JANELLE MONAE - THE ARCHANDROID (SUITES II AND III)

I discovered Janelle Monae through a friend who recommended I listen to this CD and made me a copy. This is where record companies (at least in my case) make huge mistakes. When I really like something I buy it. Even if I already have a burned or ripped copy. And I loved this disc. Absolutely loved it. It's the most exciting new music I've heard in ages! I had no visual image of Monae when I heard the record, nor did I expect anything other than it was supposed to be funky. The CD starts off with a orchestral bit basically giving you the impression you're watching the opening credits of some movie. 'Suite II Overture' is interesting but also kinda lame. Still, it sets up the format Monae is trying to achieve with her narrative and to be honest, I'd much rather have interspersed segues like this than some of the more popular segues you see in Hip Hop/R&B music these days.

'Dance Or Die' kicks in with a great beat and Janelle singing in the background before the main vocal comes in. She raps this one; which recalls to mind Lauryn Hill's combination of various styles. It's a fantastic song you can really belt out at the top of your voice right along with the track and segues flawlessly into 'Faster'! Once again, a great beat keeps the momentum moving along. 'Faster' has a swing beat happening with Janelle singing in her beautiful voice over the top. Another segue takes us into 'Locked Inside' where the beat skips and slows somewhat but also continues the forward movement of these first numbers. In combination, they are utterly flawless in flow. They move between each other like mercury. I haven't heard an opening salvo like this in ages. Prince used to pull these 1, 2, 3 punches at the start of his records, but it's been a long time since those days. Very strong opening.

And then we come to the first ballad. I complain endlessly about the futility of balladry. I think it's the most overused, generic form of songwriting ever. So many people write ballads they intend to be deep and end up with dribble. It's just too unpredictable. However, Monae seems to get that idea. 'Sir Greendown' starts off sounding oddly like 'Moon River'. Before I go any further let me discuss the theme of this record for a second... This is a concept album. In fact, her previous record was the actual beginning of this story. It's about an android who falls in love with a human and how in that society, it's an illegal relationship. The songs supposedly detail their experience and the human man is named Sir Greendown. Whether or not this narrative is effective is kinda pointless as I don't listen to these songs with the plot in mind. 'Sir Greendown' is a lovely piece that lyrically means nothing to me as I listen to it, but the melody is soothing and the vocal delivery is also interesting. It's an excellent piece to sing along to. After the mellow vibe of 'Sir Greendown', 'Cold War' is like a punch in the gut. It comes with such force and an almost punk beat. It's a strong number, but the followup track, 'Tightrope' is the real kicker here. This number is the single from the record and whoever picked it to lead off the record's singles was an absolute genius. It comes on strong and pushes the beat forward with some incredibly strong vocalizations by Monae. A classic tune without a doubt. 'Neon Gumbo' is a segue leading into 'Oh, Maker'; which is another ballad. This one is also superior and another hit ballad-wise. It's followed by a 60s style screamer, 'Come Alive (The War Of The Roses)'. This number is still exciting, but has a frantic edge I'm not entirely comfortable with. The first suite ends with another ballad called 'Mushrooms & Roses'. This psychedelic ballad relies heavily on distortion to accentuate the music and Monae distorts her voice quite a lot as well. The movements are separated into suites; which I'm not entirely sure as to why. I am certain, if they ever made a movie from this record, it would make more sense.

The second movement or suite starts with 'Suite III Overture'; which is another orchestral piece this one incorporating bits from other songs. 'Neon Valley Street' is the first legitimate song and is based on the coda from 'Suite III Overture'. This is easily my favorite ballad on the album. I love the imagery she conjures on the chorus of this brilliant tune. Especially the line, "I'm holding your hand"... There's innocence, expression and sweetness all wrapped up in sincerity... It knocks me out. The first time I heard 'Make The Bus', I thought it was completely bizarre, but interesting. As time goes on, it's actually become the one track I feel is out of place on this collection. I like the last minute of the song but the build is so uncertain and changing I'm constantly left wondering what's the point. Not surprisingly, I found out after I bought the CD this is the only track not written by Monae. It's followed up by 'Wondaland'. This song could really be my favorite tune on the record. There's pop sensibility in this number. It kinda embraces that whole Britney Spears sound with the vocal distortion, but it's the lyrics and the vocal delivery that make it so infectious. It's simply wonderful. '57821' is another ballad that sounds somewhat like Simon & Garfunkel's 'Scarborough Fair'. There are also elements of choral music in the vocal arrangements. 'Say You'll Go' is another ballad and this one actually starts out sounding like something Prince would have written for "Emancipation". It's another song that's very delicate and beautiful. I actually like the ballads Monae has written for this record. She's very talented with this kind of music. The final number on this cd is 'BabopbyeYa'. It sounds like a jazz number from some sweeping 1940's Hollywood blockbuster film. It's a wonderful end to an epic album and I'm completely pleased and thrilled with it.

