The album marks Mary’s shortest LP ever at just 38 minutes, and she doesn’t waste any time getting down to business. “What’s love these days? We don’t know what to say,” she ponders on the album’s opening cut “No Idea,” which gives you a sense of what’s to follow. The landscape of 2022 Mary J. Blige is still bruised but definitely not broken. Though she’s skeptical at times, she’s resilient as ever and making progress as she trudges onward.

She’s a bit subdued here vocally, reminiscent of Mariah Carey’s vocal approach to her last LP, 2018’s Caution. The focus is more on navigation of this stage of life, with lyrics and production that seamlessly bridge the gap between Mary’s classics and today’s musical landscape. That doesn’t mean that she’s emotionless though. “I’m so goddamn sick of the pain” she exasperatingly vents on the chorus of “Love Without The Heartbreak,” where she muses on a more perfect love and laments her bad luck with relationships. “When will love give me a break?” she ponders, similar to her woeful laments on introspective “Failing In Love” and the effervescent “Love Will Never.” 

Mary’s not all misery though, those days are behind her. The album is titled and sequentially centers around the title track, “Good Morning Gorgeous.” It’s a simmering blues record akin to 2009’s “I Can See In Color” that finds Mary revealing her key to transcending the worst days, she looks in the mirror and says “good morning gorgeous” when she wakes up in the morning. 

A playful side of Mary that appears both in love and in life. She flexes about buying a coast for her man and challenges him to “match that so we can have two” on the sensual, lounge-y “Come See About Me.” She also trades lines with Anderson .Paak, Usher, and Ne-Yo (on the Target edition) about relationship dynamics ranging from what’s “supposed to be” with .Paak on “Here With Me,” to a dependable partner with Usher on “Need Love,” all the way to the inception of an unexpected attraction with Ne-Yo on the Target bonus track “Running.” 

Mary also mixes in a few feel-good records as a reminder just who she is on her best days. For “On Top” she flips the same sample of The Delfonics “Ready Or Not Here I Come (Can’t Hide From Love)” utilized on Three-6-Mafia’s “Who Run It?” Thanks to production from Cool & Dre, the Philly soul classic assumes another place in hip hop (it was already cemented into The Fugees’ “Ready Or Not” and Missy Elliott’s “Sock It 2 Me”) and transforms it into a hard-hitting Brooklyn drill record, sealed with a verse from Fivio Foreign. This is classic Mary; seizing a hip hop sound and sweetening it with her R&B sensibility. Moments like this reinforce her title of Queen of Hip-Hop Soul. 

She also wades into reggae/rocksteady territory on the album’s other big feel-good record, “Amazing” featuring surprisingly subdued ad-libs from the ubiquitous DJ Khaled. This one is a grower. It’s like nails on a chalkboard at first, but the infectious hook quells that initial feeling and this track built for the clubs and VIP tables has an effect, just like the music video illustrates. 

 The album’s only regressive moment isn’t even in a song as a whole, just a sample choice. Third single “Rent Money” is a smooth R&B kiss-off to her deadbeat ex, who drained their joint accounts and then won a hefty alimony sum, forcing her to go on tour to pay his alimony. The song utilizes the hook from The Notorious BIG’s “Fuck You Tonight,” which was performed by R.Kelly, who also co-wrote the song. That means this record is putting money into the pocket of a convicted sexual predator currently attempting to overturn his conviction while simultaneously preparing for a trial on additional charges. It’s an unfortunate choice from someone who herself has vulnerably shared her own experiences of surviving sexual assault.

With the exception of that glaring inclusion, Good Morning Gorgeous is a fantastic addition to the Mary J. Blige canon. It shines bright like it’s title. Mary’s life is so closely intertwined with the content of the music, that this is yet another chapter likely to resonate with and help the masses, just as My Life first did in 1994.

Listen to Good Morning Gorgeous

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Courage marks Celine’s first English album both in 6 years and since the death of her husband/manager Rene Angelil. For some, it might be viewed as a test of how her music career fares without his guiding hand. Rene steered Celine’s career from its inception in 1981 and all the way into the stratosphere when she crossed over into the American market with “Where Does My Heart Beat Now” in 1990. 

