Ledisi - Lost & Found
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Free Music Notes for Lost & Found
Free Music Review: "I've been waiting for y'all to hear me sing, 'cause I've been here all the time!"
Hit: 5 Stars
A few years ago, I was browsing through some Listmanias and came across an unfamiliar name in someone's list of best R&B albums of the year. I found this odd because I'm usually really on top of new artists and discoveries in the genre. Ledisi... `who is that,' I wondered. Why hadn't I heard of this woman? I read up a little on her and found that she was an independent artist who supposedly delivered a mean live show. After hearing all this hype, I was about ready to buy some of her albums. That is until I realized both of her releases were then out of print and only available used starting at a whopping forty dollars. Sorry, but I don't buy CDs for that kind of price, especially if I'm not familiar with the artist. I immediately became excited when I saw she was releasing this album, Lost & Found, on a major label and I bought it the Tuesday it was released.
Ledisi has a unique and invigorating voice; it's slightly raspy at times, but it is always bold and packed with emotion, personality, and power. She has obviously drawn inspiration from some of the jazz and soul greats. The production on this album is well done. It has quite a bit of live instrumentation, which is very refreshing when compared to the mechanized beats that usually surround us today. That plus her expressive vocals provide a listen that pops out of the speakers and really moves you. Most of Lost & Found is composed of cool and soulful mid-tempo grooves, and I must say that there is really not a bad track on here.
The album begins and ends with "Been Here," which is an energetic exercise that hypes you up. It does a great job of creating an intimate musical environment and simulating the sound and spirit of a live performance. She is quick to let you know that she is not a "new artist" by any means: "I've been waitin' on y'all to hear me sang/ `cause I've been her all the time," she sings. "You & Me" is a song that immediately caught my attention on the first listen. The bass and the cool, beautiful harmonies compliment each other quite nicely. The jazzy bridge is great and a groovy touch of organ in the background of any R&B song makes it ten times better. "Alright," the inspirational first single, is also a standout track. The laid-back track is the perfect remedy for a bad day, whether it is due to work, bills piling up, rainy weather, or just plain unhappiness. "Think of You" is my absolute favorite track of the set, however. Beginning with tight drums and a thumping bass, the summery track is just irresistible. The lilting chorus is catchy as all goodness, too. The title track is a departure from the rest of the album. It is a sparse, stripped down ballad with only piano and raw, emotional vocal delivery. "When will the sun ever shine on me?/ I need love to come and carry me." The lyrics of being lost without love are beautifully written. Everything about "The One" is perfect, from the guitar backing, to the chorus, to the harmonies, to the song structure, to driving back beat; it is supreme perfection. "Someday," the last full track, is a very memorable one. It is a sweet dedication to her parents and her desire to care for them and make them proud in everything she does.
I was pleasantly surprised with Lost & Found. Ledisi proves she is a distinguished talent and a force to be reckoned with. Full of passionate and sincere mid-tempo R&B/soul grooves, the album remains one of my favorite albums from 2007. At the end of the year, she was nominated for two Grammy Awards: best new artist and best R&B album, and she definitely deserves to win both. I wish Ledisi all the luck and she will definitely have longevity as an artist.
Free Music Review: Ledisi's breakout?
Hit: 5 Stars
I was really looking forward to this one by one of my 'Unsung Heroes' of modern soul. Ledisi's last album Soul Singer, was nothing short of a masterpiece if you ask me, and is now difficult (not to mention expensive) to lay hands on by all accounts. My best friend prepared me for this new one though by playing me "Alright", from her MySpace page a month or so ago. I was sold on the album on the strength of that song alone.
The album kicks off with the banging 1min 44sec intro, "Been Here" and it's so good, I so wish they had made it into a full song. The next few tunes are nothing special. They're not bad, just nothing special. "You And Me" sounds like something Angie Stone might have recorded (and that's NOT meant a compliment). As for "Best Friend", I've lost count of the number of times I've heard the I'm-in-love-with-my-best-friend thing done before. I yawned literally, the first time I heard it and it hasn't grown on me yet.
Things finally get cooking with "Alright" though; already a firm favourite of mine on this album and an instant classic in my view. "Think Of You", "Today" (bouncing with positivity, that one), "Get To Know You" (a great late summer nodder), "Upside Down", "In The Morning", "I Tried", and the simple yet beautiful title ballad "Lost & Found" (with an inspired violin solo by Karen Briggs), are all standout tracks. The only problem I have with "We Are One", the duet with Rahsaan Patterson, (look out for his upcoming album Wines & Spirits), was that at 1min 48secs, it was way too short. "The One" falls back into Okay But Nothing Special territory but "Someday" pulls the proceedings right back up to stellar quality. The album closes with the outro version of "Been Here" and once again, this desperately needs to be made into a full-length song somewhere along the line. Maybe if/when Ledisi performs it live?
On balance this is a great set and it should propel Ledisi clear from the underground or 'best kept secret' status right into the mainstream. Verve is a label with a solid reputation so it's fingers crossed. Here's a real singer, doing real music. Great production by the lady herself, alongside Rex Rideout, Luther Hanes, Lorenzo Johnson, Jamey Jaz and Sundra Manning. I really hope this turns out to be the breakout album for Ledisi that it deserves to be.
