everyday People Sly loves boxing and collectable cars. He talks fondly about interactions with Muhammad Ali. He lustfully describes his army of personal automobiles. Everything is on the table during his story. Mr. Stewart wanted an everyday people concept for his band Sly & the Family Stone. "White and Black together, male and female both, and women not just singing but playing instruments." It's 1967. Sly was missing shifts at KSOL. He hops across The San Francisco Bay to Oakland's KDIA. The interracial Sly & The Family Stone drop "A Whole New Thing" into the marketplace while Sly is still at KSOL. This collection of songs showed some promise but received mixed reviews. By the time "Dance to the Music" is released, the legend of Sly as a saint, sinner, and performer takes off. I've written about seeing Sly & the Family Stone live at both The Apollo Theater and at Bill Graham's Fillmore East during the same short period in NYC. Sly touches on this dynamic in "Thank You..." At these two shows I sensed the tension in the Black audience uptown, and the welcoming embrace of the white audience downtown. Let's face it. Sly & the Family Stone were not the Temptations wearing matching suits. When "A Whole New Thing" was released by the Epic record label, Sly describes the Family Stone band outfits as "eclectic." Sly recalls label chief Clive Davis asking "if I thought that our fashion might distract people from the music." Sly said no, continuing "it was fashion but it was also a feeling" responding to Davis. These songs took off in 1968 and 1969: "Dance To The Music" "Everyday People" "Sing a Simple Song" "Stand" "I Want To Take You Higher" "Hot Fun In The Summertime" "Life And Death in G & A" (Georgia and Alabama) by Abaco Dream "Everyday People," "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mic Elf Agin)" in 1970, and "Family Affair" in 1971 are the three Sly & The Family Stone number one records. Between all of the girl friends, marriage, children, talk show appearances, problems with promoters, gun culture, drugs, and dogs, Sly details the progression of his music year by year alongside his personal and professional challenges. Each book chapter summarizes a couple of years through his timeline. There are so many behind the scene stories that this element makes Thank You (Faletttinme Be Mice Elf Agin) a book you won't want to put down.  Sly discusses all of his album covers and why specific art was used. You'll discover what really happened between Sly and Larry Graham, his bassist who left and went on to score Graham Central Station music fame. Sly gets into expressing how hip-hop artists have sampled his music. He likes this and thinks that sampling their music in his tracks might be wonderful to try out! He says "working on music settles his mind." There are unsettling stories within the prose about his experiences with the drug culture that I don't need to detail. Read the book to learn more. There's also a nice explanation about the "no show" reputation he was branded with and the justification he offers for why he missed so many concerts. Sly made his reputation with the Family Stone performing at some of the biggest shows: Woodstock, Isle of Wight, Summer of Soul (The Harlem Cultural Festival), and others. In the later years new musicians would come and go passing through the Family Stone circle of players. There's a good story about the original group's induction into the Rock Hall of Fame. We learn what was said, and who was there. Sly talks candidly about superstars Michael Jackson, Prince, and James Brown. He knew them all and has lots to say about them. Mr. Stewart shares his practice to use cameras and microphones to keep tabs on the pulse of the action inside of his home front. He is a tech guy. I give him credit for moving smoothly from the analog world into the digital age. His music production benefited. He got interested in using computers. He mentions the digital audio editor Pro Tools that was used to lay down tracks. Sylvester says his Alexa smart speaker "let's me request any song I want." As Sly now navigates through his eighties, I'm happy that this book was finally written. It's his story in his words. This is how he did it. Sly says he loves to read 'how to' books. Here is his. There's much more that I haven't touched on. Now it's your turn to discover more! I got the hardcover and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Back in the day, Sly was and still is one of my favorite all time artists. If you are curious about what shorty song clips I used in the video, here they are in order: "Higher" "I Want To Take You Higher" "M'Lady" "Love City" "Sing A Simple Song" "Dance To The Music" "Hot Fun In The Summertime" "Everybody Is A Star" "Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin" "Everyday People" "Family Affair" "Life" All photos of the record labels are from my personal music collection. I learned during the early Sly era to finally stop putting numbers and my initials on vinyl records! Big Apple Showtime The pictures below are from my May, 1969 Fillmore East program. Yes I was there. Seventeen years old. You'll notice that Sly's birthday is wrong in the group biography. I supply the correct date in the Denton, Texas paragraph above!  A Nice Bonus! This 12" single from my collection was released in 1986 with former Time guitarist Jesse Johnson recording "Crazay," featuring Sly Stone. "Crazay" became a number two R&B hit. Jesse has Sly's name in pretty small print on the front cover! Can you even read it (in purple)? The top photo is the front of the 12" single. Underneath is the flip side that features Sly.     Previous Post | Next Post

