Tags

, , , , ,

Within the next couple of months the wait for new music is nearing and end by one of the most substantial, celebrated, and provocative voices in jazz composer and musician Cassandra Wilson has a new album for her fans on Blue Note Records. Now, until this manifests lets take a moment and revisit “Glamoured” by the Jackson, Mississippi native to rejuvenate our spirit and encompass an intricate collaboration of vocal, and lyrics equaling in a tone of near perfection. —Rob Young | The Urban Flux

Cassandra Wilson | Glamoured – [Blue Note Records, 2003]

Cassandra Wilson - Glamoured

One of the simple pleasures of life is putting a Cassandra Wilson disc into the player and hitting “start“. Her voice takes me to a spot that few singers know how to reach…and “Glamoured” proves, once again, why Cassandra is one of our most important performers.

This release is a great mix of brilliantly conceived covers and incredible originals. One of the fascinating things about being a CW fan is following the growth of her talents as a songwriter. While the promise was always there (think “Redbone“), with each new release, her songwriting skills have grown stronger, to where we now have originals that rival the covers she chooses. No where is this more evident than on the toe tapping “I Want More“, with an outstanding drum contribution from Terri Lyne Carrington, and “On This Train” where that haunting smoky voice just shines through – this is the type of song that reminds you why you love Cassandra’s vocals.

As always, the cover choices are both inspired and radically reinterpreted. Sting’s “Fragile” and Dylan’s “Lay Lady Lay” are well done, but Cassandra rips through her take of Muddy Waters’ “Honey Bee” (here’s hoping someday she delivers an entire project devoted to the blues as she has talked about), and she makes Willie Nelson’s “Crazy” her own. But the ABSOLUTE highlight of this project is Cassandra’s take on Luther Ingram’s 70’s R&B classic “If Loving You Is Wrong (I Don’t Wanna Be Right)”. This version of the song is gut wrenching – with Cassandra’s voice conveying more emotion than any singer in today’s marketplace. This song gets everything right – mood, instrumentation, vocals…it is passionate and painful, as classic soul music was always meant to be.
Cassandra, as always, gets everything right on “Glamoured“. This is a wonderful release. —Karl Miller

..:: Source: Amazon.com ::..