Shemekia Copeland - Talking to Strangers
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Shemekia CopelandEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Original Language)
CD Release Date: 2002-09-17
Music Label: Alligator Records
Soundtracks:
- Livin' On Love
- Two's A Crowd
- When A Woman's Had Enough
- Sholanda's
- Don't Whisper
- Should Have Come Home
- Talking To Strangers
- Too Much Traffic
- Too Close
- Walk On
- Ka-Ching
- The Push I Need (duet w/ Dr. John)
- Happy Valentine's Day
- When The Battle Is Over
- Pie In The Sky
Free Music Notes for Talking to Strangers
Free Music Review: Serious Singer / Funky Fun
Hit: 5 Stars
A while back, I had heard Shemekia talked about as a serious new blues singer by several people who I know to know what they're talking about. So I filed her name in my head for future reference as an artist worth looking into. Shortly thereafter I came upon this album in the blues section of my local store, and immediately decided to take a chance when I noticed that the album opens with Livin' On Love, a tune which had been recorded a few years ago by my favorite singer, Tracy Nelson. Good music begets good music, and I've found that albums produced by singers who are classy enough to pick great songs like Livin' On Love generally proffer superior material throughout.
I had no idea. After buying Talking To Strangers and playing it four times in one night, I went back to the record store the next day and bought two more of her albums, Turn the Heat Up and Wicked. While those two were not quite the standouts that Talking To Stranger turned out to be, I'm not sorry I got them. In time, I came to like them as much for different reasons, but let me tell everybody here and now - no matter which of her albums you choose to acquire, this woman can SING.
Besides the aforementioned Livin' On Love, Talking To Strangers is a veritable smorgasbord of good, old-fashioned funk. Happy Valentines Day, Don't Whisper and When A Woman's Had Enough are standouts. Ms. Copeland pretty much sings about affairs of the heart, both requited and otherwise, and the title track is about as apt and truthful an assessment of the singles dating scene that I have ever encountered. For great comic relief, there's a tune called Sholanda's that had me splitting my sides.
If urban contemporary blues is your thing, I highly recommend Talking To Strangers. If you know nothing about contemporary blues, it's a good place to start.
Talking to Strangers Poster
Shemekia Copeland has already scored numerous awards and accolades, but this is the young singer's real artistic breakthrough. While Copeland's first two CDs were at times marred by ham-fisted musical support and subpar songwriting, she is now free to unfurl the subtle, soulful side of her big voice. "Don't Whisper" sounds like a lost Memphis classic--the kind of tearjerker Ann Peebles might have cut. Copeland pours her vocals like warmed honey over the song's sad lyrics and an arrangement that balances producer Dr. John's delicate piano with edgy, tremoloed guitars. She turns soft and breathy on the lovely, jazz-inflected ballad "Happy Valentine's Day," evoking a worldly, relaxed beauty that belies her 23 years. There's plenty of full-tilt belting, too. "Sholanda's," a tongue-in-cheek trip to a beauty parlor, balances her power with graceful New Orleans-flavored drums and slide. And "The Push I Need" is a playful duet with Dr. John that's sprightly and smart enough to sidestep clichés. Overall, there's a sense of poised musicianship at work, which makes Talking to Strangers emotionally tempered and rewarding. --Ted DrozdowskiBlues Music CDs
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