Brandy's experiment with Timbaland as the mastermind behind her Afrodisiac project didn't work out so well. No one seemed to be as interested in the project as much as her previous releases. I wonder why? Are people over Timbaland's sound? Or her? Was their blend not palatable? Were the songs that uninteresting? Perhaps her new sexy image was too much to digest (I know I found the "Really, I'm sexy. Look at me" thing I bit disturbing). Or, has the public's need for all things new caused them to move on to the next 'it' girls?
Now that she's released one lackluster album, I wonder if she'll change her formula of letting one producer shape the sound for her projects then filling out the albums with compatible songs? Or, will she go the all-star production route - let a bunch of mega-producers (insert: Neptunes; Lil Jon; Scott Storch) produce so-called 'hits' for her without regard for cohesion then add a bunch of artist collaborations to the mix to lure the music buying audience (insert: MTV-BET) back?
I'm very interested to see where she goes next.
Brandy - Nodding Off (Unreleased)
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
About Me
Blog Archive
-
▼
2005
(138)
-
▼
May
(24)
- Misstep
- Drunk Man
- Who Is White?
- Holy Ghost - Kim Burrell - Everlasting Love
- RIP
- Hmmph!
- Email Attachments
- Not Again...
- In His Own Words
- You Serious?
- Candles, Lotions & More
- Aww Damn
- Washingtong Mutual Copy
- It's Not Mine I Say
- Can't Believe It But I'll Take It
- The More I Think About It
- Why Why Why
- Clark vs Abdul
- It's My Party...
- Immortal Youth
- Invisible Line in the Sand
- Disturbed
- Ok! You Got Me!
- Knowing limitations
-
▼
May
(24)
3 comments:
I think that Full Moon was the best work thus far! Such a banger!
Actually "Nodding Off" was released. So was "Sirens". The former was a bonus track on this imported version of Afrodisiac, and the former was a "B-side" to an imported single of the song "Afrodisiac". And yeah. As much as I will always love me some 1996-2001 era Timbaland, I'm pretty much over him. "Nodding Off" is very much the joint though, and if Ms. Norwood is to continue latching on to single producers for full albums, I hope she reconciles with Rodney Jerkins, 'cause I think they need each other. For real.
I wouldn't be so quick to equate album sales with album quality. Though I'm not a hard-core Brandy fan, I don't believe this album to be "lackluster" in any respect. It's refreshingly introspective and offers remarkably creative vocal arragements. In fact, Brandy's lush space-aged harmonies and exploration of menalcholy through minor chord monotones (notably featured on "Who I Am", "Focus" and "I Tried") mark the continuing evolution of her trademark sound... a success of the album in my eyes, considering the fact that many presumed that Brandy's sound was a function of Jerkins' engineering rather than her own ingenuity. For that reason, I'd have to disagree with the statement about producers shaping the sounds of her albums.
I totally agree with you on the "really, I'm sexy. Look at me" blunder, painfully obvious in the "Who is She 2 U" video. In the Planet Beyonce era, we find countless pop and R&B songstresses racking their bleach-blonde brains trying to forge a competitive edge. While unfortunate to be amongst them, Brandy is by no means alone in this category.
All in all, the listening/record-buying public is quite fickle. And in an industry where Ashanti can reign supreme while a powerhouse vocalist like Tarralyn Ramsey goes relatively unnoticed, I'm very careful not to let the unpredictable tastes & habits of les gens influence how I critique/enjoy an album.
PS: Nodding Off is HOT. I'm rushing to half.com post haste to see if I can get my hands on that imported single. The vamp thingie needed to be supported by a beat, but the rest of the track is music to my ears.
Post a Comment