Some of these posts will be about new albums, and some of them will be about old albums that I am hearing for the first time, or old albums I feel I need to say something about.
Erykah Badu's Mama's Gun is on the "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" list - and for me this warranted a listening.
I was pleasantly surprised by this album. I am not a huge fan of R&B style music but this has something extra to it. It is more than a crooning of runs displaying impressive vocal talents. Erykah's voice is understated and lovely. This is music for a rainy Sunday afternoon. It has a soft soulful sound and the instrumentation is perfect. At some point it veers a little bit towards hip hop, but in the same understated sort of way that Lauryn Hill veers towards hiphop. This is not a rap album.
I was listening to it on my way to work this morning and I certainly arrived at the office feeling relaxed and at peace. I cannot recall specific melodies right now, which is normally a point of note for me in evaluating an album. That being said, I think this might be something that comes with repeated listening. Sometimes the most understated melodies upon first listening then jump out at you while you are in the shower, bed, queue or some other place.
A lot has to be said for the covers of albums. They can certainly inform you as to what to expect. This is the case with this album. A close up of Erykah's face with a beige background led me to expect an earthy album with possible reggae roots. Earthy it was - but not reggae.
I liked it and will listen to it again.
Erykah Badu's Mama's Gun is on the "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" list - and for me this warranted a listening.
I was pleasantly surprised by this album. I am not a huge fan of R&B style music but this has something extra to it. It is more than a crooning of runs displaying impressive vocal talents. Erykah's voice is understated and lovely. This is music for a rainy Sunday afternoon. It has a soft soulful sound and the instrumentation is perfect. At some point it veers a little bit towards hip hop, but in the same understated sort of way that Lauryn Hill veers towards hiphop. This is not a rap album.
I was listening to it on my way to work this morning and I certainly arrived at the office feeling relaxed and at peace. I cannot recall specific melodies right now, which is normally a point of note for me in evaluating an album. That being said, I think this might be something that comes with repeated listening. Sometimes the most understated melodies upon first listening then jump out at you while you are in the shower, bed, queue or some other place.
A lot has to be said for the covers of albums. They can certainly inform you as to what to expect. This is the case with this album. A close up of Erykah's face with a beige background led me to expect an earthy album with possible reggae roots. Earthy it was - but not reggae.
I liked it and will listen to it again.
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