Search - Meshell Ndegeocello :: Article 3

With Meshell, change is ALWAYS good...

Derek | Richmond, VA USA | 01/27/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"let me put a few things out there now...



I'm a fan of Meshell. She's hands down my favorite artist out there creating music today and i think she is appaulingly under-rated across the board. She is a beast...ESPECIALLY LIVE. If you have the opportunity to catch a live Meshell gig, go. She is most creative playing and creating in the moment with live musicians. You wont be disapointed. I love her live stuff so much that i tend to look at her studio albums as 'scetches' or blueprints in a way...she creates those sketches and bluprints and uses them as a foundation to really create on the next level & improvise live on the stage. Rarely, (if ever) will you go to a Meshell show and here her do a song just like it sounded on the record....she always takes it somehere else and puts a new perspective on it. For me, it doesn't get any better than that.



...if you know Meshell at all, then you KNOW she is consistent in ONE area more than any other...and that is that she's ALWAYS changing and evolving musically...you KNOW that she won't hesitate to completely 'flip the script' from one project to the next...she doesn't ususally stay in one musical place for long....and yet at the SAME time there IS a consistent thread running through EVERYTHING she does....and that thread is, the respect for, attention to, and passion for the CRAFT of creating and expressing as honestly and fearlessly as she can in a musical way ...



so that should give you a hint that this 'Article3' EP is something VERY different than the Meshell album that preceeded it (which was the mostly instrumental improvisational jazz oriented, and grammy nominated, and beautiful "Dance of the Infidel" album). Just like "Dance of the Infidel" was very different from the cosmic soul reggae vibes of the wonderul record that came before it, which was the "Comfort Woman" record...which was different from...well, you get the picture.



The 'Article 3' EP is, well...its something else...and quite honestly to quote a friend of mine i think 'some folks won't be ready'. ;) Will big mass Radio play anything from this? Probably not... because Radio is too busy playing mostly uninspired throwaway dredge....which is why i don't listen to Radio. But who needs radio when you've got folks like Meshell out there still challenging themselves AND us on so many creative levels? Musically, thematically...again Meshell takes another step in her own direction without even hesitating...and if one isn't too caught up in genre's & hooks & hits, then you'll be able to enjoy her journey with her and be surprized by the enexpected turns it takes...



So here's my breakdown of the Article 3 EP...



1."haditha":

this is an intro 'vibe setting' type of track...there's an eerieness and ominous feel about it due in part to the subject matter (prophecies about the 'end of times' armegedon type of stuff). Clips from a speech by hamza yusuf over the intro music. 'Structurally this wouldn't have been out of place on her other album that came out several years back "Cookie" which contained some clips of various speeches as 'tone' setting elements. Anyway, this ominous vibed intro its a perfect set-up for the next track...



2."the sloganeer":

immediately pulsing & churning and in your face. Here the rythym of this tune is almost techno or new wave-esque, maybe something like 'industrial punk'? (i think i just made that last 'genre' up myself :). I'm not really into the 'genre' thing, but i know some people are so thats my sad attempt to try to categorize this one ;)...very straight ahead and uptempo...but it doesn't feel like a techno song per'se...just the speed and rythym of it. Deantoni Parks drumming is just full of pulsing energy. Mike Severson's guitars are churning along.(his guitar work was a highlight from a Rome show Meshell did back in May 2006). And there's Meshell on bass and vocals. her layered vocals here are really very interesting to me...they kind of float over the churning pulsing music. the lilty floating subtle melody of the different vocal layers on top provide an intriguing contrast and compliment the fast rythyms below. very cool. The lyrics are very intriguing on this one too. Its been mentioned that this doesn't really sound like anything that meshell has done on her own albums before. i agree with that to a degree. I think we may have seen hints of it before here & there, and on a few of her side collaborations/projects (though i can't recall specifically which ones at the moment)...but this track is really something unique. Personally i really dig the heck out of it...ESPECIALLY after hearing the LIVE version of it back to back against the studio version.



