Kelis

I remember this album when I was in the 7th grade. I love this album. This is an impassioned album. She has created a colorful aural soundscape that incorporates futuristic textures, hardcore beats, and her own soulful voice. This music reflects who she is. When you look into a kaleidoscope, you see million of colors, many jagged shapes and a bunch of patterns. She is singing from her own experiences, its her real feelings inside of a fictional situation. This album is produced by the Neptunes. She is just as good as Mary J. Blige. This album should have been promoted more. Remember, this was 1999.

Kelis is the most looked over artist in existance of music... she changed the game for most female artist out today... for an artist to b around for 10 years and slowly come out with hits is unheard of... its a complete shame that ppl in the US remember her as the "milkshake" chick.

KALEIDOSCOPE is one of the most little known albums EVER... this is the defining moment in the neptunes career and if it wasnt for this album they wouldnt b as popular as they are today.... strong production with a excellent singer equals SPACE AGE FUN!!! sounds better than most music out today....

hands down my favourite track is "roller rink" ft. Pharrell... Pharrell is just cursing his lil butt off rappin but it works. the beat of this song is OUT OF THIS WORLD (literally)...

"game show" is interesting.. the beat is kinda casio keyboard cute mixed with BASS like no other... another banger on the album...

"I want your love" and "good stuff" are the kinda tracks that she is known for.... very fun and catchy...

"caught out there" is one of a kind.... strong, crazy, and infectious....

"get along with you" and "suspended" very haunting and enchanting...

all the songs are great... the only one i dont like is "mafia" it has no place on the album and the feel of the song kinda lackluster....

kelis should be a huge star in america... america is soooo fickle bout music and artist... if its not playin in the clubs and has simple lyrics they wont listen to it... We have to open our eyes and give props to artist that are different and exciting... keep music unpredictable....

5 out of 5 stars: OUTSTANDING CD!!!

I just bought this album, which makes it almost ten years old. I first bought TAsty and then later Kelis Was Here, After liking every track on both albums I knew I had to have more. Kelis is another one of those talented artists that gets thrown around by the record companies. Every song on this album sounds fresh today. Some of the tracks feature some weak rapping that could have been edited out in my opinion, but this album still sounds like it was made today. I wish I would've bought this when it first came out instead of dismissing Kelis as that crazy girl who screams on that one song. I was wrong she is a true talent that I hope sticks around for a while. This album is Fire!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Excellent debut! Kelis and the Neptunes definitely have chemistry. This is a great CD for people looking for a different sound than typical R&B. Being a Neptunes fan is almost just as important because you're gonna get an earful of them on this CD. I really enjoy it a lot.

Fave tracks:
* Get Along With You - and PLEASE check out the video. It's perfect for the song

* I Want Your Love - This one just get's me going, the beat is tight!

* No Turning Back

* Game Show - this one is fun and the beat is perfect for the lyrics

* Caught Out There

* Wouldn't You Agree

* In the Morning

Wait...Have I pretty much listed the entire CD? See what I mean? Pick this up.

Happy listening!

It took me a while to adjust to Kelis' debut album "Kaleidoscope", but in the end, its eclecticism and quirky catchiness won me over. What surprises me more than anything, however, is how she's failed to consistently maintain commercial presence, and how she's so similar, yet so different, to Beyonce.

After all, Beyonce's vocals are usually more about power than about emotion; Kelis' tempered vocals are usually the other way round. Beyonce's a conniving spotlight hog (albeit a talented, seemingly humbled one); Kelis has no trouble letting go of it, as displayed through her lack of consistent commercial presence. Beyonce seems more content with keeping her music safe to a certain degree; Kelis seems determined to break boundaries & hit listeners with something they've never heard before. When Beyonce feels willing to show some skin, it seems entirely for the sake of sex appeal; when Kelis sheds her clothes, it's so she can smother herself in layers and shades of symbolic paint and make a statement towards some level of artistic creativity.