0 Ode To Hip Hop 50 Albums That Define 50 Years of Trailblazing Music

• Review
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 09/06/2023

Ya gotta hear some hip-hop tunes before reading further about Kiana Fitzgerald's marvelous book Ode To Hip-Hop: 50 Albums that define 50 Years of Trailblazing Music. Here are two quick audio snapshots from songs you might know. "Empire State of Mind" from Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys (2009), and "I'll Be Missing You," a number one song in 1997 by Sean "Puff Daddy / P. Diddy" Combs and Faith Evans. Your browser does not support the audio element. 2023 was the year of 50 years of hip-hop tributes Many people jumped on the nostalgia tribute bandwagon this year commemorating a musical genre most thought would disappear faster than a disco cover song. By September, 2023 it became quite easy to separate the wheat from the chaff. The great projects stood out from the duds. I was extremely happy to add Kiana Fitzgerald's fresh hardcover book to my library. Ode To Hip-Hop: 50 Albums that define 50 Years of Trailblazing Music is an A+ project.  Kiana picks hip-hop artists and songs representing these decades: The 1970s The 1980s The 1990s The 2000s The 2010s The 2020s Wow! What an ambitious project. The meticulous nature of the research, storytelling, and wonderful prose is peppered in the pages with colorful illustrations by illustrator Yay Abe. The book that needed to be written My music anthropology captures real life experiences primarily with R&B, soul, rock, pop, disco, and jazz. Those are my strengths. Ode To Hip-Hop fills in lots of missing pieces absent from my own personal familiarity. Don't get me wrong. I have some of the records, and have seen live in concert Whodini, Beastie Boys, RUN-D.M.C., Salt-N-Pepa, KRS-One, Public Enemy, Busta Rymes, Ludacris, DMX, and many others. If your love affair with hip-hop has been platonic or hardcore, you will gain wisdom through the well vetted facts Kiana Fitzgerald presents in this book. Her music centric story begins in the early 1970s examining the explosion of a new underground trend flying under the radar in the Bronx, New York. The vision of Sugar Hill Records cofounder and CEO Sylvia Robinson is illuminated as a highlight of this decade. Kurtis Blow, RUN-D.M.C., Salt-N-Pepa, Eric B. & Rakim, N.W.A., plus other artists jump from the pages as you learn more about the 1980s. As we move on through the decades, virtually every year within the 50 year span receives a well written summary focusing on one or more artist. The introduction to Ode To Hip-Hop: 50 Albums that define 50 Years of Trailblazing Music should not be overlooked. Fitzgerald digs deep into her rationale for creating this outstanding, well written, carefully researched and colorfully crafted resource. The book has both visual and cerebral appeal. In her conclusion on page 178, Kiana says "from selecting albums to research to writing, working on this book has been the adventure of a lifetime." She continues "there has never been a culture-shifting, trendsetting invention such as hip-hop." I agree. Hip-hop is truly an American art form that has planted roots, blossomed rhymes, and bloomed beats as a bright rose of popular modern music, performing its lingo in different languages all over the world. Previous Post | Next Post