Free Music Review: BEWARE: Neo Soul, Not Jazz
Hit: 5 Stars
I first heard Ledisi on my local NPR station doing big band standards. I next caught her amazing scat turn on the We Love Ella CD, and then she popped up on the new Sergio Mendes work. In every case, where she brought a soulful R&B sensibility to familiar pieces, I was led to believe that Ledisi was the new Sarah/Ella. This image is also supported in the information on the Verve website, where they wax rapturously about her live renditions of "Yesterday," "Blues in the Night," and "Unchained Melody" at various events.
So, I was happy to find her CDs (I had to do some serious Googling to find how to spell Ledisi), and snapped up this one, in spite of not recognizing the tunes on the play lists. I was very disappointed to find that she does NOT sing any standards on the albums. That's certainly her perogative, but I do hope that someone on her management team deals with this blatant schizophrenia.
There's nothing that says that a singer has to be buttonholed. However, it's frustrating for a fan to feel like they've been hornswaggled--you hear "apples" on the radio, but when you dig into your pockets and buy the CD, the music is "oranges." A further example: Her next gig in New York, where I live, is at the Blue Note jazz club, with the Count Basie Orchestra, so the dual personality syndorome continues. Let her try to sing some of her own neo soul tunes to that audience and see what happens!
If your tastes run to Eryka Badu, and you haven't discovered Ledisi yet, you'll love the latter. If your exposure to her runs along the same venues I described, pass her current CDs up and hold out for a jazz classics project, which is surely on its way. (Inexplicably, her next CD, coming in Sept 2008, is Christmas music!) I don't expect my review "to be helpful" to fans of contemporary urban music, but I hope I can stop other old school jazz lovers from making the same assumptions/mistakes that I did. I am giving her 5 stars for her boundless talent, as I don't think it would be fair for me to downgrade her just because I don't like her music.
Free Music Review: This Woman Needs To Be Heard, Ya'll!!!! - (SHE IS WORKIN' ME!!)
Hit: 5 Stars
Since "Soulsinger", her first studio project, the Bay Area's own Ledisi has shown up in a variety of different places giving wondrous performances and is already amassing an impressive body of work. Her work on the Luther tribute album, with Miguel Migs in various house mixes, a guest spot with the Braxton Brothers, and a blistering cover of Earth, Wind & Fire's "Devotion" more than made me ready for her next project.
While I agree with the first reviewer that this is by no means her best work to date, I do submit it is a continuation of noteworthy work from an incomparable vocalist and lyricist equally at home with R&B, dance, and smoky jazz (see her second project - simply phenomenal)
Ledisi has already evolved into one of the those artists where it is simply futile to put a finger on "the best this or the best that." She is definitely one where you simply learn to revel in the next level of her aritistry.
This is indeed a lighter set than her introductory one where she tackled such poignant subjects as friendship, domestic abuse, seuxual abuse, and even, yes, snoring (a stitch..)
But there is no mistaking her unbelievable vocal abilities - she simply breathes life into her music and has crafted an individual styling like no other.
While I give this particular project a 4, simply because she does have better work currently out there, as an emerging and important voice, I give Miss Ledisi a resounding TWELVE!!!!
Have already ordered my copy and am anxiously awaiting its arrival.
I recommend!!!!!!!
**September 1 - CD arrived!!!! Hearing for the first time on a REAL sound system - I changed my mind!!! BEST WORK TO DATE!!! I AM NOT WELL! - MIss Thang is OFF THE HOOK. Shades of Sarah, Ella, Dinah, and a WHOLE LOTTA LEDISI! - simpy wondrous - excellent artistry!!!!!....oh yeah, (system wouldn't let me change it) FIVE STARS....IN A BIG WAY!!!
Free Music Review: Ledisi! Ledisi! Ledisi! You Go Girl!
Hit: 5 Stars
This CD touches alot of different life experiences in a very powerful way. "Joy" shows of the appreciation of being able to love that special someone. "You and Me" is a smooth groove about my special boo and me. "Best Friend" is about that special love that can develop between two peeps who have been there for each other forever, and one of them "doesn't know what to do, can't stop wanting the other". "Think of You" is all about that feeling that no matter what is going on in your life, your mind stays on that special someone that is the "air you breath, the love of your life". "Today" is an affirmation that things will be different, that today things will go my way. "Get to Know You" is all about the joy and pleasure taht one gets from getting to know someone that you have been wanted to find out everything about. " Upside Down" is a remake of the Diana Ross disco song. Naw, just kidding, it is a sort of new day "Wake Up Everybody" where the world needs to change what it is doing and turn things around. "In the Morning" is about always yearning, wanting, and needing that loving when you start that day. " I Tried" is about knowing when to move on after both parties have tried to make it work, to no avail. "Lost and Found" is a haunting type tune which seeks for someone to find me, help me find love, essence, meaning. "We Are One" is a short but very emotional song about the oneness of two people in love. Too deep. "The One" is about the one who brightens up your day who is always there for you. "Someday" is about a child who only wants to make his/her parents proud. Just put the disk on and let all of your emotions be touched; it is truly an experience to behold!