Meshell Ndegeocello: RFI

the parts you will be made uneasy by: the slightly sleepy songwriting at times (I thought there would be more hooks), and the consciousness schtick (there's a reason she was asked to contribute to lilith fair vol. 3 hahaha). let neither of those bother you though. it is a little sleepy, but that just means you should get comfy. and content-wise it sounds something like an underground 'conscious' rap album might if made by a woman. and with funk and soul instead of rap.

the bass sound is really fucking excellent. on some of the songs it was straining my fancy headphones almost the whole time! (even most of my rap isn't low enough to do that unless I turn them way way up). a tribe called quest said something on the love movement about how they wanted the sounds to love you, and this album reminds me of that only it does it lots more, and the beats are better. although the scenario remix is a million times better than the (good) red+missy remix here.

guys the new record is really good

ive never listened to her but i have a chance to see her for free. should i go

if you dig jazzy kinda jammy funky shit, yes. it's like ohio players directed by ornette with betty davis singing lead.

you think she sings like betty davis?

not saying i disagree, ive never really listened to her

can't wait to hear it despite being less than impressed with the last one.

you think she sings like betty davis?

-- deej, Friday, November 9, 2007 12:02 AM

Not in terms of vocal quality, just in terms of rawness.

I finally got The World Has Made Me the One Man of My Dreams (the title is kinda pretentious, but I wonder if it's meant to have queer connotations?), and it is pretty great! At first it sounded a bit formless, but now that I've listened to it more I really like the cosmic jamming and all the little intricate details. At the moment my favourite tune is probably "Elliptical". It somehow reminds me of "O Superman", maybe because of the vocal processing and the odd, evocative lyrics.

I really liked the jazz album Ndegeocello put out a few years ago too, but I completely missed Comfort Woman, and now I'm wondering if should get that one too. Does it sound anything similar to these two?

Yeah, I just heard this lately and "Elliptical", "Elliptical", oh holy shit "Elliptical".

wtf @ hoos comparing her to Betty Davis

You know, her upper register is gorgeous in it's own way and I never really knew she had it until I heard this album.

Why does the AMG review claim this album has a bonus track called "Soul Spaceship"? At least my copy hasn't.

ive never really liked her. the 'arent i saying something important' sanctimony of her delivery has always bugged me. and i was never a huge fan of 90s slap bass. but i love her cover of hendrixs may this be love.

theres nothing betty davis about her singing though.

worth seeing live though. saw her when she was doing her jazz album a few years back and then before that for the bitter tour, when she was going through her more serious joe henry ish phase.

I have nothing against "aren't I saying something important" attitude if it's well done. I do agree that she does get a bit self-important at times, but I also like how she deals with subjects that few others in her genre do. I can't imagine anyone else doing a song like "Barry Farms", for example.

Anyway, if you don't like her delivery you should check out the jazz album. She doesn't sing on it at all, and only 3 of the 8 tunes have vocals anyway. "Aquarium" (which is sung by Sabina Sciubba) on that album might be the best song she's ever written.

i think i find her a bit monotone too. but ive not heard her music in years so i might find it different now. agreed that she deserves credit for broaching subjects that not many others do. i need to dig out peace beyond passion.

I finally got Comfort Woman, and it's pretty great, though I think the more varied and experimental stuff on The World Has Made Me... makes it even better. Comfort Woman is much better sexing music though.

2:24 in this tune = one of my favourite moments in a pop song.

This one's like the "O Superman" of the 00s, totally brilliant!

i saw her london show, it was pretty great although utterly, utterly rammed. got chatted up by an incredibly drunk romanian woman who was on her second bottle of wine and kept complaining about the number of "dykes" in the audience. i was like well, you are at a meshell ndegeocello gig you know...

Hahaha!

So, apparently she has a new album called "Devil's Halo" coming out October 6th. I'm pretty excited about this, the more I've listened to The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams, the more I feel it's her best album ever (and it's not like she's made too many bad albums). So my expectations are pretty high for this one.

That news release says the new album is "influenced by a wide breadth of sounds - from The Human League to Wu Tang to Yes". Sounds pretty cool, and something she could actually pull off.

any friend of my brother's is a friend of mine:

"another of the Bunnybrains’ famous fans is acclaimed pop singer and bassist Me’Shell Ndegeocello, who as of late has been collaborating with Seward on a soundscape project. “Being around Dan is experiential and insightful,” she says. “The Bunnybrains are a mind-child that opened the door to my courage.”

That's nice for your brother! She's so cool!

yeah, they live in the same town and hang out. she has played live with his crazy band too.

So, the new album came out this Tuesday, anyone heard it yet? My local music store only gets it next Tuesday, so I have to wait until that. I'm sorta tempted to to download it before that, but then again I like the old-school kind of feeling when you get the actual physical record in your hands, and it's still a mystery before you put it on your record player.

AMG gave it 4,5 stars, apparently it's a more stripped-down and conventional album than The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams. I really like the experimentalism on her previous few albums (especially on The World Has Made Me...), so it's interesting to hear how she pulls off this change of direction.

im totally out of touch with what shes doing these days. though the last thing i heard was a bit laswell-ian in all the base-covering.

fuck im out of town when shes in chi -- and shes playing literal blocks from my apt

New album is really good. Has a great cover of "Love You Down" (feminine nouns intact, of course). That's all I have to say about it at this point, as it seems to demand a good deal of unpacking, which is as I would expect from her.

Ooh, I can't wait until Tuesday to get to hear it!

"Lola" is so awesome, just keeps kicking into higher gears.

The album is very dynamic in general.

