But one of the most exciting results of these collaborations actually sounded like a blast from the past: the thrilling, uptempo "Pick Me Up." It's powered by a slippery horn riff, and Blige's singing channels the vocal house music that was popular in clubs when she was starting her career more than 20 years ago. The kicker: it could very well be hers playing through the speakers.īlige got an avalanche of press for linking up with a crew of young British artists for her latest album, The London Sessions. "I've been here for much too long, I don't really want to dance, and I hate most of these songs," she sings. The hands-in-the-air instrumental lightens the mood of Elle's sad girl posturing as she mopes in the corner, red cup in hand, fixated on how her man treated her heart like a strip of cigarette-burned carpet. Perhaps this year's most exuberant song about being emotionally bruised, Elle Varner's "Don't Wanna Dance" captured the feeling of being the party's odd-girl out in real-time. "Drunk Texting" is a modern duet for the digital generation: "Am I gonna hit send or nah?" Chris Brown's collaboration with Jhene Aiko is one of the stand-out tracks from X, with it's candidness and the singers' sonic chemistry.Ħ. If only the King of Pop were still here to appreciate what his sound could still be in 2014.ħ. Adapted from a 1983 session with Paul Anka, the smiley rump-shaker is warm and robust, recalling Jackson's better work from the '80s. It's lead single, "Love Never Felt So Good," was the crown jewel. But it worked when a handful of contemporary producers - Timbaland, Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Babyface - polished up demos and old recordings for Xscape, shockingly earning its place as a very good MJ album.
Tampering with an artist's legacy by reworking vault recordings can actually hurt it - take Notorious B.I.G.'s Duets: The Final Chapter, for example. Michael Jackson, "Love Never Felt So Good" KING, a trio consisting of twin sisters Paris & Amber Strother and Anita Bias, powered up the Moog for the slinky, sexy "Mister Chameleon," a harmony-rich jam that's equal parts Erykah Badu and Prince - fitting, since the Purple One tapped the Los Angeles ladies to open for him after he came across them on YouTube.Ĩ. If anything, 2014 was one of the strongest showings for alternative R&B in recent memory (see: Anushka, Electric Wire Hustle, FKA Twigs).
0 kommentar(er)