“Cause it’s not easy, when you’re not with me” she concedes on the title track “Courage.” There’s an ongoing theme of acknowledging Rene’s loss on the album, and the feelings that surround it. The album’s most heartfelt cut, “For The Lover That I’ve Lost,” takes it a step further. “There’s so much I really miss about you” and “I haven’t felt free without you” are a few choice lyrics, along with the chorus opening line: “So I lay a dozen roses, for the lover that I lost”. Written by Sam Smith, Jimmy Napes, and Stargate, the subtle arrangement and single vocal track allow the song’s vulnerability (something so often missing in today’s pop sphere), to shine through. There’s no big vocal show out either, Celine conquers with control. Instead of delivering the final stanzas with the power we all know her voice possesses, she pulls back, only crescendoing slightly. In this case, she gives the tender words more power delivering them gently than she would with a big vocal. 

With that said, she does unleash the full power of her instrument on numerous occasions. Her voice is on full display on the resilient, militant early release “Lying Down,” a true Celine power ballad. Co-written by and featuring background vocals from Sia, it’s the perfect vehicle for Celine’s powerhouse voice. “Change My Mind” on the other hand is a more contemporary mid-tempo where she takes the chorus and soars. So does deluxe edition closer “The Hard Way,” where Celine does some of her strongest singing on Courage.

She lets loose on the album’s EDM-driven opener “Flying On My Own.” Yeah, Celine’s doing the EDM now, and it actually kind of works. There are traces of EDM effects sprinkled throughout the album, sometimes in the unlikeliest of places. Most of Courage is ballads and mid-tempos, which can blend together on first listen. But after further listens, their makeup varies. “Lovers Never Die” is another standout. It applies subtle EDM drops and stuttering synths to an R&B instrumentation, fronted by a slick and feisty vocal delivery from Celine. It reads wild, and it sounds just as wild. “If lovers never die, then why do I need you?” she inquires as the song swells and overflows. 

Though loss is a focal point of Courage, the courage to push forward is a foundational element of the album. Another understated, beautiful ballad, “Falling In Love Again,” tackles the subject of love when “I never thought that I would be strong enough to move on” and “this wasn’t part of our plan,” “just when I thought I was destined to end up all alone, you showed me there’s more to this life.” 

Elsewhere there are straightforward takes on pop-rock (“The Chase,” “Look At Us Now”), more ballads (“Perfect Goodbye,”, “I Will Be Stronger,” “The Chase”), some contemporary pop (“Imperfections,” “Baby,” “Look At Us Now”), and hints of folk (“Nobody’s Watching”)  and even a touch of bluesy doo-wop (“How Did You Get Here”). 

Through and through Courage is a solid body of work. Plus four bonus tracks on the deluxe edition, and an additional cut on the Japan edition, Celine more than satisfies the thirst for new music, and quality material. The Titanic could sink, and Celine would be there, singing. The world could be under attack, and Celine would be there, singing. She has suffered tremendous personal loss, and Celine Dion is, singing. And she’ll go on, and on.

85/97

Key Tracks: “For The Lover That I’ve Lost”, “Lovers Never Die”, “Lying Down”, “Flying On My Own”, “The Hard Way”

Listen to Courage:

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The Pristina-born English singer just released her second album after rising from the ashes of a label change, relationship turmoils and a series of attempts to break her through the US market.

Yes, it’s true that Rita has not been able to win over the American public, but people are known to love and root for the underdog and this just may add to her charm. In other words, knowing and liking Rita’s music may just be the cool thing in your circle of friends right now.

The European glamour

What makes this album still fresh despite being in the works for a couple of years now is definitely the fact that Pop music hasn’t really been the centre of attention in the musical landscape of 2018. In a world dominated by trap and mumble-rap, Rita is bringing the eclecticism of the European dance/pop scene and visuals that recall the underground imagery of the Beat Generation.

The Ed Sheeran-penned lead single “Your Song,” felt like the female response to his own “Shape of You” with an even more electronic sound. The bombastic “Anywhere” sports an even deeper electronic and dance sound provided by the Swedish Alesso.

The album also features collaborations with Rudimental on “Summer Love” and a guest vocalist feature on the late Avicii’s single “Lonely Together.”

And while it’s only getting a few spins on US Top 40 stations, the latest single “Let You Love Me” is already Rita’s 13th top 10 hit in the UK.

The two sides of the Atlantic

Phoenix‘s production is also a collaborative effort between European and American musical forces.

Just like “For You,” the duet with Liam Payne for the Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack (in which Rita also co-starred as the infamous Christian Grey’s sister), whose 80s hair band synths were produced by both Watt and Ali Payami.

In another attempt to conquer American market, Atlantic released “Girls,” a collaboration with Cardi B, Bebe Rexha and Charli XCX, which faced criticism over the lyrics allegedly undermining female homosexuality as a silly game for male consumption.

