Black Music Month 2015 - Album Review(s) (#2)

Ah, I couldn't wait to listen to and share my thoughts on this album...

 

During the week, I was able to listen to some unsung music from the 90's--among the tunes were Lisa Fischer's sole studio album, So Intense. It is on this album that we can hear the Grammy-winning single, "How I Can Ease the Pain".

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For me, there was a positive in watching 20 Feet From Stardom and a negative--specifically in relation to Lisa Fischer and So Intense. 20 Feet From Stardom introduced (and re-introduced) me to so many legendary and ridiculously talented women--Lisa Fischer being one of them, of course. If I didn't watch the documentary, I may have never listened to So Intense, so that's the positive. Now, the negative...

 

As I listened to this album, I felt like the Lisa Fischer I'd come to know through the documentary didn't shine through. The album is nice--it's absolutely a 90's jam--and Ms. Fischer sang her face off, as usual. But it just didn't seem like her, you know? It's hard to put into words why I feel this way about the album...I just don't think it did her full range of vocal talent justice.

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 Plus, on some of the songs, the music overpowered her breathy vocals--seemingly only turning down the volume when she hit a high (or strong) note--and even that rarely happened. Now, that isn't to say that Ms. Fischer wasn't singing loud enough--but more like, the producer was in the booth like, "Man, this instrumental is hot! Turn it up some more! A little louder...yeah...a little over Lisa." But I digress...

But you know what, even with all of that said, I'd still include some of the tracks on a party mix. My favorite songs from the album: the palpitation-inducing "How Can I Ease the Pain", the jammin' first track, "Save Me", the title track, "So Intense", and another heart-string tugger, "Last Goodbye".

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Black Music Month 2015 - Album Review(s) (#1)

This week, for Black Music Month, I listened to the debut albums of one of my favorite Motown groups--The Supremes!


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Meet the Supremes (1962)

 

The songs on Meet the Supremes certainly do live up to the album's title. We meet every Supreme--Diana Ross, Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, and Barbara Martin (who isn't pictured on the album cover because she'd left the group before the album's release). While listening to the album, I found that my knowledge of The Supremes was being put to use....

Barbara Martin-Richardson (The Supremes Wikia)

As a teenager, Mary Wilson had found her voice by singing along with her favorite music group, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, so her lead vocals and the album's doo-wop ballad, "Baby Don't Go" were like pieces of a two-piece puzzle. Everyone knows Florence Ballard was the "soulful" voice of the group, and as a result, I could apply the same comments about Mary's lead vocals on "Baby Don't Go" to Florence's lead vocals on "Buttered Popcorn". Then of course, there were Diana Ross' pop vocals. Now, Diana's vocals weren't put to best use on this album, but it is her voice we hear singing on the group's first charting single, "Your Heart Belongs to Me"--and as they say, "the rest was history"...

Three Favorite Songs

1. "Buttered Popcorn" 

Even before hearing this album in its entirety, "Buttered Popcorn" had been one of my favorite songs. The lyrics are kind of silly (and depending on who you ask, suggestive) but it's a fun, soulful, and funky tune. 

2. "Your Heart Belongs to Me"

This was the album's first charting single (albeit peaking at number 95) and in my opinion, features one of Diana Ross' best vocal performances. It's a very smooth and very pretty song, with lyrics by the legendary Smokey Robinson, and an instrumental similar to some of Mary Wells' hit songs of the time ("Laughing Boy", "You Beat Me to the Punch", etc.).

3. "Let Me Go The Right Way"

This was the fourth single from Meet the Supremes and the group's second charting single. It's just another fun, sing-a-long type of tune that I enjoyed listening to. Its instrumental is very similar to the one heard in "Buttered Popcorn".

Overall Thoughts

Again, Meet the Supremes certainly lived up to its title--we got the opportunity to meet each Supreme and hear their singing style. However, it wasn't the most solid debut. It's very possible that being accustomed to THE famous Supremes (and their hit songs) can make one hear this album with biased ears--and that's bias going both ways--one could either love it because it's The Supremes, or dislike it because it's not The Supremes as music listeners came to know them. I would be on the latter side of the coin but to be truthful, that isn't even bias--I could absolutely hear why music listeners of 1962 skipped over this album and temporarily, the group. 

Most of the songs sounded like songs that Mary Wells and the Marvelettes rejected, and with the exception of a handful of songs, the album is just downright boring. Ignoring and in spite of what happened behind-the-scenes, it was a good thing that Berry Gordy heard the potential in "Your Heart Belongs to Me" and Diana Ross' lead vocals--and did not give up on the "no-hit Supremes". 


Rating

C+