0 Tina Turner and Her Black Sister Diamond Queens

• Review
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 05/31/2023

Very well written, investigative narratives pop out from the detailed pages of "Black Diamond Queens: African American Women and Rock and Roll." Published in 2020, author Maureen Mahon does an exceptional job chronicling a history of Black women's influence on the rock genre. During the COVID pandemic, I attended a live Zoom presentation where Mahon talked about her book. I recently finished reading Black Diamond Queens. My favorite two chapters are "Tina Turner’s Turn To Rock" and "The Revolutionary Sisterhood of Labelle." First, watch my video tribute to Tina Turner (1939 – 2023) honoring her legacy:  I reference in the video a quote by Maureen Mahon about how Tina Turner was able to make the transition from R&B / soul to rock. Maureen states that "The book's title lifts a lyric from "Steppin in Her I. Miller Shoes," a song Betty Davis wrote in honor of her friend Devon Wilson, a black rock and roll woman who was, she sings, "a black diamond queen, a woman who loved and lived rock and roll." Before getting into the substance of the book, I'm going to address the style of Mahon's writing. Black Diamond Queens is written by a woman who is a trained cultural anthropologist. Maureen also teaches in an "ethnomusicology program in a music department." Often there are very long sentences. The prose is scholarly, and sometimes pedantic. However, after the first 30 pages, the soul of the stories come to life written, with more informality to make the chapters very accessible and readable. Mahon presents short interview dialogue in the chapters with her and others questioning the artists. The author thanks Merry Clayton, Sarah Dash, Betty Davis, Gloria Jones, and Beverly Lee for speaking to her "about their experiences in rock and roll." I won't go through every chapter, but will highlight many of them for you. Use Black Diamond Queens as a reference, or as an exhaustive read, written with rigor. There was always recorded music playing on turntables in Maureen Mahon’s home during her younger years. She listened to rock radio as a teenager. At Northwestern University just outside of Chicago, she played jazz on the student radio station, WNUR-FM performing DJ duties. Mahon talks about how she and friends would take public transportation from Evanston to Chicago to see local concerts featuring nationally touring acts. Despite her eclectic tastes ranging from Joan Armatrading to the Clash to the English Beat, the author says that "in high school and college, I learned that my interest in what was understood as "white music" was not what people, Black or white, expected." The racial dynamic is thoroughly addressed throughout the book as a counterpoint to the predominant white, male image of rock and roll. You'll learn about the progression of 'race music' to 'pop music' to 'rock and roll' and then to 'rock.' The chronology of "Black Diamond Queens" begins with a nice chapter about Big Mama Thornton. Mahon says that Thornton is a "bridge figure between the blues women of the 1920s and the rhythm and blues women of the rock and roll era." There's an acknowledgment on a few pages in the book about Sister Rosetta Tharpe. I would also recommend Gayle E. Wald's book "Shout, Sister, Shout!: The Untold Story of Rock-and-Roll Trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe" to learn more. Tharpe was another rockin' Black female original during the same time period as Thornton. Mahon says that Big Mama Thornton's "arrangement of her 1953 hit single "Hound Dog" anticipates the sound of rock that departed from the horn-centered style of rhythm and blues…" Another Thornton song “Ball and Chain” is referenced. We learn that 10 covers of the Thornton "Hound Dog" (she had the original version) preceded the version by Elvis Presley in 1956. I did not know that 1953's "Bear Cat" by Memphis DJ Rufus Thomas was an answer to "Hound Dog" and the battling covers! The author reveals in a few Thornton quotes that Elvis never gave Thornton anything for "Hound Dog." Thornton also says that Elvis refused to play with her when he got famous. As the book moves along, Lavern Baker's story is detailed next. By the time we enter the 1960's, although I was only 8 years old, I do remember hearing Passaic, New Jersey's the Shirelles, and many of their hits on the radio. The Shirelles were the first all-female vocal group to have a number one pop hit in the rock and roll era. Crossover appeal elevated this group into the mainstream. I often wondered in the early 1970s why many of the rock and roll bands all toured with Black female background vocalists. There is a great picture of the English band Humble Pie in chapter four of the book: "Call and Response" with the Blackberries, an African American female vocal trio. The Blackberries sang with Humble Pie on tour and on record. "Call and Response" is a great chapter. Maureen Mahon has a thing about the Rolling Stones song "Brown Sugar." She goes into a lot of detail in chapter five: "Negotiating 'Brown Sugar.'" Earlier in the book she explains why she never liked the song. "Negotiating Brown Sugar" expands on the implied sexuality and social messages Maureen feels were telegraphed by this song. Chapter Six: "The Revolutionary Sisterhood of Labelle" is fascinating. We learn what Patti LaBelle really thought about the group's transformation from Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles to Labelle. There's much more in Black Diamond Queens including the important chapters on Betty Davis and Tina Turner. Clocking in at 282 pages, there's an additional 100 plus pages with end notes and an index. What I like most about the book is the meticulous research and the fact based detail reflected in all of the stories. If you want to discover more about African American Women and rock and roll, this is your definitive resource. Previous Post | Next Post

