Off The Radar Screen 2
By Ron Wynn
Nina Simone defied categorization throughout her career. She initially wanted to
be a classical pianist, but left the conservatory behind for nightclub career.
Simone sang blues and ballads, protest songs and show tunes, jazz, gospel,
folk, rock and pop, doing them all with amazing ease, flair and power.
While there are quite a few anthologies now floating around claiming to
be definite works, one of the better, and least expensive one comes
from Portugal, of all places. Nina Simone: The Essential Album
(Golden Stars)is a three-disc set that sells on average for what some
stores are selling new single CD titles. While 32 songs over three
CDs isn’t an enormous amount of music, the package includes “My Baby
Just Cares For Me,” “To Be Young, Gifted And Black,” “Do What You Gotta Do,”
“The Other Woman,”“I Loves You Porgy² and ³Mississippi Goddamn,”
just for starters. If you’re only looking for one good, representative
Nina Simone set, this one will surely qualify.
While many people consider The Godfather the finest gangster film
made, rappers have been more influenced by the remake of
Scarface starring Al Pacino that was released in 1983. Now that a
20th
anniversary edition DVD has been released, an interesting companion
disc
Def Jam Presents Music Inspired By Scarface (Def Jam)traces the
connection via songs from such artists as Mobb Deep featuring Nas,
Cam’Ron,
Scarface, Jay-Z, N.W.A. and others, even going back as far as
Grandmaster
Flash and The Furious Five. Incidentally, those who haven’t seen the
1932
original might want to catch it the next time it runs on Turner Classic
Movies, just for some perspective.
Bob Marley made arguably his most fiery music for the Trojan label
in
England long before his songs began appearing in America on Island.
African Herbsman (Trojan/Sanctuary) includes the original
versions of
several songs that later became Marley anthems, among them “Lively Up
Yourself,” “Small Axe,” “Four Hundred Years,” “Kaya,” “Put It On,” and
“Trenchtown Rock” among others. This expanded, remastered edition also
has
10 bonus tracks, some of them material Marley and Wailers did with Lee
Perry, as well as great toast from Jamaican DJ Big Youth on “Moving.”
There’s also a strong extended instrumental rendition of “Live (Lively
Up
Yourself)” from premier Jamaican saxophonist Tommy McCook.
Seal’s sometimes spacy lyrics and more pop-oriented productions
have cut
into his popularity among African-Americans, mainly because his songs
don’t
usually make it onto urban radio. But while he can occasionally become
rather ponderous, he’s also capable of very soulful, stirring vocals as
he
frequently demonstrates on Seal IV (Warner Bros.). Such songs as
“Get
It Together,” “Loneliest Star” and “Tinsel Town” are delivered with
conviction and punch. However, this is definitely pop material, devoid
of
hip-hop influence, and at times feathery light from a content
standpoint.
Biz Markie has always been an acquired taste, and how much you’ll
enjoy
Weekend Warrior (Tommy Boy)depends on whether you think he’s
clever,
funny or just stupid. “Let Me See You Bounce” is a rollicking single,
while
“Dance Party Scream & Shout” has a fun groove, and he even tackles a
bit
stronger subject material on “Haters,” “Games” and “To Be Real.” But
Markie’s also not exactly a riveting performer or rapper, and he’ll
never
captivate anyone strictly on his flow or lyrics. Weekend
Warrior has
its good moments, but over an entire disc becomes rather dreary and
disposable.
By contrast, both Da Brat and Juvenile can certainly make people
stand
up and listen. Da Brat’s first new record in quite a while Limelite,
Luv
& Niteclubz (Arista)showcases a different look both visually and
conceptually. Where she once sought to prove her toughness, Da Brat’s
now
into sexiness and being sultry as much, if not more, than demonstrating
her
verbal proficiency. On “Gotta Thing For You” with Mariah Carey and “Get
Somebody” featuring Keisha Jackson, Da Brat veers dangerously close to
sounding almost vulnerable, although she tries to dispel that notion on
other cuts like “Boom” or “World Premiere.” Still, she’s clearly
working the
same territory as Lil’ Kim or Foxy Brown, minus their more explicitly
sexual
vocabulary. Juvenile doesn’t mince or tone down his rhetoric on
Playaz Of
Da Game (D3). The beats and production range from explosive to
entertaining, and sometimes, especially on “Krooked Kops” featuring DJ
Jimi
or “New Orleans Bounce” listening to Juvenile can be pleasurable. At
other
times, particularly “Hoz Ain’t Nuthin But Hoz” or “Yeah F***in Right,”
it
can be a tedious exercise.
Long before the term “smooth jazz” came into vogue, keyboardist
Lonnie
Liston Smith departed Pharoah Sanders’ avant-garde ensemble and
switched
direction, opting for a smoother, lyrical instrumental approach.
Visions
Of A New World (Bluebird)stunned many jazz listeners when it
initially
came out in 1975. The subdued, heavily electronic settings and lush
solos
were a far cry from what Smith had been doing, but he still retained
some
aspects of improvisation. Hearing it again nearly 30 years later, it’s
clearer now that Smith not only anticipated the advent of smooth jazz,
he
was paving the way for it. While this music isn¹t nearly as adventurous
or
edgy as what he did before, it was superbly played.
Finally, Sister Rosetta Tharpe was one of the first gospel artists
to
make a switch to secular music. Tharpe starting combining the two in
the
late Œ30s, and she kept alternating between gospel, blues and jazz for
much
of her career. However the material on Sister Rosetta Tharpe: The
Gospel
Of The Blues (MCA/Decca)is predominantly gospel, though it’s done in
a
swinging manner that emphasizes her flamboyant guitar accompaniment and
the
blues feel in her vocal. In fact, Tharpe’s blues leanings are evident
in the
1938 number “This Train,” which was an original and does contain
religious
lyrics. Tharpe was equally effective whether backed by a large group,
singing with a small unit or working alone, and there are examples of
all
these settings on this anthology. The disc contains her biggest
numbers,
including “Strange Things Happening Everyday,” “Rock Me,” “Shout,
Sister
Shout!,” and “I Want A Tall Skinny Papa.” Given the ongoing furor in
some
churches over lyric content and musical style, it’s reassuring to know
these
arguments have been raging in black churches since a blues-playing
pianist
named Thomas Dorsey decided to start writing religious material. His
merger
of blues sensibility and spiritual fervor helped create modern gospel,
but
even then there were people who called what he was doing “sinful.” The
same
thing happened to Tharpe.
(Ron Wynn is editor of Everything Underground).
Read Off The Radar Screen 1
