• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

MeShell Ndegeocello: Twenty Years Since Plantation Lullabies

#2
I always wanted to like her music because she is such a great bass player, but I wish she put out something that was less political and more about bass.There was always such a harsh edge to her stuff. Still in spite of that I have 17 of her songs on my MP3 player she really is an incredible musician.
Now she changed and seems to be more of a coffee shop artist.Strange.....
 
#3
gimmeagig said:
I always wanted to like her music because she is such a great bass player, but I wish she put out something that was less political and more about bass.There was always such a harsh edge to her stuff. Still in spite of that I have 17 of her songs on my MP3 player she really is an incredible musician.
Now she changed and seems to be more of a coffee shop artist.Strange.....
Click to expand...

Yes, there was a bit of "darn, born too late for the Sixties," vibe to her first album that I am sure put some people off. In my opinion, there was more fire and spunk in her early work that is missing in her later projects. One of the cruel things about music is that in the first album, an artist can lay out a vision that has developed over a life time, but she or he is expected to reach the same level on future projects that will never have as long to develop.
 
#4
I bought Plantation Lullabies when it came out and it was a really important album for me. The first time I heard Me'shell play (she was playing with Arrested Development on SNL) I was hit hard by her feel. I still love that album and hear new things in it to this day. Some of it sounds a bit dated but not in a way that puts me off. I haven't been as big on her post-Comfort Woman output but I respect the fact that she seemingly follows her heart music-wise rather than simply deliver what's expected. In that way she reminds me a lot of Miles. But having, said that, I'd really love to hear her return to her more funk-oriented roots.
 
#7
Seminal album for bass, modern funk, neo-soul, and the 90's in general. Can't believe it's been 20 years!

Imagine how weird everyone thought I was when I first got it, a white teenage boy jamming out to "diggin u like an old soul record" lol!

I also completely geek out on her tone on Peace Beyond Passion.
 
#9
Dr. Cheese said:
I finally downloaded all of Peace Beyond Passion on my iPad last night. IMO, the bass playing on Meshell's first two albums is the funkiest I have ever heard in forty years of listening to the bass guitar.
Click to expand...

Those first two albums are killer - her playing, both tone and feel-wise, are to me uber-funky but also unique - she is one of the few bassists I can hear and tell who is playing after only a few notes.

What also kills me is WATCHING her play (I've seen her live as well as on videos) - you can tell that every fiber of her being is into it. She's the real deal.

J
 
#12
I just picked up Robert Glaspers Disc where she sings a tune and was reminded of how her singing has evolved. It seems to me she has put her focus on the whole of being an artist.
The area where I see her having evolved the most is her voice, I can tell it's her in a few syllables now. I embrace all her music and look forward to whatever she puts out as I feel she's still a vital artist and hasn't gotten to that retirement stage, like Sting has done for example. And I agree fully with the difficulty of following a great first effort, which may have developed over a number of years.
 
#13
Dr. Cheese said:
I finally downloaded all of Peace Beyond Passion on my iPad last night. IMO, the bass playing on Meshell's first two albums is the funkiest I have ever heard in forty years of listening to the bass guitar.
Click to expand...

I really don't think I've ever heard anyone I'd describe as being "funkier" than Me'shell - and that's part of the reason I find listening to her later albums so frustrating. You know she's still got it but she's just not putting it out there.
 
#14
bass12 said:
I really don't think I've ever heard anyone I'd describe as being "funkier" than Me'shell - and that's part of the reason I find listening to her later albums so frustrating. You know she's still got it but she's just not putting it out there.
Click to expand...

Not getting the funk from Meshell anymore is like having a relationship that started off as a blistering romance cool off into a platonic friendship where you just smile and make small talk.
 
#16
Peace Beyond Passion hit me like a ton of bricks. I adore that album. I practiced those parts so hard and I never felt like I could groove them just right.

I like all the tunes/sounds on those first two albums, but i've never really dug any of her subsequent stuff as much.
 
#17
boylebass said:
Peace Beyond Passion hit me like a ton of bricks. I adore that album. I practiced those parts so hard and I never felt like I could groove them just right.

I like all the tunes/sounds on those first two albums, but i've never really dug any of her subsequent stuff as much.
Click to expand...

Ditto - bought the next few but out of habit/hope. Finally stopped. Always have the first two to enjoy.

J
 
#18
Jamie_Funk said:
Ditto - bought the next few but out of habit/hope. Finally stopped. Always have the first two to enjoy.

J
Click to expand...

I always hear about the artist's right to grow and change, and we all know that's true. The flip side, however, is that there is nothing wrong with saying you are not into what the artist is into now. Respect does not have to translate into making a purchase of the artist's newest work.
 
#19
Dr. Cheese said:
I always hear about the artist's right to grow and change, and we all know that's true. The flip side, however, is that there is nothing wrong with saying you are not into what the artist is into now. Respect does not have to translate into making a purchase of the artist's newest work.
Click to expand...

Very true, which is why, despite my being a huge fan, I haven't bought any of her albums since The World Has Made Me The Man Of My Dreams (which I just couldn't get into).
 
#20
There is some good stuff on Cookie:The Anthropological Mixtape (or something like that) but Plantation Lullabies is one of my top 5 albums of all time. It was like she made a CD specifically for me.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back