Compare this magnificent album with Beyonce's wonderful debut, "Dangerously In Love", and all of my comparisons between the two should stand justified. Produced entirely by The Neptunes, "Kaleidoscope" lives up to both its title & confusing album cover - a colourful, insightful, raw, eclectic collection of out-of-this-world R&B. The intergalactically peculiar intro about Pharrell Williams discovering "a special little girl" on another planet gives listeners a little taste of what's about to come. And indeed, there are plenty of highlights to follow.

The album's best track goes to lead single "Caught Out There" an emotional ballad where Kelis catches her unfaithful lover out, even going as far as psychotically, albeit comically and emotionally, screaming "I HATE YOU SO MUCH RIGHT NOW!" at the top of her minimally studio-enhanced lungs in the chorus. Swirling synthesizers, simplistic guitar strings and strong lyrics (and sometimes creepy - "Held you when you were sick/Even s*cked your d***") continue to maintain the song's emotional frustration.

As a matter of fact, there's no shortage of weirdness displayed through the aforementioned album standout. Whether it's Kelis comparing her love towards an anonymous criminal to the mafia (the dark-toned ballad "Mafia"), comparing her relationship to an actual game (the cleverly childish "Game Show"), inspiring children in the ghetto (the lyrically profound "Ghetto Children"), seeking attention from a man who's sick of attention-desperate women "(Good Stuff", featuring rapper The Clipse), sacrificing everything she has to make a relationship work (the moving ballad "Get Along With You") OR GOD KNOWS WHAT ELSE, everything on this album works marvellously, and still sounds refreshing after 7 long years. Perhaps "Roller Rink" would be one of the album's lesser tracks, but even that song is enjoyable to some degree, despite the fact that today's youth usually release their frustration through fights, verbal abuse & drunken parties thrown behind your parents' backs :P.

Thankfully, "Kaleidoscope" is a much-need breath of fresh air, and also a good starting point for those of you interested in the older, more refreshing production work of now-legendary producers The Neptunes. Guest artists, including the aforementioned rappers The Clipse & background speaking from Pharrell Williams, also keep this album interesting. 5 stars!

i guess i need to give this one a real listen, but i've had it since it came out and i'm not that crazy about it. a few good tracks and nice beats, but i just can't get into it.

I had heard this album while on vacation, I couldn't wait to get home and have it waiting for me in the mail. Most of the time you buy a CD and only end up liking 3 or 4 songs. I listen to the whole album loving every bit of it! Her voice is hypnotizing.

This album has one of my most favorite Kelis songs, Glow produced by Raphael Saadiq. This is a really good album. What I love most about it is that it's the first time we're hearing more of what others would do with Kelis. I like the Neptunes, but considering how recycled their beats are, it was good to hear something else from Kelis.

Fave tracks:
* Glow - Produced by Raphael S.

* Attention - Another produced by Raphael, great song

* Trick Me - It's infectious and fun, lol, I can't get enough of this

* Marathon - dark, sexy slow groove

* Stick Up - Put your hands up in the air it's a stick up! LOL @ the metaphor, still a cool song

* Sugar, Honey, Iced Tea - Nice groove from the Neptunes

* Protect My Heart

Definitely worth picking up.

Happy listening!

This album is so gorgeous! I wasn't a fan of Milkshake when it hit the airwaves and (wrongly) wrote the entire album off. But after getting hooked on Kelis Was Here, I decided to sample Kelis' discography. And let me say this: Tasty is one of the best album's I've ever owned. In contemporary(well...four years after the initial release) terms, this album would rival Nelly Furtado's Loose for supremacy when it comes to rock-hip-hop-pop. With The Neptunes, Andre 3000 and Raphael Saddiq, among others, at the helm, Tasty is a rock solid album.