And brief! Only 36 minutes. And sexy, but never quite in the ways you expect.

its a weird record but good weird...so much stuff goin on and then seems like a wind is blowing too through it..its mostly trio and sum added geegaws..it was made fast and sweaty...shes gonna be a mother soon and portents are good for even more experimentations to ockurr

Wait. She does change the lyrics of "Love You Down"! She's lusting after a younger woman.

I love this album very much by the way.

does RFI at a fleeting glance look like RIP to anyone? was worried :(

Bitter and Devil's Halo are similar albums but the latter is better because Meshell is more confident in letting the music do the talking and doesn't let herself get tripped up on the confessional lyrics as much.

I'm starting to think she's one of the more criminally underrated artists of our time tbh.

"I'm starting to think she's one of the more criminally underrated artists of our time tbh."

^^^OTFM!

me'shell was incredible last night at the jazz cafe, urge anyone in london who likes that sort of thing to make an effort to see her tonight or tomorrow. she got a bit pissed off at the sound guy (under her breath) "fuck you jason" when he wouldn't sort out some booming they were getting on stage. she also had a cold and seemed a bit uncomfortable with some of her fangirls taking pictures every 10 seconds, but whatever, she was funny and witty and cool and she's just awess on the bass and i didn't realise how much i love some of her songs. if you get the chance to catch her live.. make sure you do!

oh and esp if you're a drum geek...

cuz deantoni parks was mind blowing, as you'd expect- if you like chris daddy dave, john blackwell, spanky etc then i think you'll like him. his schtick is being super tight and very strict with his dynamics, he can play *really* hard and straight and fast so it has this drum machine kind of vibe. did some amazing stuff during the NOIZEier bits of the songs too.

I'm seeing her this Saturday and am considering furiously downloading a bunch of her albums and listening to them as much as I can before then.

But apparently she has 8 albums and they're all supposed to be excellent

Bitter might be my favorite

Devil's Halo kind of made Bitter obsolete as far as dry, dour singer-songwritery Meshell albums go imo

Oh, I covered that last time. Carry on.

hung out w th meshellyfamily last nyte before th trip to Oz..shes gonna play chelseahotel#2,a stevie wonder tune,pop life and jam w john cale...rokk on nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn http://www.melbournefestival.com.au/program/production?id=3752

seeing tonite
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bqhqk9zbkI

this iz dope

yeah, great joint

me and my kinda bf/fling bonded over mutual meshell love

^^^ sounds kinda hot tbh.

ha :D

Tim F -- i just hung out w/ her tonite -- shes flying to melbourne tomorrow & doing a show with sinead o'connor soon -- if u dont go i dont think we can be cool any more

ummmm also her show tonite was uhh incredible?? the covers were fantastic -- im not gonna say any more itll ruin it.

also her drummer!! ftw

envy envy

Yeah, lucky you! I hope someday she'll have a gig in Helsinki.

It took me some time to get used to the sound on Devil's Halo, because it was so bare-bones and, er, "rock" compared to the previous three albums, but now I've began to like the sparseness and bare emotionality on it. I still think The Wold Has Made... is her biggest masterpiece, but Devil's Halo is not the sort of disappointing follow-up I first thought it was.

[Tim F -- i just hung out w/ her tonite -- shes flying to melbourne tomorrow & doing a show with sinead o'connor soon -- if u dont go i dont think we can be cool any more

Um this show is with Rickie Lee Jones as well, I would totally be there except we're talking insane baby boomer prices. Maybe I'll get a loan.

ok well her covers of 'home is where the hatred is' & 'love you down' are A++++

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcSDUjDS0Fs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usFRiZrYsmo

ummmm.... Devil's Halo is brilliant!

Based on the reviews and Tuomas' comments above I was expecting something much more stripped down than The World Has Made Me The Man of My Dreams, and I guess relatively speaking it is, but not nearly as much as I expected. It's more like, this lovely balancing between lush intercelestial stuff and confessional emoting.

ummmm.... Devil's Halo is brilliant!

― Tim F, Thursday, April 21, 2011 8:49 PM Bookmark

I DONE BEEN SAYING THIS GOD DAMN

^^

Look, I can't be up on all things at all times.

Anyways neither of you have perfect records on timely acknowledgment of the brilliance of Me'Shell albums. She seems an artist particularly suited to tardy genuflection.

Naw, sorry I was up on this one with the quickness.

this one.

Anyway let's talk about how good she is rather than try to register priority charges.

I didn't know who she was until a few years ago.

Ugh, sorry about the pissing contest.

I didn't know who she was until a few years ago.

This is what i mean (in a good sense) - Me'Shell seems to get this "wow have I not been aware of this artist" reaction more than just about anyone. She's one of the few artists who actually strikes me as potentially meriting the phrase "iconoclastic" / "ahead of her time" etc. etc.

I loved Plantation Lullabies and Peace Beyond Passion when I was 14, forgot about her for like a decade or more, then got back on board with The World Has Made Me..., and am still scratching my head as to why (a) stopped paying attention in the first place, and (b) didn't check out Devil's Halo 'til now.

Mostly I was vaguely feeling demotivated to check out a rock album from Me'Shell, but of course it's really really really not a rock album.

"wow have I not been aware of this artist"

"how have I..." etc, but the above also works.

her band is amazing. see live if at all possible

Gett Off: Meshell Ndegeocello Covers Prince -- June 16 at the State Theatre in Falls Church, VA near Washington DC:

This could be fun

!

GO.

Is Martin Luther McCoy still opening? If so, GO and do not miss the opener.

The club's website does not list an opening act.

