Author: Ndegeocello, Meshall

Format: Import

Release Date: 30-10-2007

Details: Amazon.ca Meshell Ndegeocello's seventh studio album opens with the curious "Haditha." The track's warnings of apocalypse are as resistant to easy interpretation as they are (potentially) ironic in light of contemporary world news. But that's Ndegeocello for you. The inimitable bassist, songwriter, and nine-time Grammy nominee has ecstatically defied pigeonholing of any stripe since breaking into the spotlight with 1993's Plantation Lullabies. Here, she returns with the most genre- (and, as usual, sometimes gender-) bending work since 1996's Peace Beyond Passion. Ndegeocello's elastic bass playing, breathy crooning, and career-long resistance to the low-currency melodic aesthetic of outright pop music remain, but nevertheless, these 13 songs pack plenty of superficially new calling cards, including a penchant for the vocoder, recurring bilingualism, and guest appearances by jazzmen Pat Metheny, Jason Lindner, and Robert Glasper. Casual fans can recall Ndegeocello's early successes with the unapologetic return to pure funk workouts on display in songs like "Michelle Johnson," "Headline," and "Solomon." Even in its duller moments--the flaccid ballad "Shirk," the truncated sax solo that closes "Virgo," rainbow messages from God ("Elliptical")--this record fails to depart from the serious verve that has kept this artist relevant and refreshing for years. --Jason Kirk

UPC: 600753019351

EAN: 0600753019351

Languages: English

Binding: Audio CD

Item Condition: New