I tend to get jealous when I'm around people who can do it all. You know the ones: they go to school, work, take care of their children, volunteer, have extracurricular activities, and still find the time to sleep somehow. Not only that, but they're pulling a 3.8 with well behaved children, a loving relationship, and never really seem to be too tired. It makes you (and by you, I mean me) feel a little extra lazy upon complaining about the one thing you had to do today or that they messed up your order at Wendy's.
Queen Latifah is a busy lady. Between her career as one of the founding ladies of hip hop, an Academy Award nominated actress, a producer, a voice over artist, a spokesmodel, and presumably President of the United States (because what else hasn't she done?), the one they call Dana Owens somehow managed to sneak in a jazz career. And you know what? She's pretty darn great at it.
Originally included on the Hairspray soundtrack, I Know Where I've Been feels like a punctuation mark on this part of Queen's career. A stirring bluesy torch song with some gospel-tinted background vocals, it's a mature bit of self-reflection and pensive dreaming. For being such a powerful ballad, it's all about Queen's palpable confidence, one of her most notable positive traits, and gives you a personal touch on a covers album. Impressive. Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars showcases a more delicate side of Queen, as the first minute or so is a velvet-y acoustic ballad that fades into a truly lush instrumental break. With her vocal capabilities, you would think she's pull a Christina Aguilera and just riff the entire time, so it's appreciated to hear a kind of slow burning subtlety in her tone. Built for a candlelit slow dance with the one you love, it's classy and coyly romantic.
Just because this is Latifah's second album of jazz covers doesn't mean there can't be a little tempo and flashes of personality. How Long (Betcha Got a Chick on the Side) is all about the strut and the sort-of-but-not-really rapped hook. Though it's one of Queen's least impressive vocal performances on the album, she makes up for it in delivery and puttin' some "stank" on it, so to speak. This is probably the most "expected" listen, as it emphasizes Queen's ability to be the sassy independent woman, a role she's played more than once in her film career. It's catchy and infinitely entertaining, but it's simply pleasant as opposed to being stunning. I'm Gonna Live Til I Die just explodes when it first comes on but eventually settles into a drum heavy sprint that extols the virtues of living life to the fullest. The arrangement may seem a little messy, but it's just that there's a lot going on and it takes a few listens to really make sense of everything. With some frenzied horns and rapid fire drumming, it's seemingly built for a live performance, a guaranteed crowd pleaser. I Love Being Here With You feels a little more good natured and flirty than the previous two selections, which is a nice little tweak in sound. Queen can do sassy and strong quite well, but to hear her give such a smiling performance that makes the imagery from the song come alive is a pleasure, to say the least. You can tell she has fun on this unabashedly celebratory little burst of energy and that manages to spread to the listener. It's one of songs where you just can't stop singing along and moving in your seat. Trust me, I shimmy like the rent's due tomorrow and I have next to no rhythm.
What Love Has Joined Together is a song that I should be head over heels for but manages to be a middle of the pack performer. Queen sounds typically passionate and committed while the lyricism is honest; the track itself just isn't as interesting as it could be. It crosses from being a poised jazz-ish ballad to a song you listen to when you're on hold with the bill collector, which is a shame. A few different production choices and this could have been a strong addition to an already worthy album. Gone Away may be a tad long and unmemorable when looking at the entire record, but within the confines of the record, it's enjoyable. Not every track has to have a single-quality hook, so I'm not complaining about that; this is just one of those songs where, after you get through listening to the record, you have absolutely no idea what it sounded like. Granted, the melody is pretty and the track really shines when Queen just gets to ad lib, but there's nothing there to keep pulling you back.
If I had to name my favorite celebrity, it would probably be Queen Latifah. She seems to be the type that doesn't put on airs for the camera and doesn't try to be something she's not and it shows; on just about any other celebrity I can think of, a jazz album (or two) would be about the most disingenuous move possible. However, between Latifah's "real" personality and the execution of the project, there's no reason she couldn't hang up the mic and just focus on becoming the next great jazz vocalist. She's a wonderful song interpreter whose acting skills come in handy on this material; she can be bubbly and exuberant just as easy as she can be sensual, passive, or thoughtful. Trav'lin' Light has a nice amount of variety and doesn't take the lazy approach of covering just the songs that the average joe would know. If there's any benefit to a covers album, it's to educate the listener and Latifah does just that. What next, Queen? Juggling?
0 comments:
Post a Comment