A bunch of videos of this are on the youtubes and they are amazing. And now I am downloading her albums and wondering what the hell I was thinking having never checked her out before.

The musical firepower on that stage is insane. Watch for Deantoni Parks on drums to go absolutely jaw-droppingly next-level on "Something In The Water..."

Video is great but doesn't really capture the full effect...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-G1irLrhFM

from a recent LA Times review:

Accompanied by guitarist Chris Bruce, keyboardist Keefus Ciancia and drummer Deantoni Parks, Ndegeocello only occasionally stuck to Prince’s original arrangements. More often, she’d retain a single identifiable element — the slap-bass line in “Pop Life,” for instance — then adjust everything else around it. For “Little Red Corvette,” she played the verses fairly straight but introduced a fresh chord progression in the chorus. Several songs received comprehensive makeovers, including “Dirty Mind,” which the musicians reconfigured as jittery, Devo-style post-punk, and “I Wanna Be Your Lover,” presented Thursday as a lovely acoustic reverie.

For all the liberties she took, though, Ndegeocello seemed in communion with the deeper currents running through Prince’s songs: the open-ended questions about faith and romance and sex, and about the intersections between them. She closed with two moody avant-soul readings of tunes from the “Purple Rain” soundtrack: first “I Would Die 4 U,” then “Purple Rain.” As she sang both, you could hear her still making decisions about music she’d already loved for decades.

-- Mikael Wood

Bitter is one of my favorite's of anyone, a top-5 desert-island one for me. So if Devil's Halo is anything like it, I have to get that.

"favorites"

http://therickeyvincentblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/meshell-ndegeocello-does-prince.html

Funk book author Rickey Vincent liked the show too:

I have never bothered to listen to Ndegeocello but the clips of her and Jason Moran's "new project that transforms (Fats) Waller's rollicking stride piano style into contemporary dance music" on this NPR segment sound intriguing:

http://www.npr.org/2011/05/13/136274480/jason-moran-takes-fats-waller-back-to-the-club

is she going to release an album with prince covers ?

I haven't read that anywhere yet

great live performer. great great great great

note that i may have already said that itt

came to post some prince cover videos

at one point she says something like "he was better before he found jehova" to a mixture of boos and cheers, haha, brilliant

can't wait till she comes back the UK, easily my best show in recent memory

my favourite, i think

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJRpsUasUjI

i think this is officially the summer of prince

Apparently she's doing a Gil Scott-Heron cover show in NYC on the 6th!

New album coming out- press release excerpt below:

Produced by Grammy-winner Joe Henry (Aimee Mann, Solomon Burke, Ani DiFranco), Weather is the latest addition to Meshell’s diverse catalog. A strikingly organic record, the album finds Meshell experimenting with the sparse, orchestral melodies paired with thoughtful lyrics, all performed by a band of fearsome musicians. The album opens with the title track “Weather,” a spacey, soulful groove that sets the stage for the rest of the record. Tracks like “Oysters” and her cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Chelsea Hotel” find Meshell constructing hushed ballads, centered around mournful piano. These tracks are juxtaposed with Meshell’s defiant, soulful stomps on songs like “Rapid Fire” and “Dirty World.” The album also features all-star collaborations with the likes of Chris Connelly (ex-Revolting Cocks, Ministry), Benji Hughes, and Joe Henry.

I'm not a fan of Joe Henry's staid, antiseptic NPR-safe soul production efforts. Hopefully this will avoid those production technique straightjackets

there was a possibility cee-lo was gonna be on this..

hope it's got a lot of chris dave or at least deantoni parks...

http://www.hardcandymusic.com/2011/08/meshell-ndegeocello-dirty-world.html

new track available

this is gooooood

very promising

This isn't doing a lot for me right now? Maybe just cause I want good summer vibes at the moment. Might grow on me tho.

I'm diggin' it. Initially wanted it be more straight-forward, but it's cool.

I'm not sure about Dirty World. I still love her voice and that bassline is like wow but the rest of the song doesn't really hang together around it. Especially the chorus. But that bassline...

She seems an artist particularly suited to tardy genuflection.

LOL. Am listening to Comfort Woman and Man of My Dreams for the first time tonight, and both are Terrific!!! Man of My Dreams seems esp. well done!

Article 3!

like, LJ needs to listen to ^this song rfn!!!

Yeah Man of my dreams is amaze.

The whole Cookie -> Comfort Woman -> Man of My Dreams -> Devil's Halo run is brilliant.

who do u see as a fantasy meshell collab??

Todd Edwards?

dâm-funk?

paul white?

Metallica

metalndegeocello

ben frost

Metallica

rob trujillo on bass and meshell on lead bass

John Mellen...oh wait

Idk, maybe Steve Arrington?

Drugs, get in the outloud room. I have to play you something.

http://www.npr.org/2011/10/30/141666180/first-listen-meshell-ndegeocello-weather

NPR is streaming Weather

love this album. "oysters" is spellbinding

oh cool, this album rules just like all of her albums rule

Bit like a proggier Bitter.

Woah, I wasn't looking at the track list, and the "Chelsea Hotel" cover comes out of nowhere!

kind of thought this was maybe her most direct/immediate album since the '90s. the lyrics are just gorgeous.

the moment on "oysters" when she murmurs "everybody talking 'bout changing the world / the world ain't ever gonna change / but you can always change it for me..." <3 <3 <3

prince covers : http://uheardat.blogspot.com/2011/08/meshell-hearts-prince.html

a friend of mine just played drums with her on a gig (not a meshell gig, backing up arooj aftab...anyone go to that?)

