JOY DENALANE / “Start Over”
Soul is universal—everybody got some—it’s just that some of us got more soul, got more ways to express soul than Bush got bullets and bombs. (And you know that fool been shooting and bombing since 9/11 and don’t look like he about to slow down no time soon.) Soul music is an African-American invention/extension of the African root filtered through the American experience. Black music of the Seventies in particular is considered the measuring rod for Soul music. Here it is over forty years after Aretha went to Atlantic records and ushered in the golden age of Soul and though there continues to be young Black American women reaching for Aretha's crown, some of the most interesting Soul music is actually coming from cross the water. Recent albums from the UK’s Beverley Knight and Germany’s Joy Denalane are perfect illustrations. Beverly Knight went to Nashville, holed up for five days in Beech House studios and dredged up two gutbuckets full of Southern Soul. The whole Music City Soul album sounds like Bev was born in Memphis, raised in Detroit and moved back south to Macon, Georgia where she married a six-foot-six-inch farmer’s son who was named Otis. It’s uncanny how much this sounds like real Southern Soul music, like something maybe Tina Turner’s grandchild would produce, or Ann Peebles’ second cousin’s youngest child. If all of the songs had been top drawer compositions, this would have been a classic album. Nevertheless even though it’s a whisper short of greatness, it’s still very, very good. I’m particularly appreciative of how Beverley Knight leans into the lyrics, singing like this may be her last go round on account she got an upcoming date with the electric chair. There’s a going for broke feeling permeating each song. Knight fondly recalls the recording session: “This was recorded utterly live as opposed to having live elements which made all the difference. I had musicians and background singers in the room with me at the same time and what we did in the studio is what you hear with no corrections or programmed beats. It was entirely different to how I had recorded before and because of that the sound of the record is very different to what you would have heard before.” This is Beverly Knight’s fifth album in a decade-long career. This is also her most consistent outing in terms of flat-out singing with feeling. Born Beverley Anne Smith, March 22, 1973 in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England of Jamaican parents, Knight was indelibly influenced by Aretha Franklin and Sam Cooke. She is a true Soul singer from a culture that’s rather thin on Soul singers even though every three or four years or so some fresh face is marketed as such. None of them stay the course, and in that regard, perhaps what we are hearing from Beverley Knight is a maturing of British Soul music. Beverly's Music City Soul is far, far removed from the fabled British reserve and, for that matter, far removed from fawning emulation or by-the-numbers imitation. Go to a Beverley Knight fansite and check out two videos of Beverly performing live versions of songs from Music City Soul. I have Beverly's other albums but for the first time I find myself interested not only in what she is doing now, but really, really interested in where she goes from here. If Music City Soul is any indication, Ms. Knight is head in the right direction. Stay tuned.
This entry was posted on Sunday, June 3rd, 2007 at 3:12 am and is filed under Contemporary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
3 Responses to “JOY DENALANE / “Start Over””
June 3rd, 2007 at 5:03 am
Before I even get on the Joy discussion I think a tribute to Beverly is long overdue. She is a well respected artist in the U.K. yet most Americans know nothing about her music. I guess we will expect to see one here soon.
The thing about soul music is that over the course of time it has embedded itself in other cultures all over the world. You can probably find at least one excellent soul singer in every corner of the world now. Case in point, Amy Winehouse. There is also a young woman (about 17 or 18) out of Ireland who is laying it down and giving Brits like Corrinne Bailey Rae (though not really pure soul) a run for her money.
Back to Joy, I like her music, her vocal style is sweet and playful yet, strong. It is a quality that I wish a lot of the young girls being “produced” by the record companies would create. My ipod tends to play Jill Scott, Joy, Leela James and a handful of other female vocalists on rotation. It used to be women dominated the airwaves but with the mass produced garbage that has come out over the last (I’ll say 10 or more?) years, real music lovers have been left to search for something worth listening to outside of our shores. That is why I started listening to Radio 1 on the internet and inquiring about popular music in other places. Thank goodness there at least seems to be a new crop of singers waiting in the wings to emerge. I am anxiously awaiting Chrisette Michelle’s new CD. She is gorgeous and refreshingly talented. I want singers to be able to sing again. That is what this post inspired in me. Keep up the great work, guys.
June 3rd, 2007 at 10:29 am
I’m interested to hear Beverly sing in a purely devotional setting. She’s a damn good singer but the pop-soul stuff i’ve heard her do in the UK mainstream always leaves me a little wanting. I’m not sure if that has to do with the producers or the UK market or what.
My favourite UK soul track at the moment is Mutya Buena’s new single Real Girl which samples Lenny Kravitz’s it ain’t over till it’s over. Laid back delivery in her voice but she’s got nice subtle shapes/inflections in there.
April 25th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
To the poster above, if by devotional setting you mean “taking it to church” just reply to this message. I’ve been a long time fan and quite a lot of her music has been very trashy pop orientated but even from day one she has recorded some right gems.
Anyway, I have lots of Bev tracks singing Gospel – Jesus Loves Me, Amazing Grace, Joy To The World, Silent Night, I Can Go To God In Prayer, Jesus Holds My Hands, How Great Thou Art.. and many more!
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