And then there’s “Keep Talking,” which features American singer Julia Michaels.

Surprise! Vocals!

One thing people don’t expect anymore of pop artists is their ability to actually sing. That’s how much standards have been lowered in the past decade!

So when a female pop star can sing and knows how to use her instrument, it always comes as a surprise. Rita Ora may not be in the upper echeleon of female vocalists, but she can carry a tune effectively.

On the Jimmy Napes-produced “Velvet Rope,” Rita uses her voice to convey a sense of sadness which contrasts the song’s apparently joyful nature. It’s a track that recalls Janet Jackson’s “Whoops Now” or Madonna’s “Cherish” with their doo-wop arrangements.

The use of softer vocals is also an element that characterises the chorus of the P!nk-esque “Only Want You,” one of the best songs on the album, or the sultry “Cashmere,” where the cooing contrasts the dark and hard synths of the production.

Is this Phoenix finally rising?

One can only hope the public will finally give Rita a chance, but if there’s something we’ve learned from the social media era, is that nowadays there are so many factors into making or breaking an artist.

Rita Ora is a talented, smart and hard working woman. She’ll keep herself in the public eye regardless of the commercial outcome of this album. And she’ll still have the rest of the world to turn to if she ever wants to give up with America.

Grade:

80/97

Stream Phoenix on Spotify:

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All The Way Up

When I found out that Fat Joe & Remy Ma were reuniting for an entire album, I was beyond ecstatic. Here you have two staples of the New York rap scene, coming back together for the first time in over a decade. However, Plata O Plomo (translation: money or bullets) packs neither the stacks nor the ammunition for two veteran rappers of this caliber.

15 Minutes of Fat Joe & Remy Ma

15 minutes. That’s roughly (give or take 30 seconds) the amount of time combined that Fat Joe and Remy Ma spend spitting bars on Plata O Plomo. They each spit a maximum of one verse a song, and with the exception of Remy’s hook duty on “Spaghetti”, that’s it. The album clocks in at a total of 46 minutes. What goes on for the rest of the album? Long, drawn out, and overly repetitive hooks by a barrage of guests.

There are exciting guests, such as the legendary Stephanie Mills who handles hook duty on the reflective and poignant closer “Dreamin”, a standout. However, the majority of the album is muddied down by the guests, who by and large don’t add much value to the project. They really just waste time that should be dedicated to Fat Joe & Remy Ma spitting bars.

Highlights

The album’s highlights start with the aforementioned “Dreamin.” Joe reminisces of the old days, name drops Freddie Gray, and envisions a moment when Birdman & Lil’ Wayne can put their beef to bed. Remy flashes back to being 21 years old, her days in jail, and how things have changed now that she’s home, going as far as saying she “used to be in that cell dreaming I was home, now I’m home dreaming I’m back in the cell.” Powerful, to say the least.

Their latest single, “Money Showers” is another highlight. With some help from Ty Dollar $ign, Joe & Remy flow over a sample of Ralph Tresvant’s 1991 hit “Do What I Gotta Do“. Remy steals the show, closing her verse with the searing “bitch claiming she the queen? what? nah, hardly. Who the fuck gave you your crown bitch? Steve Harvey?”

Of course, the first single “All The Way Up” is also a highlight. However, the remix featuring Jay-Z should have been a bonus track at the least. Beyond the notable addition of Jay-Z in his first post-Lemonade verse, Joe & Remy both upstaged their original verses on the remix, and that should be spotlighted on the album.

Overall, the album features solid verses from two rap veterans, and dope beats. It’s downfall is that it loses punch amongst the long and drawn out hooks and intros and outros.

Grade:
60/97

Stream Fat Joe & Remy Ma’s Plata O Plomo:

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For the past few years when Fantasia has been in the process of creating a new album, she has expressed the desire to explore a sound she’s described as “Rock/Soul.” She’s done so for her last album, Side Effects of You, and she’s done for her newest one. Whether she has actually gone through with it is a different story, but we can at least say that she delivered more of it on The Definition of.., her latest album released last Friday.

The first track, called “Crazy,” features horns and an electric guitar line in equal parts, creating a funky and edgy album opener. It’s an energetic yet calm track that features a softer vocal performance and recalls Seal’s homonymous 1991 hit in its theme. The song is followed by the lead single “No Time For It,” which with its cutesy keyboard lines and boppy beat takes us back a decade to when Fantasia released her #1 hit “When I See U.”