The NYC club listing below is not clear--are they playing Pakistani music?

An incredible incredible stupendous stupendous group of humans will walk and run and dream and weep through an evening of songs by Arooj Aftab and Grey Mcmurray.

The Sea Gazing Family Band for the night of October 29th 2011 will be:

Arooj Aftab
Mathias Kunzli
Joshua Valleau
Conor Elmes
Norman Vladimir
Grey Mcmurray
and Meshell Ndegeocello

pakistani jazz?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLvAAzEOqM0

I'm loving the Prince covers gig...sounds incredible...who she playing with??

On the Prince gigs she's been accompanied by guitarist Chris Bruce, keyboardist Keefus Ciancia and drummer Deantoni Parks,

Liked my first listen to Weather last night...

think my favorite meshell album is still the world has made me the man of my dreams but weather one might be second? it's restrained in comparison to both world and devil's halo but it still has all this detail.

man the "chelsea hotel" cover is just completely draining to listen to, in the best way

this is on spotify by the way

i love how the differences in mood and performance between the intimate love songs where she's cocooned w/her gf and the bleak heartbreak songs are so slight and subtle that the whole album ends up variations on one overall mood

lex convinced me to listen to this and this is great!

if prince released an album this good all the rock critics in america would collectively shit their pants at once

Collective Soiled

This album is kind of too subdued for its own good? Enjoying the live Prince covers a lot more.

i'm disappointed with this new album, i miss the flights of melody.

live in London tonight iirc

This album is kind of too subdued for its own good?

i don't hear that it's any more subdued than meshell usually is...

i am going tonight! first time i'm seeing her live. hyped

Here's an excerpt from a review of her last week at a club near Washington DC

One must not show up to a Meshell Ndegeocello show with a set of expectations based on listening to one or two of the records she’s made over the past two decades. On each outing, she embraces a new set of creative impulses and totally immerses herself in them when bringing the recordings to the stage. On Tuesday at the Birchmere, an artist known for nasty funk and sultry rapping gave a delicate performance that fit the spare character of her recently released “Weather” album.

To watch Ndegeocello is to observe a musician who bares naked emotion that creates connection while still being staunchly committed to doing things her way. And that means disappointment for the exuberant fan who repeatedly shouted for 1993’s provocative dance jam “If That’s Your Boyfriend (He Wasn’t Last Night).” It was clear it wasn’t going to be that type of party once she quietly took the stage accompanied only by her guitarist and eased into an acoustic take on the melancholy love song “Grace.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/vocalist-meshell-ndegeocello-embraces-her-soft-side/2011/11/16/gIQABeUGSN_story.html

so she's like the r&b jandek then

http://soundcloud.com/naiverecords/meshell-ndegeocello-petite

^^^^ that is amazing

second fantastic ndegéocello/migs collab of late after this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKg7jiRwlCY

she has a new album out tomorrow called "Pour une âme souveraine (A dedication to nina simone)".

!!!!

oh wow, i saw that she was doing a tribute tour (a la prince), but didn't think she would do a record.

i have a gig the night she comes to town, but purposefully took the opening slot so i can go see her. :)

I will have to check that out

yeah her prince tribute was a+, nina will be aces

Is the album gonna be covers of Nina Simone songs? I love both Simone and Ndegeocello, but I'm not sure if she's the best to cover her... Would love to be proven wrong, though.

tracklisting on Amazon plus a few details below

1. Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
2. Suzanne
3. Real Real (feat. Toshi Reagon)
4. House Of The Rising Sun (feat. Toshi Reagon)
5. Turn Me On
6. Feelin' Good
7. Don't Take All Night (feat.Sinead O'Connor)
8. Nobody's Fault But Mine (feat. Lizz Wright)
9. Be My Husband (feat. Valerie June)
10. Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair (feat. V
11. See Line Woman (feat. Tracy Wannomae)
12. Either Way I Lose
13. To Be Young, Gifted and Black (feat. Cody Chesnutt
14. Four Women

Meshell Ndegeocello, the American singer-songwriter, rapper, bassist and vocalist and her musicians Chris Bruce (guitar), Jebin Bruni (keys), and Deantoni Parks (drums) recorded a tribute to Nina Simone and play some of the tracks made famous by the icon of black music. Meshell also invited a few guests to take part of this dedication to Nina Simone, such as Sinead O'Conner, Lizz Wright, Valerie June, Toshi Reagon and Cody ChesnuTT.

I don't know why she didn't record an album of Prince covers...the clips of her doing them in concert sounded great...

i bet that would get into some weird territory both legally and personally, i read somewhere that they're not exactly close personal friends? would love to hear that record though.

otm

Yep, Prince might try to block it. For an interview with her that I did, she said:

Ndegeocello, who said in a 2000 interview that her goal was to tour as Prince’s bass player, answered a bit cryptically when I asked if she had ever performed with him. “He's an amazing musician, an amazing player, an unparalleled creator. He wasn't the nicest dude to me.”

prince why u gotta be mean 2 our girl?

I mean could/would Prince block that...I mean I know he's not as keen as Larry David on the whole lesbian issue but that would be a whole nother level of 'WTF'...oh yeah I forgot...he's Prince...

The versions of "See Line Woman" and "Four Women" are so good. I kind of wish the guest vocalists would go away tho.

fuck. The World Has... is a masterpiece.

I mean, I already knew I loved this album but it's completely undoing my head right now.

:D

fuck. The World Has... is a masterpiece.

