Required Listening 2004 #5: Caribbean Soul-Pop for the Grown and Sexy
Written: Jul 25 '04 (Updated Dec 21 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Quintessential summer album. Great production, a bunch of fantastic songs. Has personality.
Cons: Shaznay's wierd 'Left Eye' singing voice does annoy sometimes. No 'Never Ever'/'Pure Shores' crossover classics.
The Bottom Line: Not quite the masterpiece the wait suggested, 'Open' is none the less a charming, unusual soul-pop album with great touches and an understated, homemade feel.
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| kookytree's Full Review: Open - Shaznay Lewis Movies |
One of the biggest surprises of the 2003 British Rich List was the revelation that Shaznay Lewis is one of the countrys richest pop stars
despite not having put out any solo material. She was the founding member and key songwriter of girl band All Saints, the soulful, self-consciously cool answer to poppette puppets the Spice Girls, with whom she had a string of number ones in the late-nineties before their notorious infighting led to their dismantling as a group. So how did Shaznay manage to collect a personal fortune of £8 million from just two albums and eight singles? Four words- Never Ever, Pure Shores. Both songs are rightly considered two of the most dynamic pop songs of the last decade, and both sold over a million each in Britain alone. Shaznay wrote both of them. Bingo!
This self-earned affluence seemed to deflate Shaznays post-Saints creativity; other than a role in Keira Knightley flick Bend It Like Beckham, shes been out of the public eye ever since they broke up in early 2001 due to a bust-up over a jacket (not even kidding). Tabloid double-act the Appleton sisters were the first Saints to go solo, putting out chill-out album Everythings Eventual together in 2003 to mixed critical reception. However, the generally accepted talents of the band (honey-voiced Mel Blatt being the other, who is still best friends with Shaz and lends recognisable backing vocals here occasionally) maintained frustratingly low public profiles. When Mel flopped with an excellent, sensually mystical debut single Do Me Wrong in 2003, Shaznay was the only All Saint left to put out any solo material. Some questioned whether her creativity had dried up completely, and it was generally assumed that she would simply live a comfortable life with her riches, never exciting the charts again.
So it was a pleasant shock when Never Felt Like This Before, the lead single from Shaznays debut solo-album Open, hit music stations in summer 2004. I admit, the first time I heard a clip of the song, I was gutted. THIS is what we waited three years for!? I wanted fireworks; racing bridges, thumping choruses, a slab of searing, soaring pop genius. What I got was a perfectly lovely, likeably low-key declaration of infatuation. It slowly crept into mine and the general publics consciousness, hitting both the top ten and the Radio 1 A-list to become one of the songs of the summer. Its generally indicative of the rest of the album, being as it is breezy, summery, floaty and lushly melodic. As a song about falling in love, it works beautifully, charming the listener into a sense of well-being in the head and a flush of goosebumps down the back of the neck. In particular, the winsome stagger of the chorus somehow bottles the giddy euphoria of love with flighty accuracy. Shaznays voice sounds almost babyish in besotted awe for her subject, but the song is never cloying, mainly due to the wisely unfussy acoustic setting and the wide-eyed, wry honesty of the lyrics (Im into you like a badass tune). Its a nice song, soothing without being boring, and is so desperately likeable you want to ruffle Shazzers hair and give her a big giggly hug.
You follows in Never Felt Like This Befores footsteps, and whilst its one of the best songs present, it also doubles as proof that Shaznay will live in her most famous songs shadows for a good while still. That its a track about things reminding one of an ex is deeply ironic, for its immediately reminiscent of the muted electronics of her biggest hit, Pure Shores. It shimmers with the dusky melancholy of Dido without being soporific, and Shaznay puts in by far her best vocal performance.
