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Avg: 4.0 (150 ratings)
- Date Released: September 16, 2008
- Genre: Rock/Pop
- Style: Pop
- Label: ATO Records
Europop space alien lands on Earth, discovers misery, encourages dancing
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We Say...
Welsh songstress Jem opens her sophomore album in Europop space-alien mode, landing her feather-light breaths amid the title cut's wind sounds and middle-Eastern flamenco lilts; she's been sent on an observational mission, she tells us, only to discover misery. So she spends much of the rest of the album offering assurance and affirmation — "Keep On Walking" and "You Will Make It," two songs are called. She's still determined, though, to explore both the richness of life on our planet and rhythms to match: wine-bar salsa as she bilingually lusts to be touched in "I Want You Too…"; an ‘80s Anglo-pop version of '70s jazz-funk as she kicks out some narcissistic loser in "Crazy"; new wave rapping recalling the Tom Tom Club or Madonna's early "Sidewalk Talk" as she boots the street-fair into full gear in the album's best, and least explicitly introspective, song "Aciid!"
More Feist-y than feisty, Jem's detached, airy tones split the difference between singer-songwriter folk and trip-hop in way that manages to pull in everything from Japanese pop to gospel choruses. There's a recurring spiritual bent, the mood often tends toward Mary Poppins polite — "shame, shame, shame on you and your profanity," one line goes — and the final few songs feel downright relaxed. It's an undeniably upscale sort of music that TV licensing agencies find especially attractive. But its energy can take you by surprise. -
They Say...
Is Jem a club-ready electronica chanteuse or an easygoing adult contemporary artist? It's difficult to tell on Down to Earth, which furthers the dual personality first shown on Jem's 2004 debut. The refusal to settle on one style often serves Jem well, however, and Down to Earth features a bevy of producers who lend their unique approach to each track. Having created diverse sonic stews for Lily Allen and Kylie Minogue -- not to mention his own project, the Bird and the Bee -- Greg Kurstin stops by to helm "Aciiid!," a synth-driven dance track sung partially in Japanese. Elsewhere, hip-hop producer Jeff Bass (who, along with his brother, helped launch Eminem's career) mashes banjo riffs with funk horns on "Crazy," and Lester Mendez (famous for his work with such Latin artists as Santana, Shakira, and Nelly Furtado) employs spoken word samples from West Side Story during the Spanish-tinged "I Want You To...." Those energetic tracks are some of the album's highlights, but they go head to head with songs like "Got It Good," "And So I Pray," and "On Top of the World," all of which are the stuff of lite FM radio stations. Ultimately, the eclecticism shown within Jem's songs may well be a detriment to the album as a whole, since Down to Earth's mix of producers and genres lacks cohesion. It's also worth noting that nothing here is as immediately ingratiating as "They," and while "It's Amazing" (another Mendez vehicle) does feature a similar chorus -- complete with descending minor chords and repeated iterations of the title -- it can't match the original's spunk and spark. Down to Earth's title depicts Jem as a grounded musician, but its wide-ranging sound suggests something different, as the singer has yet to find a style that fully suits her capabilities. Fortunately, her search for the perfect genre still yields some enjoyable songs, as shown by this album's handful of standout tracks.
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| 01. |  |
Down To Earth |
4:33 |
|
| 02. | |
Crazy |
3:39 |
|
| 03. | |
I Want You To... |
3:38 |
|
| 04. | |
It's Amazing |
3:58 |
|
| 05. | |
Keep On Walking |
4:12 |
|
| 06. | |
You Will Make It |
6:11 |
|
| 07. | |
I Always Knew |
3:09 |
|
| 08. | |
Got It Good |
4:26 |
|
| 09. | |
Aciiid! |
2:56 |
|
| 10. | |
How Would You Like It |
4:02 |
|
| 11. | |
And So I Pray |
2:42 |
|
| 12. | |
On Top Of The World |
4:52 |
|
12 Total Tracks, 48:18 Total Length
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Credits
- Ken Robinson - Trumpet // Jeff Bass - Bass // Jeff Bass - Guitar // Jeff Bass - Keyboards // Jeff Bass - Producer // Jeff Bass - Drum Programming // Jeff Bass - Tracked By // Ted Jensen - Mastering // Lester Mendez - Piano // Lester Mendez - Producer // Lester Mendez - String Arrangements // Lester Mendez - Brass Arrangement // Lester Mendez - Instrumentation // Eddie Miller - Vocal Engineer // Rafael Padilla - Percussion // Tim Roberts - Mixing Assistant // Serban Ghenea - Mixing // Mick Bolger - Trombone // Mick Bolger - Trumpet // Mick Bolger - Euphonium // Mick Bolger - Mellophonium // Mick Bolger - E Flat Cornet // Johnny Evans - Saxophone // Jeff Atmajian - Piano // Jeff Atmajian - String Arrangements // Jeff Atmajian - Piano Arrangement // Sonus - Strings // Mike Bradford - Producer // Mike Bradford - String Arrangements // Mike Bradford - Instrumentation // Kevin Beber - Drum Programming // Del Casher - Sounds // Bryan Cook - Engineer // John Hanes - Mixing // Joe Wohlmuth - Engineer // David Levita - Guitar (Acoustic) // David Levita - Guitar // Jem Griffiths - Vocals // Jem Griffiths - Producer // Jem Griffiths - Vocal Engineer // Jem Griffiths - Poetry Reading // Nabil Elderkin - Photography // Brian Berryman - Engineer // Brian Berryman - Fader Engineer // Phillip Ramos - Studio Assistant // Mark Aaron James - Design // Hiroko Aoyagi - Vocals // Nick Cuchinella - Trombone // Justin Griffiths - Guitar (Acoustic) // Shinobu Lee - Vocals // Monica Mendez - Sound Design // Milan, Derrick & The Krew - Choir, Chorus // Carmen Puig - Performer // Welsh Choir Of Southern California - Choir, Chorus
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