It’s with “So Blue” that the album starts showing more substance. The slick production work and finally a more passionate vocal from Tasia, remind us why we like to listen to her. “When I Met You” then brings more of these intricate production elements accompanying narrative lyrics and a sing along melody.

With the R.Kelly-penned “Sleeping With the One I Love” Fantasia pays hommage to James Brown via an obvious “It’s a Man’s World” nod. It’s clear that Tasia works well in an old school context, so it’s not a surprise that this is the best ballad on the album. That might also be because the other option veeres more into Adult Contemporary territory: “Ugly” is the song Fantasia performed months ago on American Idol‘s farewell season, a soaring piano-driven number that while powerful, is not exactly what we’ve come to know Fantasia for.

The album tends to lose steam in the second half with a series of mainstream sounding songs that feel either tepid or forced. “Stay Up,” a collaboration with singer and songwriter Stacy Barthe features a cool upbeat production, but makes her feel like a featured act. Similarly, Fantasia’s duet with Aloe Blacc on “Roller Coasters” seems more of his work than hers. “Wait For You” is Fantasia’s most Pop record to date. The verses build up on a subtle piano driven beat before exploding into a full blown catchy chorus embellished with synths and tailored for CHR radio.

The last two songs on the album are definitely more in Tasia’s chords: “Lonely Legend” is a nod to Tina Turner, whom Fantasia has cited as an influence, with its “Proud Mary”-esque atmosphere and and the display of lower vocal tones in the style of Ms. Turner. “I Made It” then closes the album on a joyous note and features Tye Tribett and a full chorus chanting “thank you Lord” behind Fantasia’s realest vocal performance on this record. Raw, free and soaring, it is a spiritual realisation of all the blessings coming from above.

Despite the assertive title, by the time we finish playing the album we are left with the question “definition of what?” What is she trying to define with this record? It’s actually kind of hard to answer these questions because this collection of songs is definitely the least personal effort from Fantasia at this point in her career. Her past work had always something to relate to, while here it seems like the welcomed quest for more experimental sounds has come at the expense of identity. After an album as cohesive and consistent as her last one, the expectation was to get something that retained the heartfelt and genuine quality of lyrical content, but with an eye open to new directions. Unfortunately, the process towards finding new sounds needs some more fine tuning to achieve this balance.

Grade:
70/97

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Nina Simone was, by all accounts, a musical pioneer. Her seamless integration of classical music into jazz, show tunes, blues, gospel, and soul is, in it’s own, monumental. Pair that with her unmistakable voice- by her own account was sometimes like coffee with cream, and sometimes like gravel, and she is one of the most important figures in American music. The genius, moving documentary What Happened, Miss Simone? tells Nina’s story mainly through her own words, and to accompany it is Nina Revisited… A Tribute To Nina Simone. The album compiles an A-list roster of guests to pay tribute to the late Miss Simone.

Jazmine Sullivan, Usher, Mary J. Blige, Common & Lalah Hathaway, and Nina’s daughter Lisa all contributed, but Ms Lauryn Hill is the real draw of this album. She felt strongly enough about Nina and the project to contribute 6 new recordings (the largest volume of studio recordings she has released at one time since her debut album was released 17 years ago). Quite frankly, Hill not only makes the project but also saves it from being a monotone snooze-fest.

The thing that made Nina so magical outside of her unique voice, was her ability to seamlessly weave in and out of musical genres. This tribute features mainly interpretations of her songs, but they all ended up swirling around smooth jazz/neo-soul and the influence of the incredible Robert Glasper, who serves as a producer on the project. There’s nothing wrong with Glasper. His unmistakable keys, contributions to Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly, and own Black Radio albums are nothing short of brilliant. However, his involvement with this project is extremely disappointing. His influence causes these songs to end up feeling more like a Glasper album, which is sonically narrow, especially compared to that of a musical virtuoso like Nina.

Take Mary J Blige’s contribution of “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.” On its own it’s a great reading, mirroring her vocal delivery on 2005’s “Father In Me,” but mixed in with the rest of the album it becomes just another monotone smooth jazz arrangement. Newcomer Grace (who recently delivered a mesmerizingly haunting cover of “You Don’t Own Me”), can’t capture the magic of “Love Me Or Leave Me,” because it lacks the walking bass and classical breakdown that made Nina’s reading so unique and attractive. Common delivers poignant verses while Lalah Hathaway coos away on the re-imagined “We Are Young Gifted & Black.” Placed on a Glasper album it would be a standout, but here, once again it simply sinks in with the rest.

