The Phoenix Network:
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 
CD Reviews  |  Classical  |  Live Reviews  |  Music Features

Shemekia Copeland | Never Going Back

Telarc (2009)
By TED DROZDOWSKI  |  February 18, 2009
2.5 2.5 Stars

090220_copeland_mian
This adventurous disc is a radical departure for the young blues diva, who's spent most of her four-album career belting out solid, generic material. Here she tackles a terrific songbook: protest tunes like "Sounds like the Devil," the satirical "Big Brand New Religion," Joni Mitchell's "Black Crow," and a clutch of songs co-written by producer Oliver Wood of the Wood Brothers. Add a cast of musical ringers that includes Wood and Mark Ribot on guitars and Oliver's brother Chris on bass and it's obvious they're trying to recast her for a new audience, much as recent albums teaming roots and rock crews with Bettye LaVette and Solomon Burke have done. But Wood failed to get Copeland to find her own voice on many performances. She approximates Mitchell's gauzy tone on "Black Crow," and when she sings Wood's compositions, she copies his bouncy phrasing. Also, the dry vocal mix leaves her somewhat narrow range exposed. It adds up to an unsatisfying whole.
Related: Mixed messages, Cover girls, Prime time, More more >
  Topics: CD Reviews , Joni Mitchell, Solomon Burke, Bettye LaVette,  More more >
  • Share:
  • Share this entry with Facebook
  • Share this entry with Digg
  • Share this entry with Delicious
  • RSS feed
  • Email this article to a friend
  • Print this article
Comments

[ 11/28 ]   Seth Shomes Band  @ Wolf Den @ Mohegan Sun
[ 11/28 ]   Noche De Estrellas  @ Mohegan Sun Arena
[ 11/28 ]   Hot Tuna  @ Calvin Theatre
[ 11/28 ]   McAlister Drive + Whitetree + Cadrin  @ Center for Arts In Natick
[ 11/28 ]   Aventura  @ Agganis Arena
ARTICLES BY TED DROZDOWSKI
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   MYSTIC MUSO  |  November 04, 2009
    “America’s Pre-eminent Music Writer Dead at 52” was the headline on Robert Palmer’s obituary in Rolling Stone after his liver failed in 1997.
  •   BRENDAN HOGAN | LONG NIGHT COMING  |  October 21, 2009
    Self-released (2009)
  •   DARRELL NULISCH | JUST FOR YOU  |  October 22, 2009
    This Boston-based blues and soul singer’s seventh album might seem an update of the elegantly funky Stax sound, with its deep grooves and smartly harmonized horns.
  •   REVIEW: TOM RUSSELL | BLOOD AND CANDLE SMOKE  |  September 22, 2009
    This LA-born troubadour with a Dustbowl voice works voodoo on his 24th studio album, conjuring ghosts of the ’60s and ’70s along with apocalyptic visions as he relates tales of gun-toting madmen and dark rifts of the heart.
  •   TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS  |  September 14, 2009
    Boston is one of the healthiest markets for live roots music in the country. Here are the 10 roots shows we don't want to miss this fall.

 See all articles by: TED DROZDOWSKI

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 



  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2009 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group