― Cap'n Hug-a-Thug (The Reverend), Friday, October 26, 2012 9:53 AM (9 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

otm

that album cracks my head open slightly wider every time i listen to it

kinda f'ed up world when she's probably best known for that van Morrison cover mellencamp did years ago, she's basically a genius.

yeup

Otm

my brother celebrating his birthday the other night!

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/c0.0.403.403/p403x403/261250_10152596907085298_83951970_n.jpg

! <3

WHOA

super cool!

new song! new album!

http://i.imgur.com/CbyXOnt.jpg

http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/av/2014/04/song-premiere-meshell-ndgeocello---conviction.html

https://twitter.com/OfficialMeshell/status/458005316215775232

bang bang

"past is prelude aint it" is one of the all-time beef shots ever fired, lolling all day about it

song is amazing shade is amazing meshell is amazing

ha, she had said before that Prince had said some not so nice things to her but I always assumed it was regarding her sexuality

sooo excited I get to be in the same room as her in a couple days ^__^

fans of Meshell’s will no doubt be intrigued by her cover of Whodini’s “Friends”, a seminal hip-hop track originally released in 1984. Commenting on her inspiration for choosing this song, Meshell explains: “I play with a lot of people who play improvisational music and jazz, and I thought it would be fun to take something that they might think of as easy or straight-forward, and do something different with it. I also like how language is morphing, and 'friends' is such a malleable word, I don't even know what it means anymore.”

yeah i'm so psyched for that. cover of "love you down" on devil's halo is all time

this new song is not getting enough love, it's really something

it sounds so good

Sup.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/t31.0-8/10285609_10202515722309063_5770421182052930679_o.jpg

<3

Cool!

:D

o

m

g

rev = hero

revvvvvvvvvvvv

O_O

Awesome!

Her thoughts at the keynote ruled.

fyi this album is amazing

halfway through it struck me that, despite being VERY different artists, meshell is one of very few singers whose aesthetic could be compared to sade's

Direct quote from booklet:

Thank You Naïve
Thank You Girlie Action
Thank You Reverend

that's me! :D

revvvv

http://www.npr.org/2014/05/25/314280889/first-listen-meshell-ndegeocello-comet-come-to-me

Some nice tunes here

listening now, the groove on 'Forget My Name' is so sick.

interviewing her in an hour!

Whoa rev!

really dig this record. it's less directly melodic and rhythmically shifting than her last few but i'm into that, these are really gorgeous, discrete explorations of mood and groove. "continuous performance" is my favorite i think

the "friends" cover kicks so much ass

yes

idk, I don't think I've loved one of her albums in its entirety since Devil's Halo but I'm always willing to sit down with them and try to work them out

same, but weather felt more disorganized than this one

Really must get this.

Yeah, Weather might be my least favorite album of hers, this one definitely has more going on.

New album is fantastic. Perhaps not as out there as TWHMMTMOMD or as raw as Devil's Halo, but super super pretty. It feels like a nice summation of her previous 4 "proper" albums.

ha i disagree with everyone (except re: the quality)!

i think it's her most direct, most accessible, most straightforwardly melodic album in years and years, possibly since the '90s. (when i talked to her she talked about this being more spontaneous and less heavy than other recent ones)

weather is possibly my favourite of her albums, full stop, though it's not a definite thing and a large part of it might be "oysters", but i've definitely never thought of it as disorganised, whereas this one shares with the new tori amos a v freeing sense of there being no overarching theme or sound, just "some songs, here you go"

favs so far are "forget my name" (which has the same vibe as sade does when she does reggae), "choices", "folie à deux" (well, "conviction" and "friends" are the two immediate standouts obv)

Well i for one definitely agree with:

"i think it's her most direct, most accessible, most straightforwardly melodic album in years and years"

I like Weather a lot too, though probably slightly behind those mentioned in my last post.

http://music.thetalkhouse.com/talks/meshell-ndegeocello-talks-michael-jacksons-xscape

I'm actually not wowed by the cover of "Friends" but do like much of the rest of the release.

huh i think devil's halo is her most outwardly melodic record though perhaps not straightforwardly (and perhaps it just hits a specific sensibility for me that the new one interestingly eludes)

i do like weather more than rev. "objects in the mirror"! kinda crash-lands with the chelsea hotel cover though

haha i remember reading this thread, downloading devil's halo, and getting immediately overwhelmed by "slaughter"

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2014/06/02/meshell-ndegeocello-on-why-d-c-got-rid-of-go-go/

I interviewed her a few years back circa her Prince tour, here's a colleague's interview with her re the new album and her DC go-go and more roots.

xpost "spontaneous": yeah, was thinking it seems more like continuous takes, live in the studio, whatever the actual process: stuff happens, instruments show up, do what they do, and it's not like repeat section C, lick 5, on cue, on cue---so many "performances" get static so fast, you know? Although, in my first listen to that xpost First Listen post, I played each track sep, and thought they tended to start great, but lose momentum. When I played it again opting for the whole, uninterrupted album, this didn't happen, for the most part, although when that little piano part showed up and took over "Colore," I did lose some involvement. Good headphones album, esp. when you turn it up (the vocal undersell is disarming, but risky).
Oh yeah, "Friends" now seems patterned on "Fame"! And the way she brought in Doyle Bramhall reminded me of Bowie and Stevie Ray: blues as a feeling, not a genre. Otherwise (re the way she talks about music in the NPR quotes and links, re "patterns on patterns," building up emotion, and atmosphere, I'd add) Sade comparisons prob pertain a bit more. Her own challenging approach to seduction though (you gotta not be too skurred of women speaking their minds for it to work that way).
Hope she gets to sit in with the Roots---maybe she has? Sorry, I can't get past Fallon himself lately.

