ME SHELL NDEGEOCELLO

This cd is soulful and political. Me'shell is a superb vocalist, instrumentalist, and song writer.

of the so-called neo soul movement in the early 90s. This record was a breath of fresh air and was an introduction to one of the few free thinking black artists to emerge with some degree of success post-Prince. Her whole style was new fresh, jazzy and funky; poetic & thought provoking, and she plays a mean bass. But this was only the beginning, Meshell has not waivered in being one of the most progressive soul artists out there; she still is today. Best tracks: "Shooting up & getting high", "Soul on Ice", "Step into the projects" & "Two lonely hearts on the subway".
Maxwell would later mimic her style of opening up the CD/LPs with a short instrumental overture and the unexpected breakdowns in the middle of songs. Highly Recommended~!

Somehow, somewhere there must have been a bad storm that killed all soul from musicians. But thankfully there was Noah who built an Ark and had Me'Shell Ndegeocello and Neo-Soul on board. That saved soulful people to still in the mist of all this crap music produce and bless us with music straight from the heart. Where ever Me'Shell is, I'll rush over.

I first heard of Me'Shell NdegeOcello after hearing her vocals and bass on John Mellencamp's rendition of Wild Nights. Over the next few years, I occasionally heard of her stellar reputation as a musician, but I hadn't heard any of her work. I must say I was pleasantly surprised after purchasing Plantation Lullabies. I can't begin to accurately describe her work, but experienced it as a soulful fusion of styles that evoked often overlooked or supressed emotions. While listening, it felt like I was accompanying MeShell on a journey with no particular destination, just roadtripping for it's own sake. Probably not very helpful, but you should get this one anyway.

For all Ndgeocello fans this one is a must have as is all of them. I am ashamed to say how long I had it on cassette before I finally bought it on CD. Her deep soul searching, right at ya style wrapped in jazz and based on the classics.. Enough said!!!

i agree with the other reviews about it being dark, but. it's a great album. someone must have done her so wrong, that it hit her deep in her soul.

I usually have to go on line to locate this CD, but it's a must have. This is my 3rd time purchasing it. This CD really touches the heart when you need it most.

if you haven't heard her before, I'm telling you once you do you'll be hooked.

I just recently discovered the music of MeShell NdegeOcello and this album has been on continuous rotation in my cd player. Bitter is a masterpiece in every sense of the word, from start to finish this album is flawless as MeShell bares all and sings about issues that haunt relationsips such as temptation, cheating, breakups, and the emotions that result from them. I recommed this album to those who love honest, soulful, good music. Bitter is by far one of the most "real" albums I have ever heard.

I saw this movie and had to find out what song was in it. I was surprised that it was Me'Shell. This song fit perfectly with the movie.

FYI

This is the only album that made me angry for not seeing a review!

I discovered this project recently on Last.fm and was able to hear it in its entirety. I played it several times just to make sure that I was not fooling myself with its sonic manipulation and ushering in of a private calibration of a good time I had to share with my wife immediately:)

When I looked at Amazon and saw that the UK release was January 2008 and the US release was in 2003, I was immediately ticked off with every music critic whose opinion I had come to rely on. No one to my knowledge had mentioned anything about this awesome musical experience.

This project clearly picked up where Plantation Lullabies & later song "Rush Over" in the movie "Love Jones" left off. I have Basement Jaxx's Kish Kash where she was a featured guest that had a slight similar vibe and may have been the foundation for one of the Love Songs on this project.

But Comfort Woman is as pure as anything released before or after its release. I don't need a flight or road trip to get the full effect of cosmic travel:) Only true P-Funk fans are initiated & qualified to handle some of the guitar licks put down on this project:)

Now I'm firing all music critics and using Last.fm almost exclusively going forward. Friends may still continue to offer their opinions:)

As Raphael Saddiq's CD was named, CW itself is indeed INSTANT VINTAGE:)

You can and should buy this project just for your own provocative, musical massage!

"Come lay down beside me
I wanna Love
take you to paradise."

Me'Shell Ndegéocello's music is a blend of bass-heavy funk, neo soul, hip hop, reggae, R&B, rock, and jazz. Arguably her best album, Comfort Woman (2003), is a collection of sensual and seductive grooves reminiscent of Marvin Gaye's classic, What's Going On. These are the songs of a bisexual artist who knows love in all of its physical incarnations: lust, attraction, desire, physical craving, pleasure, and intimacy. Pleasure, this album argues, is an essential part of what it means to be human, and without physical pleasure there can be no life. Few could resist this soul siren when she seductively sings, "come smoke my herb." Album tracks include:

1. Love Song #1 4:03
2. Come Smoke My Herb 3:52
3. Andromeda And The Milky Way 4:28
4. Love Song #2 3:47
5. Body 3:40
6. Liliquoi Moon 4:40
7. Love Song #3 4:30
8. Fellowship 3:13
9. Good Intentions 3:47
10. Thankful 3:23

G. Merritt

This is a very chill album that is good and consistent from start to finish. It doesn't contain one bad song, in my opinion. It mixes R&B, jazz, funk, reggae and folk in a soothing way. Prepare to relax and unwind with this album! Many of the songs are about love and sex and a few really get you in the mood (if you know what I mean). Others are autobiographical/introspective and a little on the maudlin side. My favorite track is #9 Good Intentions. It is an artfully contrived track and is simply a prime example of a well, multi-layered made song. It is incredibly funky and the bass line is sick!

