Once upon a time (circa 1998), the daughter of a blues legend burst onto the scene with her own potentially legendary debut, Turn the Heat Up. I say "potentially" because, although all the necessary ingredients were there,... more » they didn't quite represent the best of what Shemekia Copeland is obviously capable of. A few more years to hone her voice and allow it to reach its natural maturity, and Copeland could produce an album that would challenge some of the reigning royalty of the blues. Wicked is not that album. It is, however, a stunningly good piece of work, with solid songs (Copeland's contributing more to the songwriting, too), a greater variety of styles, and some serious genre-bending that will turn the heads of those used to the more straight-ahead blues of Copeland's last effort. The album even opens with a rocker, "It's 2 a.m.," and Copeland pokes fun at all those pseudo-R&B true-love ballads littering the airwaves lately with her own "The Fool You're Looking For." The fact that Wicked still represents more potential than realization is actually quite refreshing, too. It gives her growing legions of fans something to look forward to, as we realize that the best is still yet to come. --Genevieve Williams« less
Once upon a time (circa 1998), the daughter of a blues legend burst onto the scene with her own potentially legendary debut, Turn the Heat Up. I say "potentially" because, although all the necessary ingredients were there, they didn't quite represent the best of what Shemekia Copeland is obviously capable of. A few more years to hone her voice and allow it to reach its natural maturity, and Copeland could produce an album that would challenge some of the reigning royalty of the blues. Wicked is not that album. It is, however, a stunningly good piece of work, with solid songs (Copeland's contributing more to the songwriting, too), a greater variety of styles, and some serious genre-bending that will turn the heads of those used to the more straight-ahead blues of Copeland's last effort. The album even opens with a rocker, "It's 2 a.m.," and Copeland pokes fun at all those pseudo-R&B true-love ballads littering the airwaves lately with her own "The Fool You're Looking For." The fact that Wicked still represents more potential than realization is actually quite refreshing, too. It gives her growing legions of fans something to look forward to, as we realize that the best is still yet to come. --Genevieve Williams
howard lee teitel | GLENDALE, NEW YORK United States | 09/16/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"SHEMEKIA COPELANDS SECOND CD IS A COLLECTION OF ROCKIN BLUES WITH A FEW TOUCHES OF BLUES WITH A FEELING. CD OPENS WITH ITS 2 AM A ROCKIN UPTEMPO SONG,MOST OF THE 13 SONGS OF UMPTEPO BLUES.MY TWO FAVORITES SONGS ARE COVERS "STEAMY WINDOWS" AND THE BEST SONG THAT SHOW SHEMEKIA TRUE VOCAL POWER ON HER FATHERS SONG "ITS MY OWN TEARS". THE LEGENDARY RUTH BROWN APPEARS ON ONE SONG "IF HE MOVES HIS LIPS". CD CONTAINS ON ACOUSTIC NUMBER "BEAT UP GUITAR" REMINDS YOU OF THOSE FRONT PORCH JAMS. SHEMIEKA LIVE BAND PLAYS ON ONLY ONE CUT AND THE REST IS JIMMY VIVINO ON GUITAR AND BAND AND ALSO THE UPTOWN HORNS."
I love you Shemekia
Greg Boissonnault | Wilbraham, MA United States | 01/21/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I am a senior in High School and I am taking a Blues course with Art Tipaldi (You might know him), and he introduced me to Shemekia. We were supposed to get a discount on the CD through different people, but it was taking so long that I went out and bought the CD (I couldn't wait), and it was worth it. Shemekia delivers the power to hold you in your hand and mold you into her emotions. She has so much emotion and power in her voice to make her feel a part of her. The CD also has a track with blues singer Ruth Brown, in which they completely dis men (I was a little hurt but I got over it). I was lucky enough to have Shemekia come and visit my class during January 2001, and I completely love her. Take the first chance you get to go out and buy the cd, you'll love it!!! It gets the Detroit Five Star Rating!!"
Darlene edwards(I got the 1-2-5 blues )
darlene edwards | USA | 11/07/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"this message is for shemekia copeland, i love you, and your music. continue to knock them dead out their . keep up the good work, and we love you. dearly yours, you know who this is. love you bye-bye."
A solid sophomore effort
Docendo Discimus | Vita scholae | 08/27/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Grittier than the more recent (and more highly touted) "Talking To Strangers", Shemekia Copeland's second album is more akin to her 1998 debut album. A pretty tough mixture of R&B, soul, blues and rock n' roll, it is a little bit too formulaic to be truly remarkable, but there are plenty of highlights here.
Johnny Copeland's daughter is equally convincing on the rock n' roll-like swagger of "It's 2 A.M." and the soulful "Love Scene". Shemekia sings with power and conviction, and the material is a bit more diverse than on her debut album. She has contributed to the songwriting as well, penning "It's My Own Tears" herself, and she gets co-writing credit on two more songs. Most of the remaining material is credited to songwriter/guitarist John Hahn with various partners.
Some of the lyrics are kinda trite (and I guess songs like "Not Tonight" and "The Other Woman" would have appealed more to me if I'd been a woman), but the band is uniformly good and often great. The Uptown Horns provide well-arranged brass on three numbers, and Copeland tries her hand at an almost-traditional acoustic blues, the stripped-down "Beat-Up Guitar".
Keyboardist Brian Mitchell plays some delightful fills on a handful of songs, most notably the rollicking R&B of "Wild, Wild Woman", and guitarist Jimmy Vivino is very good without hogging the spotlight.
The ballad "The Fool You're Looking For" is also almong the highlights, as is the (really sexist) "If He Moves His Lips" with the tagline "you can tell your man is lying if he moves his lips".
"Turn The Heat Up" may have had a couple more really notable songs, but fans will certainly want to pick up these 58 minutes of sincere and well-executed R&B as well.
3 3/4 stars. Definitely recommended."
Explosive
willie morrison | Washington, DC USA | 08/11/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I am 14 years old and this is the best CD i have ever listened to. Shemekia copeland sings her heart out on every song. I have not always been a huge fan of blues but after i listened to this CD and her first one, " turn the heat up " I started listening to blues a whole lot more. I gurantee you will absoloutly love this CD. It is my most favorite CD that i own and it will be yours too if you get this CD " WICKED ""