"when that little piano part showed up and took over *"Choices,"* I meant.

She went to the same high school as me and had the same guitar teacher as me. I had no idea she was a bassist for Rare Essence though.

She also played in Prophecy and in Little Benny & the Masters. Her Dad is Jacques Johnson, a still-active D.C. jazz musician.

adore this

Listening to Comet rn, this is so awesome. Tim F otm about how it kind of draws together all the disparate threads of the last 4 albums

I love how the oblique flirtation w country is one of the things that kind of binds everything together. Super subtle, not out of place, but totally distinct

Also, the lyrics are kinda hitting me where it hurts.

i thought i had lost interest in this record but the weather turned and it opened up to me in a new way. still wish i liked it more? maybe i will

digging this

I like Comet alright but none of her albums after Devil's Halo have felt fresh and exciting to me. She seems stuck in a holding pattern. The "Friends" cover is weird and exciting but turned out to be a total red herring for the rest of the album and I wish she'd played around with that sound more.

I didn't really like the stripped-down rock sound of "Weather" and "Devil's Halo", does the new one continue in the same vein? I can see why she would want to go to that direction, but this kind of music does nothing to me, I much preferred the psychedelic/freaky r'n'b and soul of the earlier records.

The Nina Simone debut album was a bit of a disappointment too, I liked the arrangements and production, but the truth is that as a singer Ndgeocello simply doesn't have the range and versatility needed to cover those tunes. (There was a good reason why she didn't sing herself on her jazz album, but instead had guess singers better fitted for the genre.) A good case in point is "Four Women": in the original version, Simone alters her voice to fit the role of each of the four women in the song, and the final "PEACHES"

...and the final "PEACHES" that closes the tune is absolutely dripping of both sarcasm and barely suppressed rage. But Ndegeocello sings the whole song with her trademark monotone voice, there's no variation between the different women's lyrics, which makes the whole tune half as effective and expressive as the Simone version.

"guess singers" = "guest singers"

"Thank you Reverend" = http://www.reverendguitars.com/wp-content/files_mf/1389029931fellowship_SBLK_main.png

harrumph imo her take on "nobody's fault but mine" is extraordinary

Just catching up on 'Comet'...really like this...some strong material on here...like the sparse/moody production...nice

This album fell even a little bit for me but I still think it's really great and does a lot of interesting things

It's pretty good. I didn't really like the bare-bones blues rock of the previous two albums (not counting the Nina Simone tribute, which had its own flaws), so I was pleased to note that she's kinda returned to the psychedelic neosoul (or whatever you can call it) of Comfort Woman and The World Has Made Me..., even if the sound is still more stripped-down than on those.

still adore this

we did dis togedder last year
http://www.tinymixtapes.com/chocolate-grinder/listen-bunnybrains-if-mountain-was-a-man

and dis one
https://soundcloud.com/bunnybrains/colorado

thanks

man, comfort woman is an amazing record. i have not listened to the rest of her discog that much but it feels underrated to me by this thread?

i got turned onto it because syd tha kid put "love song #1" on this (great) playlist for rookie (http://www.rookiemag.com/2015/09/life-soundtrack-syd-tha-kyd/) and damn the whole record is mostly good chilled out neo soulish kinda stuff. just like, the perfect sound. i wish there weren't any screaming guitar solos but oh well.

anywho just wanted to rep for that one. she's playing in nyc in a few months.

that playlist really is great

yes

and yeah comfort woman is an incredible, spacious record. a great headphones record too, so much detail

i love all of her records though tbh. i only learned recently that the first two were produced by david gamson of scritti politti which 1) blew my mind 2) made a ton of sense when i spent a ton of time with anomie and bonhomie this year, on which meshell features

also unsurprisingly i love the aggro screaming psych guitar solos, they are literally the best part of "love song #3"

Yeah I only got Comfort Woman last year and I became totally obsessed with it for a while, such an unabashedly sexy album. Love the reggae bass and occasional attempt at Timbaland style stutters.

I don't think I've been as vocal in my love for Comfort Woman as for TWHMMTMOMD or Devil's Halo, but it's the single best album to have sex to ever made by anyone.

I would concur, if this album didn't exist:

http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_500/MI0000/187/MI0000187639.jpg

(Which I would recommend it to anyone who wants to listen to some slow cosmic sexy soul music.)

But Comfort Woman is definitely up there, yeah.

soooo....where do I start? I own Peace Beyond Passi and nothing else. I've been dipping into Bitter, Comfort Women, Weather.

bitter and comfort woman are great introductions imo. I also think you'd loooooove devil's halo

Comfort Woman is as good a place as any. It's worth noting that most of her albums tend to have a distinct vibe from one another, so there isn't really any one album that can be taken as representative of her work. The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams might be something of an exception because it's an expansive tour de force whereas the rest of her albums tend to hone in on doing one thing. But I can also see finding that album overwhelming.

My problem with Bitter is it's too lyric-focused, which isn't always her great strength.

