Sunrise

Okay, right up front I am going to admit something I have only admitted to very few people (Yes I am about to lay something on the table here, brace yourself). I am a HUGE Hall & Oats fan, there I said it and there is no shame in my game. I don’t know what it is or was about their music but I loved it. Bopping my head, tapping my feet, singing along with the song walking down the street, yep that was me. I was that guy and still am for the most part. I don’t have a particularly favorite song of theirs but “I Can’t Go For That” always made me smile when I heard it and I would crank my radio, stereo, or walkman (remember those?) all the way up when it came on. I was a fan because those two rocked and I defy anyone to prove otherwise. So imagine my initial horror when I heard “Sunrise” by Simply Red. At first I was like “dude, WTF?” but the more it played the more I calmed down and my initial disgust became a real appreciation.

I love Simply Red and Mick Hucknall’s voice especially. Songs like “Money’s Too Tight to Mention” and one of my all time favorites “Holding Back the Years” made me a fan and I’m sure pulled you in as well. So I took a keen interest in their music and enjoyed most of what they released. I missed a few albums and a few songs over the years because I became a busy man. Seriously, I was busy but when things calmed down for me I took a walk back through their catalogue and I found this song.

“Sunrise” is a very cool song, easy and breezy which was a staple of Simply’s sound but what grabbed me was the backing music of Hall & Oats classic “I Can’t Go for That”. When the song first hit I felt that hint of familiarity like I’ve heard this song before while never hearing this song before. Then it hit me like a truck barreling down I-95, this was a blatant rip off of my boys. DUDE, WTF? ‘That’s so not cool’ I thought but the damn thing grew on me (no not like a fungus, where is your MIND?) and the more I listened to it the more I loved it. It’s a great morning song as you prepare yourself to get past the burning sands of the day to make it to the oasis that is quitting time and I defy you to NOT bop your head or tap your feet.

The Last Time

This entry is about a song that I doubt very many people heard that was on an amazing album that got very little play. Sadly much of that, oh hell, all of that was due to the artist’s personal life at the time. No one wanted to hear anything by Eric Benet, the guy who checked himself into a clinic for sex addiction, the man who broke Halle Berry’s heart in the process. Even I was one of them. I’m not big into celebrity gossip and nonsense but even I thought “damn, that’s some foul shit”. But one day as luck would have it I was in a music store (hard to believe I know) and I came across “Hurricane” by Eric Benet and if it wasn’t on sale I wouldn’t have looked at it twice. Luckily it was and I decided to buy it. I brought it home and gave it a listen. It blew me away.

I was never really a fan of Eric’s. His voice never really grabbed me, it’s a little on the light side and his songs felt like they were rejected Brian McKnight tunes. His main audience was of course the ladies and they fawned over him until the unforgivable Halle Berry debacle. He was front page cannon fodder and was dragged over the hot coals for a good minute so basically he disappeared and went off to lick his wounds. He re-emerged with “Hurricane” and from listening to it his time away was well spent. It’s a collection of songs filled with regret, hurt, and promise by a man who realized he’s made some mistakes. As I made my way through the material I was impressed that these tunes didn’t sound like rejected McKnight songs and while his voice still didn’t impress me, “The Last Time” damn sure did.

It starts of with a beautiful piano melody and it immediately comes across as a torch song or an old Blue Eyes standard. The orchestration is beautiful, the melody is haunting, and the lyrics are perfect. I went in to listening to this CD that was on sale not expecting much and I‘ve been haunted by this song ever since and sadly this wonderful album was hardly touched and this song was hardly heard. That was a shame. Now please understand that after this CD he went right back to being the weak voiced Benet that I never liked but his “Hurricane” album was the perfect storm. A broken man who had to rediscover the artist that the world beat down and trampled into the ground. He came back and in my humble opinion captured lightning in a bottle and “Last Time” exemplifies that emphatically. Take a listen and see if you agree with me…