Alice Smith takes on “I Put A Spell on You,” but her feeble and disjointed arrangement hasn’t got shit on the spell-binding reading Annie Lennox unleashed last year. Usher shouldn’t have even been allowed to participate with his deflated attempt at “My Baby Just Cares For Me” (surprisingly produced by the usually-on-point Salaam Remi), nor should Gregory Porter. Arguably, Nina’s “Sinnerman” is not only her greatest recording but one of the greatest recordings of all time. She unleashes a religious experience that can shake a listener’s soul over and over, effortlessly. Porter’s reading sounds more like glorified elevator music from a department store.

In stark contrast is Ms Lauryn Hill, the project’s savior, who also produced all of her contributions. She delivers stellar rendition after stellar rendition, and is vocally impassioned on each cut she tackles. Her deliveries of “Black Is The Color of My True Love’s Hair” and “No me quitte pas” are so beautiful, searing, and powerful they’re tear-inducing. Hill sounds as if she’s waited her entire life to sing these songs, and sings them as if Nina is meticulously observing her, note for note. She reads “Feeling Good” in a straight reading that closely mirrors Nina’s, while she adds politically-charged rapid-fire rap verses around a clever sample of “I’ve Got Life” that would make the activist in Nina proud. The parallels that link Simone and Hill, including extensive hiatuses and erratic behavior, as well as outspokenness in all the right ways, make Hill’s presence here feel ever so appropriate, and even necessary.

Nina’s daughter Lisa does her mother right on a respectable and notably bluesy reading of “I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl.”  The only other artist who should be commended for their work here is the incredible Jazmine Sullivan. Her take on “Baltimore” may not divert heavily from Nina’s, but it’s captivating, soulful, authentic, and very appropriate based on the social climate. The album closes with Nina herself performing “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free.” Hearing her voice and arrangement only further displays the distance many of these songs have from the singer’s musicality.

Nina was a versatile musician, and these covers do not properly represent that. This is the antithesis of Nina’s musical range. There’s nothing wrong with interpreting a Nina song in a jazz or neo-soul-based manner, but damn near all of them? The irony is that Nina has always been mis-classified in record stores and mis-identified in conversation as simply a jazz singer, and this is probably the only body of work with Nina’s name attached to it that by enlarge fits that mis-classification.

Looking for some more good Nina Simone covers/ covers of songs Nina recorded? Start here:

Aretha Franklin “Young, Gifted, & Black”

(Lisa) Simone “Love Me Or Leave Me”

Marsha Ambrosius, Ledisi, Kelly Price, Jill Scott “Four Women (Live)”

Annie Lennox “I Put A Spell On You”

XEO3 “Strange Fruit”

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Love Life has been in stores for the past two weeks now, but we think it’s an album that should be savoured slowly so that’s the reason why we haven’t discussed it yet here at EST1997. While it didn’t get a warm commercial response, it debuted at #24 on the Billboard 200, quality is what matters to us. And on Love Life there is plenty of that.

First of all, Tamia’s voice is as crisp and smooth as it was when she was belting out “Stranger In My House” 15 years ago. It still has that richness to it and her tone is still one of the best in the R&B world. Add to that the lush and sensual production of Love Life and the result is exquisite. Aided by Pop & Oak, Chuck Harmony, The-Dream and Polow Da Don, among others, Tamia recorded this album in 10 days in her rented studios in Atlanta.

The main themes of the album are love and relationship, but it’s not sad. Tamia herself has stated that this is a “happy album” and it shows. The sensual productions provide a warm atmosphere and her crooning is just scorching. The first single, “Sandwich and a Soda,” is an example of this sexy side of hers, one that pushes her to convincingly explore her low registers. The sweet waltz tempo of “Chaise Lounge” is met with Tamia’s passionate vocal  serenading her lover, while the highlight of the album “Stuck With Me” gives us a few falsetto moments over a thick bassline.

The short tracklist keeps the album fresh and tight. There is no room for filler, although the only faux pas might be “Day One,” a piano ballad that doesn’t really fit the glossy sound of the album. But things pick up with the album closer “Black Butterfly” where Tamia gifts us with a powerful performance.

Love Life is a great album not necessarily because it’s about experimenting or bringing new elements to the table, but because the artist stays true to herself. Even staying in the comfort zone can lead to surprising results, as long as there is something to be said and the execution is right.

Grade:
80/97

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