Favorite tracks:

Trick Me
Protect My Heart
Millionaire
Glow
Sugar Honey Ice Tea
Rolling Through the Hood
Marathon

This is the album that made me fall in love with Kelis. This album is wonderfully executed by Kelis herself. The songs, lyrics, production, and photo shoot are impeccable. Sugar Honey Iced Tea, Glow, Rolling Through The Hood are my favorite songs on this album. Check this album out!

You can always count on Kelis for originality and creatively. She is not the greatest vocalist. She makes up for that with super-size sass. Each song stands out on its own. This is the first album where Kelis started to distance herself from longtime collaborators The Neptunes. Kelis pulls it off with stunning results. What is even better is that the follow up album didn't feature Neptunes at all. The album is pure genius. The said album is Kelis Was Here.

Gotta admit that I knew very little about Mrs. Nasir Jones aka Kelis even after her storm of a hit "Milkshake" shook the pop charts a few years ago. I always thought she was HOT, but that was about it. Well, after doing some music shopping for my significant other whom prefers rap and r&b, I came across this little gem and was pleasantly surprised. The production on most of the songs on this disk were absolutely stellar. And as I listened I fell in love with Kelis' electic style. Her voice is non-conventional as far as your typical r&b diva goes, but extremely sexy. And although not a strong singer, she swoons in a way that makes you feel her words. This is a must have for those of you who love to unwind by shaking your groove thang!!!

Finally a CD without the Neptunes. I enjoyed Kaleidoscope and Tasty, but wanted to hear what other producers would do with her. Kelis Was Here isn't her best, but definitely worth picking up, especially for fans of her style.

I think she did a great job without the Neptunes, proving that she didn't need to totally rely on them.

Fave tracks:
Goodbyes
Trilogy
Living Proof
Like You - love the sample from Mozart!
Appreciate Me - VERY soulful even though vocals aren't the greatest here

Honorable mention:
Blindfold Me - guilty pleasure :-)

I really think Kelis' last album Tasty was overrated; to me, the only good songs were the singles "Milkshake" and "Trick Me". On Kelis Was Here, it's the opposite situation: this time the singles actually made me not want to pick up the album. But I listened to it anyway and discovered that it's pretty good.

The most surprising thing about this album is that the Neptunes are nowhere to be found; probably because she was dropped from Star Trak (but why would they drop her after her MOST successful abum?). Fortunately, Kelis still holds her own with other producers, like Scott Storch ("Trilogy") and Raphael Saadiq ("Living Proof"). Ray Ray also produces "Circus", where Kelis tries rapping with okay results, but it isn't as forgettable as when she does it on the hidden track "F Them B's", which is even censored on the album.

There are other good songs though, like "Have a Nice Day" and "Till the Wheels Fall Off". Kelis' singing is also a lot better than it used to be, as she also scores on slower songs like "Appreciate Me" and especially "Goodbyes". Cee-Lo also joins her for another highlight, "Lil Star".

But there are also a few more errors. Will.i.am should have never been allowed on this album because his chorus ruins the otherwise decent "Weekend"; and his other collabo, "What's That Right There", feels like it was written in five minutes. "Aww Ish" goes nowhere, and "Blindfold Me" is ridiculous (although Nas isn't on the album version). Then there's the childish "I Don't Think So", which made me say just that.

It's too bad that this album isn't selling all that well because it'll probably make people say that Kelis Was Here is aptly titled. But there are still enough bumpable tracks on here, so it wouldn't hurt to pick it up.

