Search - Ultra Nate :: Grime Silk Thunder

Ultra's the Only Drug for me!

J. Ahern | Gainesville, FL United States | 06/07/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Yes, and like a drug, I'm addicted to her music, especially this latest release! Truthfully I was worried that this project was going to be shelved- because it's been delayed for the last three years and no signs of progress, until late 2006 when we started seeing Love's the Only Drug and Automatic come out. And of course that's when she started a MySpace and we've been getting regular updates from that.



About the album, this is her most club ready album she's had in years. The former two albums were more eclectic and had tracks outside the dance genre. Grime Silk and Thunder is all dance music, but encompasses different subgenres within- house, soul, pop, electro, slow beats, fast beats, etc.



Starts off with 'Loosely Based On' which is more of a long intro track in my opinion with few vocals, but then follows with the good stuff. Chock-full of superb songwriting, addicting instrumentals/production, and a ravishing set of photos/artwork are what this album is all about.



Fave tracks are Automatic, Freak On, Love's the Only Drug and all tracks 10 thru 14- these are the first I usually play. The rest are great, too.



Dance music lovers, 2007 is your year. Buy this today and support this artist. She's MY American Idol and has proven it by staying authentic and revolutionary! She's been in the game more than 17 years, and is still on top of it!! Looking great as ever too."

Beautiful!

Anthony Morelli | Montreal, Canada | 06/23/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Beautiful, Dancy, Sexy, Fresh, Powerful, Modern, Club-Hopping...it's what comes to mind when I play Ultra Nate's new album. Her music is fabulous and fills my room with perfect summer tunes. My ipod is pumping out the entire album, as well as my stereo at home. Got the CD in the mail a couple days ago and I must say it's just super. UN's voice is powerful and sexy. The songs have totally underestimated my expectations of the album meaning I was pleasantly surprised, track after track. There isn't one song that doesn't appeal to me.



My friend told me that the album contains lots of different styles of music, but, to me, it's mostly club-style and/or lounge. Speaking of lounge, track 1 is a definite lounge/ambient number. A perfect opener to a perfect album. The photos of UN are divine and totally decorate the booklet and packaging artwork. At first, I didn't like the front cover image cos it's very photoshopped, meaning it looks too screened and soft, as if it's not really a photo of her at all. Looks more like an airbrushed image because of the screened softness.



UN's voice reminds me very much of Simone Denny (Love Inc.) and a little bit of Kristine W. as well. I haven't heard anything of UN since buying her "Situation Critical" album in 1999 from a second hand music shop in some bargain bin. I never really cared for her music, other than her big 1998 hit "FREE". But now I truly love both that and this album very much and appreciate her big time. Track # 6 is a cover tune of 80's pop trio "The Pointer Sisters" classic hit "Automatic". Rearragned with UN's powerful voice and modern-day techno beats/sounds, I can't help but fall in love with the song all over again.



A true 2007 Clubfloor toe-tapping album, Grime/Silk/Thunder is surely going to be a winner when it's released here in our Canadian music stores. I bought my copy online as an import cos I sure as heck wasn't going to wait!

Tracklisting:

01- Loosely Based On

02- Love's the Only Drug

03- Freak On

04- Give It All You Got (Featuring Chris Willis)

05- Scandal

06- Automatic

07- Slow Grind

08- Falling

09- Getaway (Featuring Dajae)

10- Feel Love

11- Lethal Shot

12- Star (It's Showtime)

13- This House

14- It's Over Now

Total Playing Time: 72:36"

"Tonight I may condone it"

Johnny Myo | London, UK | 07/02/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Only her fifth album in a 17-year career, Baltimore's Ultra Naté has never been in a hurry to put out material, and especially not clichéd R&B or by-the-numbers dance music (even if her upcoming high-octane cover of the Pointer Sisters' Automatic may have the whiff of an album-promoting sop to the mainstream about it, it's still a lot of fun - especially its campy, soft-porn video. But then I live in Europe, where censorship tends to concentrate more on violence).



I'm a bit biased, as Ultra has, for me, the most pleasing vocal on earth and I'd probably have snapped up each new release if they'd featured her singing the phonebook, or even Rod Stewart-style sell-out schmaltzfests, but I'd say Grime, Silk, Thunder is a welcome addition to her solid, high-quality output to date.



One thing you can say about this smokily-voiced chanteuse is that she's never been afraid to plow her own furrow, tackling a variety of musical styles, and maybe this is why so many impressively talented musicians have queued up to work with her over the years (D-Influence, Stonebridge, Nellee Hooper, Blaze, Dajae, Full Intention, Eric Kupper, Mood II Swing, N'Dea Davenport, etc etc).



I'd heard this was to be Ultra's "dancefloor album" (in the same way Madonna's last effort was hers), but, in common with each release from One Woman's Insanity onwards, she wraps her ever-maturing voice around a number of different moods - from the Philly-sounding Getaway (soaring guest vocals from Dajae) to Giorgio Moroder-style retro-disco in Love's the Only Drug. But her always compelling phrasing makes the slower, jazzy Feel Love the stand-out track for me, and its cleverly simple, positive existential lyric hooks you in. If you've heard club remixes by the likes of Liquid People, they don't really compare to the much deeper original featured here - it hits the kind of heights I'd hoped for from MAW's Nuyorican Soul project, but - like I said - DEEPER. Not so sure about the Sly and Robbie-style toasting on Slow Grind, but at least she tries it out. Star (It's Showtime) and Lethal Shot aren't really working for me so far, either, but maybe they'll grow on me, as it sometimes takes me a while to "get" Ultra's songs. But with the right remixes, Star could be massive, alright.



So, Ultra's not resting on her laurels (and I can't wait to hear her perfrom live again, next time she's in London), but she does tip a nod to her initial club hits, with a terrific re-working of early single Scandal, which stays true to the spirit of the Basement Boys-produced original, as well as a souped-up, extended cover of her underground deep house smash It's Over Now.



In fact, the inclusion of these, along with Automatic, last year's club hit Love's The Only Drug and dancefloor anthem Freak On may make some fans feel over-familiar with it already, but hopefully it'll help her notch up some well-deserved sales."