Janelle Monae is a new name and she's exciting, versatile and interesting. She combines all kinds of musical genre to create a full, rich, mature sound even if the concept of the record is somewhat juvenile. There's something for everyone here and for those who like a well rounded musical buffet, this is a literal smorgasbord. Pump it while driving, lay back and listen to the ballads or just groove all the way through playing it in the background. It will inspire, uplift and generally turn you on your ear. It's exciting and I can't wait to hear more from this interesting woman. My final words: UNEXPECTED DELICIOUSNESS!

JANELLE MONAE - THE ARCHANDROID (SUITES II AND III)
01. Suite II Overture
02. Dance Or Die (Featuring Saul Williams)
03. Faster
04. Locked Inside
05. Sir Greendown
06. Cold War
07. Tightrope (Featuring Big Boi)
08. Neon Gumbo
09. Oh, Maker
10. Come Alive (The War Of The Roses)
11. Mushrooms & Roses
12. Suite III Overture
13. Neon Valley Street
14. Make The Bus (Featuring Of Montreal)
15. Wondaland
16. 57821 (Featuring Deep Cotton)
17. Say You'll Go
18. BabopbyeYa

MADONNA - EROTICA

I actually own a couple discs by Madonna, though mostly for other reasons. I own one because Prince worked on it and the rest are singles. It's not that I don't like Madonna... I like her quite a bit. Just never really got into her musically or as a performer. Sadly, she kinda typifies the things I usually dislike about artists.

'Erotica' was a breakthrough album of sorts. Since her debut in the early 80's, Madonna's been linked to sexuality as securely as Captain's been linked to Crunch. Although her image was sexualized and seductive, she was hardly pornographic and her music wasn't really controversial as her publicists wanted you to think. Madonna was threatening because she portrayed feminine sexuality from a position of power. She was confident, secure and unphased by an industry known for objectifying women. I'd give her credit for taking popular music in an entirely new direction. She made it possible for Janet Jackson, Paula Abdul, Tiffany, Debbie Gibson, Britney Spears and others to step up to the plate and be taken seriously as artists. Whether or not that's all been for the good remains to be seen.

So along comes 'Erotica'... And for mothers across the country who feared their daughters turning out like Madonna, their worst fears were confirmed. Blatantly sexually suggestive lyrics, foul language and aggressive rhythms more dance oriented than previous efforts pushed her from pop icon to massive superstar. Her fans were growing up and so was Madonna.

To call this disc a masterpiece would be overdoing it. There's still a lot of lackluster Madonna filler music. But there are more great tunes versus ho-hum tunes here for you to sink your ears into. The first half of the disc, tracks 1-6 are all brilliantly written, produced and performed. The stand out numbers are easily the faster more dance oriented tracks. Madonna's released a number of ballads in her day, in fact one of the singles from this record was a ballad, but she falls in the same trap as most ballad singers... boring, uninspired throwaway tunes targeted towards the more cliche listener. Not a great place for her to spend lots of time. As a vocalist, I've always thought she was limited in range and somewhat weak. Her strength has always been in faster paced dance material.

My favorite tracks are 'Erotica', 'Bye Bye Baby', 'Thief Of Hearts' and 'Words'. But her smoldering cover of 'Fever' is also fantastic. 'Bad Girl' is another track I find amusing and then there's her tribute to oral sex, 'Where Life Begins'. An amazing group of songs from an exciting performer.

My final words are: ENJOYABLE AND FUN. Certainly worth your time and effort even if you're not a die-hard fan.

MADONNA - EROTICA
01. Erotica
02. Fever
03. Bye Bye Baby
04. Deeper And Deeper
05. Where Life Begins
06. Bad Girl
07. Waiting
08. Thief Of Hearts
09. Words
10. Rain
11. Why's It So Hard
12. In This Life
13. Secret Garden