3. "shirk":

I lot of people are talking about the uptempo tunes (like 'The Sloganeer' above and 'Article 3' below) on this EP .... but trust me don't sleep on THIS slow almost acoustic ballad here! Shirk is a seemingly simple song in a way. It features Pat Metheny & Herve Sambe on acoustic guitars and Davi Viera on percussion. The vocals are the most magical thing on this track for me. Haunting and sad melodies. It features Meshell and Oumou Sangare's voices. We all know Meshells voice can have such a wonderful expressive & rich tone to it...so that shouldn't be a suprise really. But before this i had never heard Oumou Sangare's vocals (that i know of anyway) and Oumou's voice is just absolutely amazing as well...they weave together JUST right. this is one of those 'perfect little concise' songs. It expresses exactly what it intended to express and doesn't leave you wanting for anything. A quiet beautiful haunting tune ... a real nice compliment to aggressive track that preceeds it ... as well as the aggressive track that follows it which is...



4. "article 3"

wow...another barn burner here! VERY uptempo along the lines of 'The Sloganeer'. Love the intro of this song...Deantoni Parks drums kicking and moving you along right away, Thandiswa Mazwai provides some of the vocals (does anyone know what language that Thandiswa is singing at the begining? If someone is able to translate the lyrics of her parts i would owe ya one!!), Davi Viera on percussion...and theres Pat Metheny AND MESHELL both on guitar! (How cool is that?) Meshell also is on bass & vocals here too. Another song that is really impossible for me to categorize...its so kinetic...just FULL of energy and urgency. Different voices and phrases are flying in out and around each other, in front of and behind the music. Very cool track. I can't wait to hear this one live too.



5."eliptical":

Of all of the tracks on this EP, this one might seem to more closely resemble some of the Meshell music that some Meshell fans may be most farmilar with. Its a spacey soulful funky midtempo groover...nice bubbly perculating Meshell bass line throughout. meshell also providing some vocals and hi hat. Programming by Amatus-sami, Graham Haynes on cornet, Brandon Ross on guitar, Davi Vieira on percussion...and last, but CERTAINLY not least...Sy Smith providing the main vocals. (Can i get some love for Sy Smith?).



so there you have it, a EP little sampler of some tunes that may show up on her next full length.



By the way, for info on all things Meshell (including audio & visual clips of some of her live performances) you may want to go to:



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(FYI: in case you're wondering where i'm coming from...my musical leanings are mostly towards '70's SOULl' also with lots of 70's rock & pop in the mix too because thats all the stuff i grew up on. Chaka Khans voice is hard to beat. LOVE Ray Charles & Jimi Hendrix. Love early James Brown (from his early days and into the 70's), The Beatles, Bob Marley, Led Zep, Parliament / Funkadelic. Dig some Jazz stuff too, but mainly the older stuff. Was also a big fan of early-to-mid 80's era Prince (when he was hungry and fearless). Love all of the Police's stuff and lots of the Sting stuff. Some of the 90's stuff i liked: Smashing Pumpkins, Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Soundgarden, Maxwell, and yeah Nirvana too. Some more 'modern' folks i love: Sade, Jill Scott, Dangelo, The Roots, Gnarles Barkely, Mos Def, Brand New Heavies. My kids are getting me into System of a Down and some of the other 'new rockers' too. Of the folks out there today Peter Gabriel is probably one of my all time favorites who is still out there doing interesting stuff as well. And of course, as i mentioned earlier, Meshell is TOPS grade A #1 in my book.)"

FutureLoveSoulMusic

SBLove99 | New Orleans, La. | 01/30/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This EP has more style than any average full length recording out there right now. Meshell is an artist who is more and more progressive with each new recording; which is what R&B artists were about during the golden age of soul/r&b music in the late sixties and early to mid-seventies.

This is not music for the pop/r&b listener stuck in the right now. The tone is political, religious and sensual, while the music defies category, you can pinpoint various styles & influences within.

She pushes furthur the imaginary boundaries of what an r&b artist can do by incorporating african tones into her music.This kind of daring musical exploration is sorely lacking in the popular r&b style today. And to think Meshell's debut started on a Plantation. Buy it now.

"

Music lover

C.S. | St. Croix, U.S.V.I. | 07/17/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The explosion of sound off of this short cd is mind blowing. Meshell for me is one the best artist every. Such a mixture of sound and culture. To look at this album you would think its to short but by the time you finish the last track your satisfied. It is almost hard to believe that an artist can continuously make such great music all the time, even on soundtracks . Please give it a chance.



For Meshell fans its another banger!!!



music lover"