Anthony Rupert

Wow! I have had this CD since last year but really never listened to it until tonight and I had to express my gratitude for a sister Kelis, who is truly one of the most innovative and original artists of her time. I bought the CD to loop the cut "Living Proof" for a fashion show I deejayed. It was a genuine head bobber and I got quite a few people asking who the artist was, but I put it on the shelf and never really listened to it. I am truly sorry I slept on this sister because this CD is mostly back-to-back killers. Once you get past the listenable but forgettable "Bossy" this CD smokes. Believe-it-or-not, "Bossy" was also a request at another gig I played for a bride at her wedding reception. My favorite tracks 1)"Til the Wheels Fall Off." The best of the will.i.am produced cuts that really comnes close to the best of Prince in the 80s. The other 2 will.i.am songs are warmed over Black Eyed Peas. 2) "Living Proof." This Raphael Saadiq tune really grooves; a great runway song too. 3) "Trilogy" the Scott Storch produced finger snapping groove that channels Jam & Lewis's (not Dupri's) Janet Jackson. 4) "Lil Star" produced and featuring Cee-Lo rivals some of the best Sly and the Family Stone cuts. I also liked the autobiographical truth of "Circus." A disclaimer: I bought the edited version of the CD (or as I call it the family reunion version) so I'm not sure how raw she gets on some of the cuts. That being said, if you want a very satisfying CD which loops, soars and dives like a great roller coaster ride, do yourself a favor and give this CD a listen. Even if you slept on it the first time around like me, this kind of creativity and musicianship is timeless. Add this to your "road series" CDs. Put this in your car CD on a long trip and watch the miles fly by.

Listening to this disc makes me sad that Kelis isn't embraced more fully by the US but I guess as a fan, knowing that she is appreciated overseas for being a dynamic risk taker, has to be enough! This is another excellent offering by an artist who knows exactly who she is both as a woman and a vocalist - Kelis never veers from "her lane" yet manages to produce uniquely cohesive albums.

Releasing BOSSY as the lead single was pure genius! I loved it from the jump but it was so great watching friends who initially hated the track fall under the spell of the song last summer.

WHAT'S THAT RIGHT THERE - a catchy track using Parliment's KNEE DEEP sample while Kelis partly raps & partly sings. Listening to it though, I wonder if it would've been a big hit if either Fergie or Gwen Stafanie was the artist behind the song....

TILL THE WHEELS FALL OFF - another fave, reminds me of something Prince would've produced in his heydey

LIVING PROOF - melodic track on which Kelis' smoky vocals sound great

BLINDFOLD ME - although this track has a great beat (along with a HOT video by the newlyweds) I thought it was a really risky choice as the 2nd single and killed the momentum built up by BOSSY

GOODBYES - I love the beats on this track and as I listened to it over & over, something about it reminds me of something Lenny Kravitz would sing (now wouldn't that be a great duet!?!)

APPRECIATE ME - a very dramatic anthemic song that builds and again features Kelis' trademark throaty vocals

HAVE A NICE DAY - this track turns into a really fun listen once you get to the "carnivale" breakdown

TRILOGY, WEEKEND & CIRCUS - all feature great catchy beats but the strong lyrics of CIRCUS presenting a commentary about today's music industry make it another fave

My favorite track 2nd to BOSSY is the gorgeous LIL STAR - why oh why wasn't this released as the 2nd single??? I think it would've been a hit and it definitely would've piqued the interest of those who only think of Kelis in passing (it's truly a hidden gem much like MILLIONAIRE was on her TASTY album).

I'm so glad that in the face of what the music industry has become, Kelis continues to "go left" and do her own thing while still putting out excellent music. I was surprised that the Neptunes didn't work on even one track but this did not lead to a drop off in the quality of the music. Fans won't be disappointed and neither will those who are just discovering Kelis - this ecclectic collection will keep music lovers smiling for days.

I'm a big Kelis fan and this album is definitely one of my favorites.Was not disappointed.

I'm late to discovering Kelis. I enjoyed her singles but just recently started picking up the CDs. I was pleasantly surprised. Thanks to Amazon, I was able to discover "Wanderland". After picking up Kaleidoscope, I was more than anxious to follow it up with more of Kelis.

