Great Artist Great Album
Meshell Ndegeocello hasn't changed her persona, ever. As for her music, interests, and life, like life, it changes all the time. This album is that summing up of life lived long enough to provide perspective. She is a bit of genius of an artist. There is a fine quality that Joe Henry has captured to the mercurial and fluent versatility of this gifted bass and songstress, but I have to disagree with the Sade comparisons. There is more Miles Davis in Meshell than many realize. One of my favorite songs of her was cut with Regina Carter with Cassandra Wilson on vocals (September 3). Ndegeocello is a musician's musician. She is a writer's writer. An artist's artist. She is not made for this current edition of the world. Sad. But there are enough of us who appreciate the honesty, I hope, to support her genius. Otis Redding, Chris Whitley, Joseph Arthur, John Lennon, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Aaron Neville, Miles Davis, Casandra Wilson . . . I hear understandings, conversations with all them here, but the voice is Ms. Ndegeocello. We Can Always Blame It On The Weather - the refrain from the shortened "Weather" that positions at #1 on this album sets the tone with a guitar that does refrains from Arthur and Whitley, and reminds one that the soul of New York music may no really reside a bit north up the Hudson. The weather in the City is a complaint, but up state it is a mood. Objects are closer in the mirror than they appear - is the metaphor for being rear ended in love. This is an album of changes in the heart while equally radical changes in the world appear. And the Jamaaladeen Tacuma styled cut bass lines of Dirty World sends this message down, with the clear cut poetry of Ndegeocello's line, "The pursuit of happiness has led to clutter." The Lennonesque Oysters has a similar plaint, "Everybody's talkin' bout changin' the world, but the world isn't ever going to change." Meshell isn't bitter, not anymore, and maybe not ever, just honest. And like other great singer, song writers, poet-musicians, like Leslie Feist, who also just brought out a great album, this artist isn't giving up, she's just not into preaching fiction. Don't take her kindness for fiction.
