India Arie - Testimony 1: Life & Relationship
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CD Details
Artist: India ArieEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2007-02-08
Music Label: Motown
Soundtracks:
- Intro: Loving
- These Eyes
- The Heart Of the Matter
- Good Morning
- Private Party
- There's Hope
- Interlude: Living
- India'song
- Wings Of Forgiveness
- Summer
- I Am Not My Hair
- Great Grandmother
- Better People
- Outro: Learning
- I Choose
- Bonus Track
Music reviews of Testimony 1: Life & Relationship
Music Review: An Artist You Truely Want To Love No Matter What
Rating: 4 Stars
Because India.Arie has such a good hearted optimism and down to Earth charm she is someone whose musical personality you would'nt feel inclined to critisize. She debuted at just before all the 9/11 hoopla,took time releasing albums and developing her "art" and always released nothing less then a compedant piece of music. Why then do I deduct a star from an artist whom I so deeply respect?Well not to draw out the inner music critic in me but,like Erykah Badu before her India is a deeply spiritual "Earth mother" type yet that has become something of a clishe for female artists working in the neo-soul field as both artists do. This album is titled as if to imply a second half,of which we just got to hear with the release ofTestimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics. Both volumes explore India's deeply reach lyric poetry.It's filled with it's own home spun charm as well as highly insightful observations and are not listed in the CD's liner notes on either volume. Even so it was starting to become clear when this came out that considering the long gaps in album releases from Erykah,D'Angelo,Anthony Hamilton and even Alicia Keyes that the genre of neo soul was beginning to fall into certain clishes. In this case they show up on "These Eyes","Private Party" and even the two hits "There's Hope" and the hugely popular "I Am Not My Hair".These songs all are great compositions but the latter song for one features the somewhat vocally challanged Akon who,while hugely popular at the time of this release cannot compare artistically to India's finese,vision and ability.Not only that but all of the songs try harder then usual to meet up with the commercial standards of the day;the production on these uptempo tunes is not high tech but does feature a lot of emphasis on digitized sounding 2-step hip hop beats,obviously only present to meet the needs of contemporary radio.And I cannot help but wonder if it was the PRODUCTION of those songs,not the excellent lyrics and songwriting,that didn't play the biggest part in this album being the huge Grammy winning success it was for India.Arie. But either way around it this album is not by any means a sellout;"India's Song","Wings Of Forgiveness" and "Good Morning" all show her versitility with nods towards both jazz,latin styles and even some country on the charming "Summer" featuring the help of the modern country group Rascal Flatts along with genre busting bassist Victor Woonton-this is the most famous example of a soul artist doing a series C&W tune since The Pointer Sisters released "Fairytale" 32 years earlier. Of course the two most interesting and unique songs here are both uptempo and funkier.My favorite is "Better People",very clearly showing off what Arie learned from her collaberation with Stevie Wonder on the title song of his A Time To Love album the year before-the mix of poppified funk,electronics and melodicism could come from no other source. Not only that but this enthusiastic performance showcases a lyric that BOTH ends of the generation gap have much they should and can learn from each other,ranging from a sense of communal unity to using the internet.The last cut is "I Choose",probably one people slept on but a gritty piece of bluesy funk that really points to what's next. So while this albums lyrical focus is softer then the second,more pointed volume of this "series" of India.Arie releases it is unknown,as it is with the similar concept of Jill Scott's how far India intends to take this concept and if even the newest release will have quite the same commercial and artistic punch this one has.
Description of Testimony 1: Life & Relationship
All products are BRAND NEW and factory sealed. Fast shipping and 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.Log onto an India.Arie lyrics page and you won't come away expecting an easy-breezy listen--here's an artist, remember, who made a name for herself by declaring her disdain for silicone and Cristal on her 2001 debut. What's consistently a revelation for new recruits to the Arie camp, then, is how good the music makes you feel. No matter how heavy the subject matter (and it still gets heavy--God surfaces in the first verse of "Intro," the prayerful opening song), she delivers it in such a way that it ends up feeling like homespun wisdom--accessible, cloudless, and heartening. Testimony, no minor R&B/soul achievement, is full of such earth-mother moments: "The Heart of the Matter," a cover of the Don Henley song, is what a hug might sound like if it were music; "There's Hope" reminds tunefully that you don't have to pay to smile ("You better thank God for that"); "Private Party" points up the benefits of getting naked before a mirror and liking what you see (impossible as that sounds, it'll seem less so after listening); and "I Am Not My Hair," a sexy thumper featuring Akon, celebrates not the hair, not the skin, but "the soul that lives within." Musically, "Testament" is a testament to the benefits of branching out; in addition to gospel and hip-hop, you'll also find country and pure pop forays here. All of it works, and works wondrously. Arie may be the Oprah of the music world: she's spiritual, she's got her head screwed on straight, and whatever she touches turns to gold. Or at least it ought to. --Tammy La Gorce
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