The Worst Is Over

Allow me to introduce to you another amazing female vocalist (if you don’t already know of her). Another amazing singer-songwriter who is not a household name yet, Laura Izibor has a voice that’s addictive and her songs are fun and uplifting to her demographic so not all of them grabbed me like this song did. “The Worst Is Over” is simply a great song regardless of the fact that the man is the bad guy. The musicianship is beautiful, the strings lay a lovely bed for Laura’s piano playing and vocals to make this song truly poignant. It’s about getting up again because once you’ve said goodbye, the worst is over. I have known quite a few women who were afraid to cut ties and walk away and every time I hear this song it strikes me like an anthem for them.

Originally from Dublin, Ireland she discovered soul music around 13 years old and fell in love with it when she heard the likes of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, Roberta Flack and others of that era. She’s been dubbed “the soul of Ireland” and when you listen to her you can see why. Her debut album “Let The Truth Be Told” is a collection of hard hitting soul songs that Laura called “her truth” and you can hear that in each song. You can also hear that this wasn’t a thrown together project. In fact it took four years for the 22 year old singer to complete it (yes I said “22 year old”). There’s been no video of this song but I found a live version of it which isn’t all that bad, it gives you a good idea of the song and of her talent.

“The Worst is Over” is that kind of song that will make anyone sit up and listen, it’s not one of those songs that will play meekly in the background and will soon be forgotten. This is a song that is an anthem for those people, not just women that fear taking that step of saying goodbye to someone who doesn’t deserve them. Maybe it’ll even be your anthem, you never know.

Mend (To Fix, To Repair)

I came across this artist completely by accident. I was rummaging around itunes looking for whatever caught my ear and punched in the name of a group I had recently unearthed named Hybrid. I wanted to see if they had anything I had not heard yet and this artists album came up and curious me took a listen. The first thing that caught me was of course her voice. She sounds like a mix between Bjork and Macy Gray which of course is the most bizarre pairing of voices one could ever possibly conceive and yet here she was, in the flesh (so to speak).

Her name is Elsiane and her CD is entitled (of course) Hybrid. I took a listen to this song and was immediately hooked. It wasn’t just her voice that pulled me in but the music backing her made me pay more attention to it than just her voice. It's lush and beautiful and her vocals fit perfectly in with the track. Granted there are times I have no idea what she’s saying but to me that’s not always important, what’s important is how beautiful what I am listening to is and Hybrid is simply beautiful. And the prettiest song on this beautiful album to me is “Mend (To Fix, To Repair)”.

“Mend” is the reason I purchased the entire album of this artist I had never heard of before and I was never prouder of myself and happier with my taking the leap. This album is a cool out and it will not disappoint in any way. It’s great background music to unwind to after a long and stressful day and “Mend” is the song I recommend playing first. Pour yourself a glass of wine, put your feet up and begin your unwind with this track and you will thank me, I swear.

Maybe this song will hit you like it hit me, making me wonder how was it I had never heard of this woman and her music before and maybe like me you’ll want to share it with your friends. Or maybe you’ll just decide to keep this to yourself and enjoy it all on your own, who knows? What I do know is if you listen with an open mind you will come to love this song and it may just make you want to hear the rest of the album. You might want to buy some more wine though.

Finding My Way Back

I wasn’t sure about this song when I first heard it but I have to admit that it has indeed grown on me and is now one of my favorites. It’s put images in my mind of a different time when the landscape was dominated by real singers and there was a group of young men crafting their sound in any acoustic rich area they could find. A time where there was a talent show every week at some venue and these groups came to show their stuff and win the cash prize of the night and the heart of every girl in the audience. Where their suits were impeccable and their choreographed steps were super sharp and they sang their hearts out because they loved doing it and they were hoping that maybe someone in the audience was or maybe knew Berry Gordy.