I agree to a point, but also every melody on bitter breaks my heart

I'll have to go back to it. I haven't listened to any of her 90s work in a long time.

im catching up with some of her stuff that ive missed. its interesting how much of a 'better' singer she has become over the years. but also the one thing that i think will always be a barrier for her is that shes still too limited/mannered as a singer. it doesnt matter ultimately, if the songs are good enough, but its like shes permanently going for 'gracefully wounded'.

dirty world is my shit however.
(soundcloud is pretty excellent at guessing what i want to hear next lol)

I need a new Meshell album.

in the meantime is it time for an albums poll?

agreed and yes

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXqorhCDP9u/

includes: an excerpt of her cover of "tender love," potentially from a new album coming out in november?

ohhhh it's a covers album https://www.instagram.com/p/BWd2EJrjntB/

incidentally holy shit at that tracklist

1. wonder if i take you home
2. Nite& day
3. Sometimes it snows in april
4. Waterfalls
5. Atomic dog
6. Sensitivity
7. Funny how time flies
8. Tender Love
9. Don't disturb this groove
10. Private dancer
11. Smooth Operator

!!!

yesss

https://media.giphy.com/media/26n6YSEVjKzqE4Jqw/giphy.gif

https://soundcloud.com/officialmeshell/sometimes-it-snows-in-april/s-gR5VM

and a lyric video for "tender love"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZSCWwCJAxI

album out 3/16

gonna b so gooooood

i'm so hyped, these are both so gorgeous

in particular her "sometimes it snows in april" is just killing me

wowwwwwwwww @ the "sometimes it snows in april" cover

https://www.npr.org/2018/03/08/590336350/first-listen-meshell-ndegeocello-ventriloquism

1980s songs slowed down with interesting vocal touches and instrumental flourishes.

Reference to Neil Young Harvest listening at time of recording makes sense too

very good and cool record

https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/meshell-ndegeocello-ventriloquism/

great review brad. i've listened to the "sometimes it snows in april" cover nearly every day since it came out. the whole album is quite something.

thank you!!

atomic dog 2017 is so awesome lol. possibly even more dog-like than the orginal, but not quite as dogg-like as snoop's "what's my name"

https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/8232751/meshell-ndegeocello-ventriloquism

She talks about making covers her own and her take on Bruno Mars (“karaoke “)

I listened to this album 4 times today. Clearly something I needed.

yeah, this album is cool. i think my favorite is "sensitivity."

this album is a real beauty. it is one of those few cover albums where most of the covers are better than the originals.

I get very strong Sade vibes from Meshell's voice on this album. But of course the music here is not muzak at all.

https://www.washingtonian.com/2018/04/17/meshell-ndegeocello-fugazi-go-go-growing-dc/?utm_source=Editorial+and+Events&utm_campaign=e001012fe8-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2016_12_20&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_612a4959fd-e001012fe8-402537885

On her DC go-go and more roots

Nice gig last night at Kennedy Center. Some cuts from new album plus Nina Simone ones too. She had a photo of her deceased sax-playing Dad onstage, and talked about going through her records earlier in the day at her family’s place. I like her on keyboard as well as bass.

She's gonna be back at Kennedy Center Sunday this time with a version of her James Baldwin Tribute. In 2016, she did a stage musical, “Can I Get a Witness? The Gospel of James Baldwin” at the Harlem Stage in New York. Also per article : This version will be a concert, forgoing the costumes, blocking and sets of the original production but including the spoken narration drawn from Baldwin’s book and the songs written by Ndegeocello, Toshi Reagon, Justin Hicks and Staceyann Chin.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/music/meshell-ndegeocello-gives-a-reading-from-the-scripture-of-james-baldwin/2018/12/13/8c60e91c-f7e4-11e8-8d64-4e79db33382f_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.ed24111fc73c

“When I was younger,” Ndegeocello says by phone from her current home in Brooklyn, “I couldn’t understand why people looked down on my mother just because she didn’t have much education, why my father was so bitter about not advancing in the military the way his white colleagues did, why I loved the music in church but disliked the fire-and-brimstone sermons. When I read ‘The Fire Next Time,’ it all started to make sense. Baldwin was a game changer in creating a language for the marginalized.”

Tickets were kind of pricey and I didn't splurge for it tonight. Have seen her a number of times, but I am still kind of regretting missing this James Baldwin tribute show of hers.

Saw her play 90 minutes of Prince songs at Paisley Park last night, it was awesome of course. More thoughts soon.

The songs: When Doves Cry, Let's Pretend We're Married, Let's Work, Strange Relationship, Love 2 the 9s, If I Was Your Girlfriend, Sexy Dancer, Hot Thing, When You Were Mine, Pop Life, Tamborine, I Wanna Be Your Lover, Starfish & Coffee, Purple Rain

!!!!!

I saw an ad for a Roots/Questlove fest and she doing Prince songs is on the long bill

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGhpyGf-XlE

Mellow Ndgeocello doing Pink Moon works well enough, although not amazing

I like her mellow approach to covers from this era - Pink Moon, Waterfalls, Suzanne...

Now I want to hear Nina Simone doing Pink Moon

of all the nick drake covers i know one of the best. especially the instrumentation. i love the drums here. the only other nick drake cover i remember having liked was calexico's "clothes of sand".

Ndegeocello is going to collaborate at Kennedy Center in DC with Ronald K Brown dance company in October. Tickets right now are only available to Kennedy Center subscribers I think

Hailed as a “modern dance savior” by the New York Times, Ronald K. Brown returns to fuse the form, rhythm, and history of African dance with contemporary and urban dance styles.
In Mercy, a Kennedy Center co-commission (the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College, Carolina Performing Arts, UNC Chapel Hill, and The Joyce Theater’s Stephen and Cathy Weinroth Fund for New York), Brown finds an ideal collaborator in visionary vocalist, composer, and bassist Meshell Ndegeocello. In their first collaboration, Brown’s choreography fuses with Ndegeocello’s music to focus on compassion—which leads one to have mercy. As Ndegeocello performs live, dancers embark on a physical journey toward justice that resolves in joy and surrender

Also: on the Modern Love Bowie trib, which follows his connection to soul, funk, and jazz, according to the press release: she covers "Fantastic Voyage," but maybe she'll bring out well-concealed strengths---some other tracks are already posted here; maybe the whole thing will be---not seeing a release date here, but release says this Fri. https://bbemusic.bandcamp.com/album/modern-love

, Somewhere in my digitrove is a track she intended for a self initiated Carly simon covers album.... I suggested attitude dancing because noone would choose that song... Email me and if i dig it out I will send u the link... 'It's really good!!!!!!

