Ledisi: SoulsingerSoul Express Album of the MonthReviewed by Barry Towler on August 4, 2000 A choice collectable in years to come. Unmissable!Soulsinger is an apt tag for Ledisi's debut album. Her voice is very strong and can be heard in full glory on the monster retro sounding Take Time which is stunning to say the least.Rating: 10 out of 10
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US LeSun Music, 20001) Get Outta My Kitchen 2) Soulsinger 3) Take Time 4) Stop Livin' in Ya Head 5) Coffee 6) You Are My Friend 7) Hotel 8) Dreaming Interlude 9) Free Again 10) Groove on 11) I Want'cha Babe 12) I Want'cha Babe Interlude 13) Papa Loved to Love Me 14) In My Life 15) My Prayers 16) Good Lovin' 17) Snoring Soulsinger is an apt tag for Ledisi's album. Although young, no crass street flavours or hippity-hoppity arrangements have any truck with this lady! The mood of the album falls into the "Neo Classic Soul" bag and is of similar proportions to Erykah Badu, Grenique and Maxwell, amongst others. This is, as you know, no bad thing. As well as this, this album is very much an independent effort: "home-grown soul" is really coming into its own now - the technological revolution has really kicked into soul music and before too long releases such as this will be the bread and butter of our column - mark my words! A decade or so ago this lady would have been snapped up by a major company - her voice is very strong and can be heard in full glory on the MONSTER retro sounding Take Time which is STUNNING to say the least. The soul-jazz backing with the warm Fender Rhodes keyboards cannot be beaten. Stop Livin' in Ya Head is a straight message on reality - using real instruments to boot! Move over Ms. Badu - Ledisi takes centre stage with this tour de force soul music. Talking of such extraordinary quality I have to highlight I Am Your Friend which has me thinking that this lady is one of the strongest female vocalists to arrive on the scene since Juanita Dailey, and that is no easy feat. If any more proof is needed, Free Again should convince you of the mighty talent on not only Ledisi but also her producer, Sun. This is a consistently good set and one that I guarantee will be a choice collectable in years to come. UNMISSABLE. - Barry Towler Other
Albums of the Month in 2000 |