What the lead single doesnt reveal, however, are the inclusive Carribean influences sprinkled over Open. Mr Dawg, Now Youre Gone, and Heart Made Me A Fool all throb to an organic reggae feel that is key to the albums identity. What I like about Open is that it forms a coherent whole- unlike the vast majority of her RnB/soul contemporaries, Shaznay hasnt just thrown four singles and some filler onto one disc. Instead, a real sense of personality and recognisable sound is achieved through songs that melt into one another without actually sounding that alike. Indeed, whilst Never Felt Like This Before indicated that an unobtrusive, deeply personal subtlety would be the albums key focus, Open is often a Hell of a lot livelier than that.
Nasty Boy, for example, is immediately reminiscent of All Saints hip-hop shuffle, pounding with a piano-tinged bass-beat and Shaznays coyly coquettish refrain, Are you a nasty boy, boy? Even better is the clear single contender Radio, a trashily punky dance jam with menacing grunts of synth and a wobbling, faintly Arabic computer-game finish. This is the song that fully realises Shaznays talents as a pop songwriter- the aggravated hook surges through the track like a sugar-rush gnashing through the bloodstream, and the swirling, snarling bridges are designed to vex the listeners adrenal gland for no reason other than thats what pop is supposed to do. "Heart Made Me A Fool" and the Basement Jaxx produced "Mr Dawg" are both pleasingly messy and busy, between them boasting triumphant trumpets, growling motorbikes, Kanye West vibratos, wailing sirens, a trilling telephone, and finicky, funky synths that achieve raucously cheerful wholes. The production of the Basement Jaxx track in particular is inspired; a song about a headache-inducing suitor who simply wont p!ss off, the Jaxx create a real sense of a head spinning without actually giving the listener a headache themselves. "Mr Weatherman" is less innovatively produced but just as addictive, due solely to an rowdily upbeat hook:
Where does the Sun go, when I look out of my window?
Why does the rain fall, only when I think of you?
Butterflies features Shaznay at her most boisterous, downright telling a guy that shes got him hot and threatening to put on a freak show. It again uses her secret weapon of likeability to good effect; the shoop shoop doo-wop backing vocals, old skool beatboxing, and James Brown sample all creating a fantastic sense of celebration thatll make even the most miserable of summer killjoys crack a smile and nod their head appreciatively.
In fact, the only song that doesnt work is Dance- Itll grow on you but youll hate yourself for it. Its way too choppy, directionless, hopelessly two-left-feet inducing, and features an awful comedy rapper (for a nice change, the only guest appearance here). Not only that, but Shaznay yelps rather than sings. Her voice will divide opinion- whilst it has a kooky, childlike feel to it (think the way Left Eye rapped, only sung) that is refreshingly different to the booming gospel/slickly caramel norm, its weirdly nasal- it genuinely sounds like a peg is clipped to her nose throughout. This could well annoy, but I personally feel it only adds to this albums just-that-little-bit-different feel; whilst the lyrics are pretty standard throughout (her strengths as a songwriter have always been in melody and hooks, not the words themselves), Open just doesnt sound like any other soul or RnB album currently doing the rounds. The production is smart, there are some brilliant songs, and its an album that proves the devil is in the details, from dancehall lilts to distorted backing vocals. Saying that, its unlikely Open will blow you away on first listen; instead, itll grow on you like an unassuming friend, enhancing your summer but probably not defining it. Despite that, it's a sunny, sassy, vivacious little album to fall in love with and to, providing a welcome change in these Ashanti dominated times.
Track Listing and Ratings:
Intro/Open- N/A (I love this, though)
Dance- 2/5
Never Felt Like This Before- 5/5
Mr Dawg- 4/5
Heart Made Me A Fool- 4.5/5
You- 5/5
Mr Weatherman- 4/5
Butterflies- 5/5
Nasty Boy- 4/5
Radio- 5/5
Now Youre Gone- 4/5
NOTE: An advance track called "Don't Know What To Say" was cut from the album just before release after universally negative feedback from reviewers. Concerning Shaznay's lack of confidence in her songwriting abilities, it's loss is the album's gain- it's a truly rubbish song that only weighed 'Open' down.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID: kookytree
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Reviews written: 52
Trusted by: 46 members
About Me: mais lindo que michael jackson!
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