0 Whitney Houston: I Go To The Rock Gospel

• Review
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 03/24/2023

I wasn't expecting much, but boy I certainly was not disappointed. Posthumous song collections dropped into the marketplace after a superstar passes away always create a nagging suspicion about performance quality. Is it sustained? Is the material as good as the other old chestnuts by the artist in their prime? A pop music albatross weighs down Whitney Houston's musical glow for this project. That might leave gospel purists to seek out a higher calling from a more glorious angel to sing this music. If you are not necessarily a gospel music fan, the attraction of Whitney's name might draw you to these songs. Just released for 2023, here is "I Go To The Rock: The Gospel Music of Whitney Houston." It is delightful, but not perfect. Many gospel styles echo from the fourteen tracks. I rate 11 of the 14 tracks at "B" or above, an eighty percent positive rating. By far the best track is the first, the contemporary "I Go To The Rock." The Georgia Mass Choir soars through a magnificent crescendo with Whitney before the pair takes off in an up-tempo call and response exchange. "I Go To The Rock." Definitely an 'A.' Note that I have a CD. You may want to download the MP3 tracks and listen in any order.   "I Go to the Rock" (with The Georgia Mass Choir) "Jesus Loves Me" "He Can Use Me" (Previously Unreleased) "Joy to the World" (with The Georgia Mass Choir) "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (Live VH1 Honors) (Previously Unreleased) "Testimony" (Previously Unreleased) "I Look To You" "His Eye is on the Sparrow" "Hold On, Help is On The Way" (with the Georgia Mass Choir) "This Day" (Live VH1 Honors) (Previously Unreleased) "I Found a Wonderful Way" (Previously Unreleased) "Joy" (with The Georgia Mass Choir) "I Love the Lord" (with The Georgia Mass Choir) "He / I Believe" (Live at Yokohama Arena, Japan) (Previously Unreleased)   Six of the tracks are previously unreleased. You might be motivated to grab the songs just to hear for yourself how they sound. "He Can Use Me," one of the previously unreleased songs, is a torch light 'holy ghost' ballad exploding with emotion. At three minutes, thirty seconds into the song, 'Whitney goes off' for the last minute belting out a lot of vamping. Her testimony detracts from the composure of the song. Houston offers "Joy To The World," with the Georgia Mass Choir, previously released on Whitney's "One Wish, The Holiday Album." I've always felt that her version is good, but overproduced and not at the 'A+' level of either the gritty Aretha Franklin version, or Mariah Carey's bouncy fun romp through the classic. "Bridge Over Troubled Water" with CeCe Winans gets an 'A-.' The previously unreleased song was recorded live on the VH1 Honors show in 1995. Looking for the best R&B / soul version of the iconic Paul Simon penned hit? Look for the version by Aretha Franklin. An 'A' track is "His Eye is on The Sparrow." This traditional-public domain song captures the delicate nuances of Whitney's voice. She's accompanied by just a piano and organ. A choir does punctuate her vocal acuity within the last minute of the song. On the older CD format, I would have stacked the songs in a different order. One track that was correctly placed last is "He / I Believe," recorded live at Yokohama Arena in Japan. This sounds too "Bodyguard." The arrangement includes a glowing saxophone staccato statement. She starts the song by proclaiming, "This starts our gospel segment. Do you like gospel music?" She receives just a soft murmur from the crowd. Perhaps it was her English, a possible barrier to some of the Japanese speakers in the audience. You will find some surprises among these songs. "I Love The Lord," with the Georgia Mass Choir is a 'B+.' Whitney tackles the slower ballad with gusto. This song gets a '+' for the long 'in the clear' string arrangement closing the track. Overall, I would recommend "I Go To The Rock: The Gospel Music of Whitney Houston." Yes, she can sing gospel music. Her pop style does infiltrate many of the songs, but she has the pipes, finesse and vocal range to be taken seriously singing this music. Whitney Houston is not Shirley Caesar, or Mahalia Jackson, so a pure hardcore gospel style is not what I expected when I learned about the "I Go To The Rock" project. I never thought of "I Look To You" as a gospel song. To me, it was Whitney Houston pop. Clearly there is some genre bending going on across these songs. Many of her fans will appreciate hearing the artist packaged within the context of gospel. I did, perhaps you will too. Previous Post | Next Post