I am loving this cd. It is very low key, quiet and very sensual. I love to listen to it when I am relaxing in the bath or getting a massage. It is very different than anything else I have ever heard, a complex mix of music and vocals. Overall it is a cd I turn to when I want to be comforted and get back in my body and my mind.

Meshell N'Degeocello IS without question one of the sexiest, most progressive, creative minds in the music arena. When so much of the New Millennium's music dives to the leechy depths of misogyny, extreme materialism, cultural and political ignorance and an overall lack of the qualities that render music an artform, everything that this woman composes is GENIUS...creative expression at its very, very best - - - unbelievable production that fuses everything from jazz to reggae to the native rhythms of the Motherland and lyrics that demand that you take your mind to a deeper level.

Me'Shell continues to shows how deeply connected she is to the universe and human conditions. She is very daring, endearing, innovative, experimental and unbridled in her musical and lyrical approach - something we need more of today. The second track "The Way" opens with "Jesus cured the blind man so that he could see the evils of the world" is something that most of us never thought about. Perhaps the blind man witnessed the crucifixion. In a world where artists are sounding the same I'm glad Me'Shell is a nail that refuses to be hammered down like a crucifixion. As a musician and listener I love all of her CDs. Give your eardrums some new sonics.

About five years ago, a bare CD with a big script "M" printed on it -- no case, no tracklist, nothing -- fell into my possession: I still don't know where it came from. To whoever it was who mysteriously gave me the gift of this amazing collection of tracks, thank you.

Song after song, she soothes and challenges. Thoughts and questions dance and collide: As a fiercely liberal Christian, "The Way" puts music to my own questions about my faith. Just how loud can a white man play "Niggerman", exactly?

Musically, it's as fresh and surprising on the hundredth listening as on the first. The production is lavish and rich, NdegéoOcello's voice is powerful one moment and plainly in pain the next.

Buy -- or find -- a copy of Peace Beyond Passion.

Ten years after its release, this is still my favourite Meshell Ndegeocello CD ("Bitter" comes a close second) and is one of my favourite albums of all time. A mistress of the bass guitar, with the sexiest voice I've ever heard in my life, she covers a wide variety of subjects on this controversial, bible-referenced album, ranging from her issues with religion ("The Way"), to her love for women ("Mary Magdalene") to familial homophobia ("Levicticus: Faggot") while all the way through speaking of a love much deeper than any I could ever imagine or hope to experience. "When we make love I feel it so deeply/ When we make love I cry," she sings on "A Tear And A Smile", for instance. She sings later on in the same song: "I would not exchange the sorrows of my heart for the joys of the multitude/ And I would not have the tears that sadness makes to flow from my every part turn into laughter/ I want the hunger for your love and beauty to fill me from the depths of my spirit."

Or check out "Bittersweet": "You enchant me so my bittersweet flower/ Mystery of the sages come into my realm of imagination/ Let Me Digest You," she sings (I've never heard it put like that before) and then goes on: "I cry myself to sleep over you/ You come and then you go/ The more I fall the more you let go/ The sweet taste of you stains my lips/ Even through the pain it's only you I miss."

Damn, girl.

She's right of course, in my opinion. I too question whether religion has ever really been a force for good and I too think real love does mean giving oneself completely, without fear of falling; jumping without a parachute, if you will. I've just never had the guts to try it.

Meshell Ndegeocello is a pioneer in more ways than might be immediately apparent. She was certainly combining hip-hop, soul, funk and the spoken word long before anyone else that I know of. This is top-notch music right from the intro to the end of the last song. Personally, I feel this is a five star classic. I liked "Plantation Lullabies" well enough but it was this album that made me a life-long committed fan. I think she's a genius.

This CD by MeShell is still my absolute favorite. I have all of her CDs and I love her music. She is a phenomenal talent.

I first purchased this album when it came out in 1996 and loved it then.
Had to buy it again in 2006 because it went missing from my collection.
Me'Shell has a great voice, the grooves are funky and has great lyrical content.
This album belongs in your collection.