I really enjoy this CD. I am a fan of the Neptunes sound, so I immediately fell in love with Kaleidoscope, and I was happy to find that they were back again on Wanderland. It's something about Kelis and the Neptunes that jives SO well together. I guess they figured if it aint broke dont fix it. But that's the thing...one can have too much of a good thing. I would have liked to hear more variety on this CD. Many of the songs have that very typical "Neptunes sound"; the beats are similar to each other and songs from Kaleidoscope. Maybe there needed to be a mix of producers...which is why I didn't give it 5 stars.

Nonetheless if you're a Kelis/Neptunes fan (and being a fan of the Neptunes is JUST as important) then pick this CD up. If you're not a HUGE fan, then you'll probably be satisfied with Kaleidoscope and Tasty for your Kelis fix.

Fave tracks:
* Young, Fresh, N' New - LOVE this beat, great way to start the CD off

* Popular Thug - Decent beat; good cameo from Pusher of Clipse

* Mr. UFO Man - this one's a different sound, and deep lyrics, love it

* Perfect Day - Rock w/Gwen Stefani on background vocals; nice!

* Little Suzie - another one with a different sound, deep lyrics

Honorable mentions:
* Daddy & Scared Money - these are both cool; but is it me or isn't the beat almost the same but different tempo??

Great CD for the price. Check it out.

Happy listening!

Very good album. This album really represents the creative artist that Kelis can be. I think she became caught up in trying to sell records and became a part of the machine and forgot her creative essence. You will enjoy this album.

Like most reviewers, I had heard about a sophomore album by Kelis but could never find it till I started shopping on this site. After a few listens I think it's a real shame that the record label wasn't courageous enough or didn't believe in this project enough to release it in the USA.

The collaboration between Kelis & The Neptunes continues the truly original path that they started on her excellent debut. As with the debut, there are a lot of tracks featuring hot beats by the Neptunes that make the best use of Kelis' vocal ability.

Overall I really enjoyed listening to the whole album because each song is uniquely distinctive and sounds like no other artist - Kelis is right about one thing she said recently "she is the first girl to scream on a track" and others are copying her style but fans know that Kelis is an original!

My favorite tracks where her vocal performance & the beats are sheer perfection are: LITTLE SUZIE, SHOOTING STARS, FLASHBACK, YOUNG FRESH 'N NEW, MR. UFO & POPULAR THUG

Other great tracks that I love moreso for the beats than Kelis' vocal performance are: DADDY (Kelis raps more than sings on this one), SCARED MONEY, DIGITAL WORLD, PERFECT DAY, GET EVEN (kind of a sequel to CAUGHT OUT THERE) & JUNKIE

Like I said before, it's a shame that fans who enjoyed Kelis' debut weren't given a chance to support this disc - I really think that if POPULAR THUG, SHOOTING STARS OR FLASHBACK had been released stateside, Kelis could've continued to build upon the momentum and gained more fans since her music was so original and unlike anything other artists were releasing at the time.

KELIS' BEST ALBUM! WANDERLAND IS DEFINITELY A CLASSIC FROM HER, especially compared to her recent stuff.

Hilariously cheesy, but that's what makes it so good. "My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard.." Laugh out loud funny but a good song.

Hilariously cheesy, but that's what makes it so good. "My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard.." Laugh out loud funny but a good song.

When I first heard this song on much video dance I had to download it right away, cuz it sounded amazing. I downloaded the instrumental and I just went nuts! The music was so hardcore. I have new favourite songs now. I might have overplayed that one, but...oh well. Eventually I bought the whole album.

the beats on this are tight by The Neptunes and the song is ok, and thats all I have to say about that

this song 'milkshake' is.... great..... just inuendo everywhere in this single...produced by the neptunes this single reached number 2 in the top 200...launced her already know carrer.

'milkshake' is kind of different... not your typical pop/r&b song. the video is not all that great BUT the song makes the video awesome...

the remixes are alright but nothing beats the original....this single LP is great if you like the original but the remixs are not all that.

5 stars out of 5: just for the original version