Maybe we can all start sending our prayers to the heavens that instead of Meshell NdegeOcello using Caron as just a background vocalist, she’ll decided to produce a whole new full-length project with/for her. Now THAT would be hot!

Here is what I love about Beach of the War Goddess- THE READING LIST IN THE LINER NOTES!!!!!! Homegirl was reading, or had access to some heavy books, like 2000 Seasons, Chancellor Williams, and some other stuff I can’t recall right now. That in and of itself was tight- it was like picking up a food package and finding that it doesn’t contain High Fructose Corn Syrup (finding this is rare these days). I have always felt she never received the acclaim that was her due, as she (and Omar) laid the way for the wave of (*cringe*) neo-soul artists that began to arrive in the 90’s. I think Caron’s first solo effort is far superior to this album, but I did like this track and the heavily played ‘I Adore You’. The rest of the album was pedestrian British R & B…stuff that Caron’s voice far outshined (and to me unfortunately seems to be the sum total of Mica Paris’s output).

I keep hearing that she actually finished two albums in Atlanta, but nothing has come of it. I don’t know what she is waiting for, because we could certainly benefit from hearing her voice and powerful lyrics over the airwaves today….

jason,

caron is not “waiting” on anything except, maybe, for the industry to give her a break. a lot of times people on the street assume that an artist doesn’t have a release because they don’t want to, well, unless they are a mega-selling artist, usually they want to but the record company doesn’t—either doesn’t want to release anything “new” by the artist because they don’t think it will sell or they don’t want to release anything “old” by the artist because they don’t think it will sell. in other words, the major question for the industry is: but, will it sell?

last info i had was that caron had a japanese produced dvd that was about to drop. we’ll see.

meanwhile, i agree with you about the reading list. when an artist starts paying more attention to what info she puts in her head rather than to what make up and hair stylings she puts on her head, said artist has usually traveled deep into the industry danger zone. they may just be punishing her for thinking while recording.

Will Calhoun got straight beastified on the drums. Will put that shit down like it was hot. I remember him when he was rockin the house band on the Letterman show. Though I tend not to be a fan of keyboard bass it works here. I can’t tell if it’s because the moog bass is coupled with an actual electric bass or what but this is a hip arrangement. One of my pet peeves with most of the Hendrix recordings was the way the bass was low in the mix. This is right! I gotta give Derek Johnson dap on this; the production on this cut as well as the entire War Goddess recording is top notch. Caron Wheeler is definitely a voice I would love to hear more. This sister has chops out the yin yang. Even though she can take over whenever she wants, I love the way she sings with the band; her voice floats on top of the track like a butterfly over a field of wildflowers. Caron is like another instrument on this track. This is already a great song, hellafied lyrics and bad-assed arrangement, Caron played her part well. Great cover.

The Wind Cries Mary reminds me of the Miles Davis composition, Miles Runs the Voodoo Down. I often think about what could’ve been if the two ever hooked up like Miles wanted. Damn!

AumRa

I was introduced to this cd by a sister — revolutionary in her thinking for the post-civil rights, post-black power, post-black is beautiful, greed is good, suburb aspiring generation, that is, generation x or the so-called hip-hop generation, as defined, timewise at least, by bikari kitwana — named deniese beal, while i was a student at xavier university in louisiana. my younger brother, sundiata, and myself, listened to it constantly, and intently, being moved as much by some of the album’s danceable grooves as by caron wheeler’s spiritually centered, black praise-songs. we were predisposed to her lyrics and her delivery because of the soul II soul records. if i remember correctly, and i could be wrong since i haven’t done investigative research on this, caron wheeler’s album dropped around the time, within a few years or so, of the decline of political rap — public enemy, x clan, paris, and so forth — and the emergence of more hardcore, pimp influenced rap like nwa, ghetto boys, too short and so forth. so, caron wheeler’s album was, like meshelle ndegecello’s “plantation lullabies”, though in a different way, a breath of fresh air, or should i say a sound of fresh songs. recently, within the past few months, i re-bought this album. but i wasn’t moved the same. i think the brother mtume’s comments hit it on the head: you can get diverted by the 80’s early 90’s style production and miss the significance and joy of her vocals and her lyrics. Nonetheless, remembrances of when i first heard this album, and caron wheeler’s clarion call for a spiritual celebration of blackness, in its most profound, earth-loving, life-giving, culture sustaining, sense, brings back fond memories, and inspires optimism that so long as we can continue to keep the music alive and the dialogue fresh, as kalamu and his brood are doing, there is the possibility of reclaiming the moral fruit and historical consciousness of africa’s earlier periods of spiritual and technical englightment, as cogently articulated in cheikh anta diop’s “the african orgin of civilization.” thanks. power to the peaceful. okyeame

I have searched for years, a website that is dedicated to the sista with the warm voice and soulful tones. I am overjoyed! Caron is probably the most underrated artist in the States. I live in Indiana and I have ‘adored’ Caron since high school. Caron was the inspiration for my written songs and Beach of the War Goddess is a timeless album. I admire her and hope to hear more from her in the future. 

Hendrix Is The GRETEST GUITAR PLAYER EVER TO GRACE THE EARTH

I loved Wheeler singing lead on “Back To Life” and “Keep On Movin'” for Soul II Soul but her solo releases touches me most.