I'm writing this review on 4th Sept 08 six years after first hearing this album and still hering something new every single time I put the cd on.With modern soul/hip hop gone off the deep end and neo-soul lost in the wilderness this is a breath of fresh air.Every single track delivers and though you may not agree with all Michelle's sentiments the cohesiveness and eclectic sensibility of the album makes it encyclopedic in scope.This is definitely the most intriguing album in my collection.I love to put it on as a conversation piece when friends come over.If you don't already have it please go out right now and pick it up!

Me'Shell continues to impress me with her work! She is a true artist at hand. I am upset that I didn't know this experience when this album came out. This is more confrontational than her debut project, and I fell in love with her then! Sistah, keep speaking your mind!

Meshell Ndegeocello is a once in a lifetime artist. Brilliant piece of work!

I first heard "Barry Farms" first on KCRW in L.A...then ran out and bought the CD. I am now arranging a cover for my band. Will have to have to give it to our male singer for most venues. I wonder if our female singer would do this one?
Bravura lyrics on the theme of Lesbian relationships, (toasted the ears of this middle-aged white male doctor).
Sensual but sophisticated, in no way obscene. Amazing.
esp. "Barry Farms" and "Pocketbook".
Very stylish jazz twists and turns in otherwise raw, throbbing hip-hop rhythms. First rate jazz instrumentalists.
Michelle's voice is the Anita Baker of street-rap. Hip-hop for adults.
Very, very original material and style.
(The righteous political/ghetto rhetoric on some cuts is sincere but has been done before. She should stick to her wry, I-don't-care ironic style when getting into done-before topics.)
At least 6-8 first rate cuts on this long album. Definitely not for kids, in every sense of the word. Worth every penny. Still amazes me a year later.

A bass player friend of mine turned me onto Meshell back when "Plantation Lullabies" was released in the early 90's.
I enjoyed it immensely. Then I bought "Peace Beyond Passion"
when it came out a few years later and that album placed her in the musical genius category in my mind.

I imagine it must be hard to compete with yourself whenever you release a stunning piece of work like that...particularly when you are allowing the events in your life to dictate the mood, tempo, and (unfortunetely) quality of your releases.

Meshell seems very angry here. There's nothing wrong with being angry, but when you put anger on a CD you have to know whether or not the audience wants to hear your anger. I didn't.
I just want to hear her kick out some nice groovin jams as she did on her first two CD's. The bitterness she exibited in her last release was even harder to listen to...what was it called? Oh yeah..."Bitter"!

There are a few of examples of nice groovin' jams here.,but much of it is overwhelmed with her anger. Being more of a jazz fan I listen to instrumentation first, arrangements second, then maybe lyrics last. Sometimes I don't even care what the artist is singing about as long as I dig the instrumentation and the songs have a nice groove and the album has a seminal flow.

The songs on this CD are too overwhelmed with politics, spoken word interludes, sound bites, etc. to allow you to focus on the music. I really hate when artists do that. Meshell, leave these tactics to Janet Jackson and gangsta rappers...your music is strong enough on it own without resorting to gimmicks.

If you are really into knowing what Me'shell is "feeling", then you will probably enjoy this CD more than I did. Meanwhile I'll just pop "...Passion" back in my car CD changer, crank it up, and enjoy her at her musical best.

My Goodness! Can the woman do no wrong? She is so on her game!

Hypnotic, creative, deep and rich...incredible compositions. Shows her artistic growth. Music is the language we all can connect with...) this is well worth getting and savoring.

Songs 5&6 best songs on this cd were awesome. The rest of this cd was so so to not so good. Needs better material to for instrument playing & better songs to hear what kind of voice she has to show it more up front then have like its in the back ground over powered by instruments needs better arrangements of rest of cd. Id wait to see if her next cds before you buy this one. Again songs 5 & 6 were real awesome.

Great compilation of unique & talented artists. It is similar in the sense that it shows remnants of her earlier work, but manages to provide something new not only for her fans, but for music as a whole.

I love this CD! This is not your usual Me'Shell - no clever lyrics, no lament about love, just music, music, and more music. Papillon is my favorite cut on this CD, but I love the vocal stylings of Lalah Hathaway and Cassandra Wilson and whoever is singing "I'm a fish in an aquarium." This is a great CD to put on when you're entertaining company or home alone. Another winner, Me'Shell!!

This CD has left me speechless! It was such a pleasant surprise and I have been hooked since my first listen. I'm a H-U-G-E Meshell fan, and--while I do miss her smooth, sexy voice--I have to say she's outdone herself with what has to be one of THE best jazz collections I've ever heard in all my life. I will take this CD with me everywhere I go... work, home, travel, etc. Please buy it or download it... ASAP!

I just got the album and I am love with the music--soothing, aiding to the spirit--absolutely moving. I can go on and on...but I will simply say--BEAUTIFUL and POETIC!

