Frenchy’s Fracas

General Description
Artist/Band: Me’shell Ndegeocello ||
Album Title: Plantation Lullabies
Year: 1993

Funky, moody Soul with many, many Messages

How I Got Into This Music
Me’shell’s one of my favorite artists, finally got into her music back in 1998, a bit late, but such a sweet discovery!! I think this was one of the first albums I listened to.

Google Search for reviews of this album || Album details at Artistdirect.com || Answers.com || ||

Tracks that got my attention:
I’m Diggin’ You (Like An Old Soul Record)
Momma. please help me, I’m having so much fun, it just hurts! Me’shell’s wicked vocals, rhymes and wicked bass playing just gets me all jazzed up. I even enjoy the weird guitar solo, especially the final bit where the chorus comes back.

If That’s Your Boyfriend (He Wasn’t Last Night)
Heheh, evil lyrics!! You do not ever want someone to tell you your partner’s unfaithful in the way Me’shell does on this track, ouch!
That nasty bass theme, makes me very happy. Ooooh, that part of the song, at the bridge, yum-yum!
Now late at night he calls me on the telephone
That’s why when you call
All you get is the busy busy tone

Shoot’n Up And Gett’n High
Tragedy, enduring a never ending form of misery and pain.

Dred Loc
Lusty love song with a great tropical feel to it - love the bridge, the sax and other horns recreate a typical 90’s groove and feel.

Untitled
Beautiful lyrics, a poem recital.
..Her beauty cannot be measured with standards of a colonized mind
Darker than blue darker than her blackness
Unblemished her features broad and striking
She cradles his body with her large hands
Her fingers stretch endlessly into his world of pain..

Step Into The Projects
Bass line is incredible all through the track, damn! Subject matter is obvious, but still to-the-point.

Soul On Ice
Another very poignant rant about the (self)image of black people and their culture; the attack on black men going for white females was one of the biggest racial topics in the 90s and it kinda still is, now the sistahs too are switching colours. There’s a lot of resentment about racial inequalities or better put: why’s whitey better than my black ass?!? Funny, I grew thinking up that although we may not be considered as equal, somehow still, nobody’s better than another. Living in a white country doesn’t change it for me.
But back to the song - this lady’s ripping up the bass like it’s nobody’s business!!

Call Me
One of my all-time favorite love songs or songs of any kind!!! The funny and loving lyrics, flowing in the typica Me’shell singing rap flux. The bass play in the background is just smooth, warm, funky and bloody brilliant. Got a lot of memories with song, sitting in front of a hotel in Guetemala, early sunrise on a small island near the Belize coast, just me and my walkman with Me’shell playing her lil’ ass off.. Ah, them be good memos!

Outside Your Door
She has this Billie Holliday sadness in her voice, not the technical similarity, but the emotional thing that just cuts through your soul.

Picture Show
A great ‘celebrating our love’ track with a nice walking and skipping and hopping and cartwheeling bass groove. And that nasty closing bit? Soooooo right!
I’m just a hopeless romantic, hopelessly in love with you

Sweet Love
Reggae ballad kinda vibe going on here, not really working for me, but this girl’s vocals still get to me.

Two Lonely Hearts (On The Subway)
I like the different styles and themes on ths track - yes, there’s this sense of motion, but also the great funky break and that beautiful closing part - just love it..

Conclusion
I was doubting if I could call this a Favorite, but after two or three tracks I quickly understood that I was being a bit silly. The angry parts in her lyrics are sometimes a bit disconcerting and sometimes also a bit too preachy: yes, there is inequality and racial prejudice, but it’s a fine line you’re walking when your protest also sounds as you want to return the favor in kind (by being aggressively unkind).
The fuck do I know about what was going through her life and her head when she wrote this stuff? Not easy to review something that personal when you haven’t had quite the same experiences.
On the musical side of things: this is an incredible album, thightly grouped musicians with excellent material to work with. The love songs are joyful taking me on a walk on top of the clouds and the sad songs take me to an abyss of lost love that can trigger less fonder memories. And that’s just the thing about this album: you have to be dead and buried not to feel anything while listening to this album, good or bad, it makes a strong impression.
Me’shell has made a great album, nuff said..

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