0 Alicia Keys - A Major - In Songs In A Minor

• Review
• by Kingsley H. Smith and guest
• 06/10/2016

You may have enjoyed Alicia Keys' lucky thirteen. That is the number of her songs we played during Powerhouse Radio streaming days on Live365. Four of them were from songs in A minor released in 2001. Preezy from The Boombox reinforces why Alicia Keys was the real deal for music fans yearning for something new. Read How Alicia Keys' 'Songs In A Minor' Album Mastered The Art Of Classical Soul at Boombox. Previous Post | Next Post

0 Corrinne Bailey Ray

• Review
• by Kingsley H. Smith and guest
• 05/14/2016

This picture was taken at a private performance in Washington, D.C. I've always liked Corinne Bailey Rae's songs. Her magic is groomed from the Deniece Williams songbird school but wedded inside of the unique 'Corinne rhythmic vocal style.' Tim Jonze gives you more of the back story in "Corinne Bailey Rae: The Heart Speaks in Whispers Review – Sweet, Smooth Soul" at The Guardian.   Previous Post | Next Post

0 Charles Bradley And His Classic Soul Odyssey

• Review
• by Kingsley H. Smith and guest
• 04/16/2016

What's the one thing both Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley have proven? It's never too late to find success in a late blooming career as a performer/record creator. Darryl Sterdan in the Toronto Sun has written a nice summary about the perilous path travelled by Charles Bradley. Charles morphed from an anonymous advocate singing R&B to a known architect crooning the classic soul style. Old school soul may be in the twilight days of mass popularity but that fact is an inspiration to Charles. Read Mr. Bradley's thoughts about music in "Soul singer Charles Bradley on crafting a career out of heartbreak" at the Toronto Sun. Previous Post | Next Post

0 Mysterious Soul: Prince and The Revolution

• Review
• by Kingsley H. Smith and guest
• 02/27/2016

We discovered an article we think you'll like. Guest Pitulah analyzes at Noogatoday with a lot of background why Purple Rain by Prince was such an outstanding achievement. Read "Record Bin: The mysterious soul of Prince and The Revolution's "Purple Rain" by Pitulah. Previous Post | Next Post

0 12 Standout Male Blue-Eyed Soul Singers?

• Review
• by Kingsley H. Smith and guest
• 10/02/2015

When you review Rob Patterson's list of the 12 Standout Male Blue-Eyed Soul Singers you may see a few people that you don't know. I only agree with 6 people out of 12 on his list. Can White people sing "Black" music effectively articles always amuse me. You are the ultimate judge whether or not the vocal interpretation is authentic to the bone, or should I say soul. Scan the article, watch a few of the sample videos, and decide for yourself who is the real deal on the best classic bands website! 12 Standout Male Blue-Eyed Soul Singers Previous Post | Next Post