I have been a Meshell Ndegeocello fan for many years. I have seen her perform several times. I love this cd & her take on jazz. I especially love #3 Aquarium featuring Sabina on vocals.
As usual & expected, Meshell is doing the d@mn thing !!! The cd is great. The ONLY thing I miss is her haunting, sexy voice. But, the music is TIGHT !!!

I recieved a promo copy over a week ago. I played it while I was cooking. I played it while the TV was on mute watching a basketball playoff game. I played it while soaking in the jacuzzi sipping on some wine. I played it, and played it and played it. It does not play out. This CD went over big at a friend's art party. You cannot get any better than this. Peace.

Beautiful..Simple as that. No need to analyze this one, if you're familiar with the Spirit, then words are irrelevant. Experience it. Meshell...One of the few flowers still growing in this concrete experience.

I always dug Me'shell Ndegeocello's versatility&this was the cut that got Her going.the Groove&the lyrical content went hand&hand. hard to believe this Jam has been out 12 years already. this was One of those jams you would sit around&talk about while you were grooving to it.she is a very Talented Bass Player.

digging this Song.from Her Debut Album this Song got much play by me.She is a Very Underrated Artist&this Song showcases Her Music&How She Grooves.

Worth every penny. Me'shell is an artist like no other. One of the best discoveries of the 90s. Buy the album Planation Lullabies as well because it's beautiful just like this track. The funk on this song will make you cry, it's just so funky. I mean damn, you'll be grooving like hell after hearing this. Gone.

This is the only album that made me angry for not seeing a review!

I discovered this project recently on Last.fm and was able to hear it in its entirety. I played it several times just to make sure that I was not fooling myself with its sonic manipulation and ushering in of a private calibration of a good time I had to share with my wife immediately:)

When I looked at Amazon and saw that the UK release was January 2008 and the US release was in 2003, I was immediately ticked off with every music critic whose opinion I had come to rely on. No one to my knowledge had mentioned anything about this awesome musical experience.

This project clearly picked up where Plantation Lullabies & later song "Rush Over" in the movie "Love Jones" left off. I have Basement Jaxx's Kish Kash where she was a featured guest that had a slight similar vibe and may have been the foundation for one of the Love Songs on this project.

But Comfort Woman is as pure as anything released before or after its release. I don't need a flight or road trip to get the full effect of cosmic travel:) Only true P-Funk fans are initiated & qualified to handle some of the guitar licks put down on this project:)

Now I'm firing all music critics and using Last.fm almost exclusively going forward. Friends may still continue to offer their opinions:)

As Raphael Saddiq's CD was named, CW itself is indeed INSTANT VINTAGE:)

You can and should buy this project just for your own provocative, musical massage!

"Come lay down beside me
I wanna Love
take you to paradise."

Me'Shell Ndegéocello's music is a blend of bass-heavy funk, neo soul, hip hop, reggae, R&B, rock, and jazz. Arguably her best album, Comfort Woman (2003), is a collection of sensual and seductive grooves reminiscent of Marvin Gaye's classic, What's Going On. These are the songs of a bisexual artist who knows love in all of its physical incarnations: lust, attraction, desire, physical craving, pleasure, and intimacy. Pleasure, this album argues, is an essential part of what it means to be human, and without physical pleasure there can be no life. Few could resist this soul siren when she seductively sings, "come smoke my herb." Album tracks include:

1. Love Song #1 4:03
2. Come Smoke My Herb 3:52
3. Andromeda And The Milky Way 4:28
4. Love Song #2 3:47
5. Body 3:40
6. Liliquoi Moon 4:40
7. Love Song #3 4:30
8. Fellowship 3:13
9. Good Intentions 3:47
10. Thankful 3:23

G. Merritt

This is a very chill album that is good and consistent from start to finish. It doesn't contain one bad song, in my opinion. It mixes R&B, jazz, funk, reggae and folk in a soothing way. Prepare to relax and unwind with this album! Many of the songs are about love and sex and a few really get you in the mood (if you know what I mean). Others are autobiographical/introspective and a little on the maudlin side. My favorite track is #9 Good Intentions. It is an artfully contrived track and is simply a prime example of a well, multi-layered made song. It is incredibly funky and the bass line is sick!

I am loving this cd. It is very low key, quiet and very sensual. I love to listen to it when I am relaxing in the bath or getting a massage. It is very different than anything else I have ever heard, a complex mix of music and vocals. Overall it is a cd I turn to when I want to be comforted and get back in my body and my mind.

Meshell N'Degeocello IS without question one of the sexiest, most progressive, creative minds in the music arena. When so much of the New Millennium's music dives to the leechy depths of misogyny, extreme materialism, cultural and political ignorance and an overall lack of the qualities that render music an artform, everything that this woman composes is GENIUS...creative expression at its very, very best - - - unbelievable production that fuses everything from jazz to reggae to the native rhythms of the Motherland and lyrics that demand that you take your mind to a deeper level.