This is from a year or so ago but I just came across it now. Meshell touches on a lot of interesting topics here. I've heard many interviews with her over the years and this might very well be my favourite.
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Great Meshell interview with Don Was
- Thread starter bass12
- Start date
MeShell said she realized she would never be virtuoso. I say it depends on how one defines virtuoso.
I just watched it and it was good. You can tell she was becoming more at-ease as the interview was progressing.
Interesting that she mentions the record label didn't like Bitter. I thought that was a great record. By the conversation, I am not sure if they re-did the record after the initial presentation of it or just finished it up as-is and then released it. It was an obvious departure from her previous two records, but was a whole different side.
Interesting that she mentions the record label didn't like Bitter. I thought that was a great record. By the conversation, I am not sure if they re-did the record after the initial presentation of it or just finished it up as-is and then released it. It was an obvious departure from her previous two records, but was a whole different side.
It seems they ditched whatever she'd been doing with David Gamson and Meshell was then left to start over - with very little budget. I was so disappointed by Bitter when I first bought it that I returned it right away. A few years later I bought it a second time and was able to accept it on its own terms. It's not my favourite album of hers but I think it's good for what it is.
It reminds me of U2. I was a huge fan growing up and loved The Joshua Tree (I must have been about 12 or 13 at the time). When Rattle & Hum came out, I was so disappointed. I was essentially expecting Joshua Tree II and it wasn't that. I too appreciated it more later on, but it took a while.
With Bitter I was expecting something more in line with the first two albums, so I was pretty surprised to instead get "Meshell does Lilith Fair". I later was able to accept Meshell's fluidity style-wise and revisit certain albums with a different mindset. I'm not a fan of all her albums but I do have an immense amount of respect for what I view as her artistic integrity. She reminds me a lot of Miles Davis in the way she's prepared to go with where her musical curiosity leads her - regardless of how her critics, or fans, might react.
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To the dismay of her record company (at the time), I'm sure!
It's good to see Don Was as the President of Blue Note Records. He is someone that can appreciate true artistry.
Absolutely - I'm a big fan of Was's and it seems he's a big fan of Meshell's.
Blue Note has been in good hands since they revived the label with Bruce Lundville, what a concept, people who love music running music labels.