Robert Townsend's movie "The Five Heartbeats" comes to mind where silky smooth tenors, amazing falsettos, and rich baritones would do battle and the crowd would pick the winner. Call me crazy but I still think that's the way it should always be done and this song conjures up that image for me. Jaheim and his song “Finding My Way Back” is definitely a throwback in my opinion and I could see him and some back up singers doing their thing to win a showcase.

I have been a fan of Jaheim since he first hit the scene years ago but that “thug crooner” image wore thin on me so I kind of left him to his own devices. It seems he’s matured in both sound and image and I may have to start paying closer attention. “Finding My Way Back” is off his latest CD entitled “Another Round” and from what I have heard of the CD it sounds like he’s found his niche and has grown comfortable being one of the best male singers out today.

With a voice that itself sounds like a throwback to the time of Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, Al Green, Smokey Robinson, and The Temptations Jaheim may have finally set himself apart from the R. Kelly’s, the Usher’s, and the Joe’s of the world. Let’s see if he can keep it up now.

Let Me Love You Down

My ongoing love for the voice continues, I hope you don't mind. I have been a fan of Me’Shell NdegeOcello's since her first CD “Plantation Lullabies” and I was enraptured with her classic “Bitter” CD (definitely check that out if you don’t already have it). While I can’t say that I dug everything she’s ever done, she has pleased me more times than she has disappointed me. A gifted musician, singer, songwriter she’s has at times stretched the music envelop and has gone places that I just couldn’t follow but she’s always come back to me with tracks that I couldn’t take off of repeat, like this one.

Originally recorded and released by the 80’s gheri curl group Ready For The World, “Let Me Love You Down” was provocative back then but in the hands of Me’Shell it takes that provocative ness up a few notches to say the least. Off of her lastest CD “Devil’s Halo” “Let Me Love You Down” is the perfect song for Me’Shell to redo. Her voice is a deep baritone and she makes it work for her every chance she gets and it works perfectly on this track. The way this song is arranged, another voice would have sounded ridiculous but her voice is pitch perfect and the lyrics while unchanged sound brand new with her singing them. “Never really mattered too much to me / that you were a little too young for me / all that really mattered was you were my girlfriend / and baby that’s all that mattered to me”.

The second verse gets even better. I don’t usually use this word when describing songs but this song is sultry and it gets even hotter towards the end as the music builds and transforms this tune from a song into something akin to a soundtrack for lovers to do whatever lovers do to make their partners happy. This is pure seduction at it’s finest. Take a listen and let’s see if you agree with me.

Closer To You

Continuing down that path of amazing songs and even more incredible voices I bring to you the one and only Cassandra Wilson and the simmering song entitled “Closer To You”. Again if you haven’t heard of Cassandra before then that must have been one hell of a big rock you were living under since she’s one of the preeminent female jazz vocalists of the day. She may not be a household name either but in the jazz community Cassandra Wilson is a towering talent.

The closest she ever came to mainstream success was when she was on the “love jones” soundtrack with her song “You Move Me”. Blessed with am voice that’s as deep and as raspy as they come without being scratchy and annoying Cassandra’s voice is like a mug of hot chocolate on a winter’s day. It wraps itself around you and doesn’t let go even once the song is finished because you can’t get it out of your head.

She uses that voice to perfection on “Closer To You” off of her “Thunderbird” CD. It’s funkier than you would expect from a jazz vocalist but this just shows that Cassandra can do more than jazz. The song starts out very easy with a subtle piano intro and then the beat kicks in. It’s almost a hip hop beat, the bassline dominates nicely and is the perfect companion to her husky voice. She comes in with “How loud a whisper can get / When you’re walking through a crowded space / I hear every word that you say / I remember that every day / I get a little bit closer to you”.

It’s a song of yearning though that doesn’t really come across until the bridge comes in and the song goes from good to great. The arrangement is top notch and the musicianship is as tight as a drum. You may not have heard of Cassandra Wilson or you may have known of her but wasn’t a fan but this song may just change all of that.

Take a listen and see if you agree with me….