Ledisi - Turn Me Loose
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CD Details
Artist: LedisiEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
CD Release Date: 2009-08-18
Music Label: Verve
Soundtracks:
- Runnin'
- Everything Changes
- Turn Me Loose
- Higher Than This
- Alone
- Love Never Changes
- Please Stay
- Knockin'
- Say No
- Goin' thru Changes
- I Need Love
- Trippin'
- The Answer to Why
- Them Changes
Music reviews of Turn Me Loose
Music Review: Great Follow-up Album to LOST & FOUND; 4 stars
Rating: 4 Stars
Ledisi was practically an unknown artist until her 2007 album Lost & Found was nominated for two Grammy awards (Best New Artist, Best R&B Album). While she failed to win, the exposure certainly heightened her profile as an R&B singer. Calling Ledisi's second 'high profile' album 'anticipated' might be a bit of an overstatement, particularly given this stagnant economy in the music business, but it is certainly big for the previously unknown singer. LOST & FOUND was a fine album by all means, though it was "quieter" than the funkier Turn Me Loose, which shows a more ignited, even more vocally viable Ledisi. With this electrifying combination, TURN ME LOOSE is easily one of the best R&B albums of 2009, right up there with the likes Maxwell's BLACKsummers'night and most likely Whitney Houston's forthcoming I Look to You.
The album opens up with the brief, but funky "Runnin'" in which Ledisi instantly shows off her pipes. The songwriting is solid as is the production - and instant difference and departure from LOST & FOUND. "Everything Changes" keeps up the pace, adding funky horns to the mix. The production is still funkier than anything appearing on LOST & FOUND, marking a departure and experimentation on Ledisi's part. As always, the starlet sings rings around a number of her contemporaries. "Turn Me Loose", the title track is one of the funkiest of the album, hearkening old school 1960s/70s soul, though not sounding like an anachronism (aka an outdated throwback). Sure, "Turn Me Loose" would only do well on Adult R&B/Adult Contemporary radio as opposed to pop stations, but that certainly doesn't downgrade the freshness or the grand quality of this track.
As for "Higher Than This", it isn't only adult R&B at its finest, it also lays well for the hip-hop circuit with slightly fresher, more contemporary production than say "Turn Me Loose". No, it isn't the overt "hip-hop" that has pervaded radio (I mean that respectfully of course), but it does sound more directed toward a slightly younger audience - particularly in comparison to say "Alright" from Lost & Found. Ledisi sings exceptionally here, giving one of her most poignant, strong performances of TURN ME LOOSE. "Higher Than This" is just a well written, R&B song. "Alone" proves to be as well written as everything else showcasing Ledisi's prodigious pipes and more sound production work. "Love Never Changes" features a chord-progression the likes of an Al Green southern-styled soul tune. Again, it is another solid listen and nowhere near being filler.
Despite the solidity of tunes like "Alone" or "Love Never Changes" and the soulful "Stay" that would've been perfect on Solange's Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams, it is a track like the should-of-been-first-single "Knockin'" that truly steals the show. I have never heard Ledisi quite as energized or as contemporary on this R&B-rocker. I think to myself as a music enthusiast, 'why would you choose the good, but "been-there-done-that" 'Goin' Thru Changes' over such a kick-butt track as "Knockin'? The production is the best of the entire album, the background vocals during the refrain are an exceptional touch, and Ledisi sounds awesome. 5 star track, ladies and gentlemen.
"Say No" may not be equal to the greatness of "Knockin'", but it lays as well as everything does for the most part on TURN ME LOOSE. "Goin' Thru Changes" is good (not diminishing it), though I think adult R&B fans have heard this type of song more than once, which takes away from it slightly. It was a good choice for a first single, but it isn't necessarily better than "Alright" or "Think of You" from LOST & FOUND. Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, I believe "Knockin'" easily 'beasts' a track like "Goin' Thru Changes".
"I Need Love" finds Ledisi again over a more contemporary backdrop with swirling synths and "big drums". Wisely, the drums don't grow as big as say a Ryan Tedder production (known for 'big' drums) where it might have sounded a bit ill-fitting with Ledisi. "I Need Love" isn't the best of TURN ME LOOSE, but it also isn't filler. "Trippin'" similarly isn't the best of TURN ME LOOSE, but it is certainly interesting if nothing else. The production is placed somewhere between the contemporary and a throwback to classic soul. "The Answer To Why" returns Ledisi back to more adult-contemporary helmed R&B, supported by acoustic guitar and strings. Again, I don't connect with "The Answer To Why" as much as the very best of the album, but I do think Ledisi sounds great. The album closes "funkily" with the fantastic "Them Changes", which proves to be worth the wait. A track like "Them Changes" could have easily appeared on a Prince, Chaka Khan, or Aretha Franklin album.
Overall, TURN ME LOOSE is a great album. There is very little to criticize. The biggest thing is that Ledisi is better when she is funky and allowed to show off her prodigious vocals. 4 stars; I hope that Ledisi receives a Grammy nomination once again.
Description of Turn Me Loose
2009 album from the Grammy Award-nominated vocalist featuring songs produced by Raphael Saadiq, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Chief XCel, Chucky Thompson, Rex Rideout and others. Although Ledisi was a seasoned artist before joining Verve, she says she is still finding herself musically. Turn Me Loose is a turning point in her artistic evolution. "During the making of this record, I was asking myself, 'How do I maintain the listeners I have now and be myself as I today? That was the struggle. But I knew I needed to stretch myself and be more open to different people." Features the first single 'Goin' Thru Changes'.Jazz CDs
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