Carly did not like my suggestion incidentally

Thebunnybra✧✧✧@gm✧✧✧.c✧✧

New album on Blue Note in June…the first track off it is superb prog funk…really looking forward to this

https://pitchfork.com/news/meshell-ndegeocello-announces-new-album-shares-new-song-virgo-listen/amp/

"virgo" is crazy good

it is

this is kind of great: https://samgendel.bandcamp.com/track/anywhere-feat-meshell-ndegeocello

holy shit this album

holy shit is right

So excited. She was great the other night, though I think only played one song from this that hadn't been released yet. Lots of Plantation Lullabies, in a Ventriloquised mode, and an astounding Atomic Dog.

this is excellent, "Omnipuss" is such a total groove

Amazing album, up there with her very best IMO. Wild to think that it is 9 years since Comet, Come To Me, though listening to this it’s like she never went away.

On first few listens this feels like it manages to locate a sweet spot between her exploratory vibes and more comforting tendencies - it often sounds “far out” but never challenging, always warm and welcoming.

whoa I thought the title was just a lark and then HUMMM that first sound, the Omnichord! this is rad

holy shit yeah this is a legit masterpiece. last track such a perfect pocket

that's great to hear,been looking forward to this one

so this wasn't instantly one of my favorite albums of hers, but the live show was so incredible and beautiful. the fifth dimension didn't particularly stand out for me on the album but felt like the centerpiece live, levitated the whole place (and the set was levitate-y to begin with). her band is perfect and it makes me kinda sad that there were only a couple of hundred people, they should be playing for thousands. but it was really chill, with lots of cute queer couples half-dancing.thought i was gonna have to duck out a lil early to get to work but no support so they wrapped by 10!

She was great the other night, though I think only played one song from this that hadn't been released yet.

i think this is a Japan-only bonus track called The Atlantiques (it's great).

if you get a chance to see her drop everything srsly i feel transported in a way i haven't in a really long time.

okay, i am coming around to the idea that this is one of her best albums, which is saying a lot. because obviously, this would be anyone else's masterpiece.

the mix is too balanced and needs more extremes of contrast, it falls short in this area where her previous work excels (eg Cookie, The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams). some of the textures that were bold, almost industrial live are a little blanded down. ultimately, that's what i'm unhappy with about the album, granted i haven't listened in full quality yet, or on anything better than kind of okay headphones (which is all i got atm).

at first i was a little disappointed that her personality doesn't dominate the record a little more, that it showcases her collaborative aspect instead, that she situates herself in the midst of the ensemble and doesn't play a ton of bass, and contributes something more like omnipresence than assertiveness. i love that about it now.

Anyone have full credits for this? I was trying to figure out who plays drums on 'ASR', and lo and behold the writing credits include Tony Allen. Wonder if she actually recorded with him before he passed, or wrote on top of a drum track that came from elsewhere?

there were only a couple of hundred people, they should be playing for thousands. but it was really chill, with lots of cute queer couples half-dancing

that sounds ideal, esp. compared to the dinner place she played here. I was stuck in a sightline where a cymbal obscured her face the whole time. pretending it was a cool mask, briefly raised when hit, didn't quite balance out the distancing effect.

also wow @ that song Justin Hicks performed, looks like it's still in their setlists? I swear that was as vulnerable a vocal and lyric as I've ever heard, if it never gets recorded/released I'll be devastated.

Yeah there was lots of room to move around, even at the front. it was totally sweet. Justin was great and got a lot of love from the crowd!

here's the song @ 1:31:30

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QksG8uGp1Tg

she is beyond amazing here -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl1R_Cn_L98

She looks great!

Never heard that Mark Hollis record, sounds good

<3

I love this record, top three record.

Is this an album track, or upcoming? Amazing band lineup.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFAWrJ6EC8I

it's the japanese bonus track for the omnichord real book, but she's put it out as a single now

So her Sun Ra tribute album is up for preorder:

https://redhot.bandcamp.com/album/red-hot-ra-the-magic-city

It's so good!!!! And not Just cux I'm on it... it fibrillates the tribute genre in all the ticklespots!!

Oh cool. Congrats

Seeing her at University of Maryland, near DC , Thursday night

A good show but short - an hour plus 1 short encore. $40 some dollars for a ticket .

She and her band covered George Clinton Atomic Dog and Marvin Gaye “I Want You” nicely plus various songs from throughout her career. Justin Hicks opened and then sang well with Meshell. “Virgo ( they’re calling me back to the stars)” sounded great.

Nothing from her Sun Ra tribute and no mention of it

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/meshell-ndegeocello/2024/the-clarice-smith-performing-arts-center-college-park-md-5baacbac.html

It's out!!!! And I'm so humbled to have a teensy part on it. It's so good!!! Hope u all like it

https://open.spotify.com/album/0DasJUmo5vuNbhrMWehX5x?si=BTSRyE6FRaqHrRS9eMF4mQ

Got my preorder last night! Will give it a proper ear over the weekend for sure.

Ned if u have some of those psilocybin gummies in the cabinet it wouldn't hurt.