0 Jill Scott In Her Own Groove

• Review
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 09/16/2015

Jill Scott has paid her dues. Scott's slow to medium tempo tunes don't compete with dance floor favorites. They don't have too. It doesn't matter. The living my life like it's "Golden" lady has carved out her own niche. You should enjoy this Jill Scott feature below:   Woman: The confessions of R&B singer Jill Scott below was written by Hiram Lee and originally appeared at wsws.org. ---------- American R&B singer Jill Scott has been making music for 15 years now. In addition to her successful singing career, she has also written poetry and appeared in a number of films, including the interesting James Brown biopic Get on Up (2014). While not quite a household name like fellow R&B performers Beyoncé, Alicia Keys or John Legend, Scott has garnered a significant following and earned the respect of her peers. Her new album Woman debuted at number 1 on the Billboard charts when it was released in July. Born in 1972 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Scott was one of several R&B singers to emerge at the end of 1990s and in the early 2000s as part of the so-called "neo-soul" movement. While maintaining connections to hip hop, these performers (D’Angelo, Raphael Saadiq, Erykah Badu and others) took most of their cues from classic soul and R&B. Marvin Gaye, Al Green and Donny Hathaway were significant reference points. Scott’s early singles "A Long Walk" and "Gettin' in the Way” epitomized the neo-soul style. They featured rich bass guitar lines that wound their way in and out of the path of strutting drums and the always shimmering electric piano. One was struck by the flexibility and warmth of Scott’s voice. Her latest work is tougher. Though some songs hark back to her earlier recordings, the new material is less relaxed, less "cool." There is less jazz, perhaps, and more blues. Among the most successful songs on Woman are those done in collaboration with producer/writer Aaron Pearce. "Run, Run, Run," is a propulsive R&B number that digs in and grabs the rhythm with both hands. Scott belts it out, but never puts on pretenses—she doesn’t use her songs as mere vehicles to demonstrate her vocal prowess. The fast-paced number, with its relentless bass guitar thumping away the seconds of an exhausting day, recounts the story of someone "overworked, underpaid" who has to keep going all the same. "Gotta put food on the table," sings Scott. The narrator is pulled along by her tasks (and the music) almost in spite of herself. "Can't Wait," co-written and produced by Andre Harris, is something of a companion track. Its most memorable verse sees Scott singing, "We all running the same race/Just to pay some bills/Staring monsters in their face (with grace)/You’d be so proud/Money made, bills to be paid/Like each and everybody/But baby I need and I need you." There is at least a touch of the real world in songs like these, a hint of the pressures bearing down on working people. Not all of the songs are so meaningful, however. For all her talents, Scott has a tendency to get in her own way at times. Her spoken word interludes ("Wild Cookie," "Say Thank You," "Lighthouse") are pretty weak and delivered with a little too much self-importance. "Prepared" goes even farther in that direction. The song comes to us in the form of a disjointed series of confessions, large and small. It provides a snapshot of the artist's thinking and day to day concerns, which, in this instance at least, prove to be regrettably narrow. "I’ve been reading my old journals," sings Scott. Among the more banal observations that follow, Scott informs us that she's "been eating more greens." "I've been getting recipes off the internet," she sings later. "I let the queen inside—I let her shine," she adds. "I've been listening for God more, I've been doing my chores," she assures us. What can one say about a song that treats matters as small as adding spice to a dish as though they were major turning points in one's life? This is self-involvement turning into self-parody. It is a song that bears the burden of middle class self-involvement and notions of self-empowerment that dominate neo-soul and “conscious” hip hop. It is not an easy task to sing about oneself without only singing about oneself. When an Otis Redding or an Aretha Franklin approach a song, they bring something else to it, something true to life and not just their own lives. You finish listening to Redding’s "I've Been Loving You Too Long," and you feel as though you've gotten something off your own chest. And he does it without about half as many words as today's singers. In some respects, it is unfair to compare Scott to figures like Redding and Franklin. But why shouldn’t one ask more of art, even when considering the most talented musicians? There is a tendency on the part of some listeners to approach the work of someone like Scott or similar performers and say "At least they aren’t backward or just talking about money and jewelry all the time like all the other stuff." But is that asking enough? For all the hip hop grooves and spoken word flights of fancy, it is the blues which makes the biggest impact on the album, and a song from Redding and Franklin's era. It is a real pleasure to hear Scott's version of Jerry Ragovoy's "You Don't Know." Ragovoy (1930-2011) was the producer/composer responsible for such remarkable songs as "Get it While You Can," "Time is On My Side," "Piece of My Heart" and "Cry Baby." A relatively straightforward blues ballad, "You Don't Know" nevertheless speaks volumes. Scott really comes to life in the performance. She is very much at home in this material, perhaps sensing she has something more substantial on her hands. Jill Scott is a performer of real talent. She's a commanding presence on the stage, in particular. The best moments on Woman are well worth hearing, but there is still that nagging unevenness about the whole thing. Previous Post | Next Post