Erykah Badu - Mama's Gun
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CD Details
Artist: Erykah BaduEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Original Language)
CD Release Date: 2000-11-21
Music Label: Motown
Product features:
- BADU ERIKAH MAMA`S GUN
- Penitentiary Philosophy
- Didn't Cha Know
- My Life
- ... & On
- Cleva
- Hey Sugah
- Booty
- Kiss Me On My Neck
- A.D. 2000
- Orange Moon
- In Love With You
- Bag Lady
- Time's A Wastin
- Green Eyes
Music reviews of Mama's Gun
Music Review: It goes on and on...
Rating: 4 Stars
So, I don't often take requests, but when fellow Ammy reviewer M. Grayson requested my thoughts on this album I delighted in the challenge. It has been years since I first heard `Mama's Gun' and while my memories were fond, I must admit that I have been a long time removed from Erykah's sound and so I wasn't quite sure what to be anticipating. Upon my first listen of `Didn't Cha Know' I was instantly reminded of why my memories were so fond.
Erykah is something uniquely special.
For me, this sophomore album highlights what makes Erykah so interesting; her soulfully infectious voice (I totally get the Chaka Khan reference), which is unique and totally her own. In fact, after listening to this album it doesn't surprise me that M. Grayson asked for me to review this after reading my take on Janelle Monae's sophomore album, since the two artists are not without similarities. They both approach music as an art form, refusing to be typecast or pigeonholed into a specific genre. They have their apparent roots, but it is deeper than that with them.
`Mama's Gun' begins at possibly its lowest point and ends at possibly it's highest. Considering that the lowest point isn't as low as most artists achieve, this is not meant as a serious complaint. Fact remains that, like Janelle, I find myself at a slight crossroads with Erykah. When she hits it out of the park she really sets it soaring, but there are moments where I just don't `get it' entirely.
Thus, the four star grade.
Working backwards for me, from least favorite to ultimate highlight, we have `Kiss Me On My Neck' and `Penitentiary Philosophy'. On the albums opener, it's not that the song is `bad', it's just that it doesn't work entirely. It has a funky rhythm but it feels like an unfocused attempt to attain attention. I love the affectations on Erykah's voice, but they seem warbled (intended) and out of place here. `Kiss Me On My Neck' teased me. It started off so brilliantly, but the way it shifts musical focus is unsettling to me. The chorus is just horribly constructed and derails the whole song. It's so uneven, equal parts brilliant and atrocious.
It just comes off dumb.
`Booty', `Bag Lady' and `A.D. 2000' make up the second tier. `Bag Lady' is the best of the bunch, the albums single and truly a beautifully sung (and I love the poetic nature of the lyrics), albeit familiar tune. It's soft and subtle and a tad forgettable for me. `A.D. 2000' suffers from the same issues, to a slightly deeper degree. `Booty' is kind of genius yet not quite. I'm a little on the fence about the abrasive horns on the musical arrangement, but Erykah really sells it for me.
Just a step below perfection.
The rest of the album is kind of flawless. `Orange Moon' is ethereal and totally haunting. I love the jazzy throwback, taking the Erykah experience to a whole other level. She just croons with ease and is so comfortable in that area. She makes me melt. `My Life', `Cleva', `Didn't Cha Know' and `Time's A Wastin' are just so infectiously charismatic. This is what I remember about Badu. She has that whole 90's R&B vibe slick and wet and all over these tracks. `Cleva' is my favorite of the batch, totally making superior use of Erykah's vocal styling, and that musical arrangement is inspired and enticing.
And that brings me to the trifecta of phenomenal; `...& On', `In Love With You' and `Green Eyes'. `In Love With You', a duet with Stephen Marley, is just beautiful. It has such depth and sincerity. I love Marley's smoky tone as well, and together they make as inspired a pair as Anthony Hamilton and Macy Gray (listen to `Love and War' NOW if you haven't). The closing track, `Green Eyes', is just so amazing. I love the way that Erykah plays with the song, giving it playful yet endearing lyrics that bounce in a childishly amateurish way (it feels almost like muted ragtime) before the song slides into home about two minutes in, shifting gears and playing to Badu's mature vocals and adding a layer of blues that just engulfs me. But, for me (and maybe it's just a personal thing, but isn't all reviewing), the best thing here is `...& On'. I just, well, adore that song. It has such an infectious nature about it, the musical arrangement a perfectly `odd' accompaniment to Erykah's vocal stylings. It just works from start to finish, giving the album edge.
So, I recommend this album for sure. It really shines in many areas. Like I said, it's not `perfect' but the majority of the album comes very close.
I hope this works for you M. Grayson.
:-D
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BADU ERIKAH MAMA`S GUNBlues CDs
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