Jamelia Albums (4)
What The Critics Say
Hopes were high for Jamelia's third album, Walk with Me, released in September 2006 almost three years after her previous album, Thank You, but the expected sales didn't really materialize, Walk with Me peaking at number 20 and spending just five weeks on the chart. Thank You had needed two bites of the cherry, appearing to fail miserably upon release, spending just two weeks in the chart and peaking at number 65 but enjoying a new lease on life throughout 2004 thanks to four Top Ten singles "Superstar," "Thank You," "See It in a Boy's Eyes," and "DJ." Walk with Me also included two further Top Ten hits, the opening track, "Something About You" and "Beware of the Dog," which sampled Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus," turning the track into more of a rock song than an R&B one, which didn't really suit Jamelia's voice. The next single, "No More," did more than sample the Stranglers' "Golden Brown" and played it as was on the original all the way through the song: it was a strange choice of sample, as it was so dominant that one found oneself listening to the background rather than the song and singing along to "Golden Brown." "Do Me Right" was a collaboration with Afrika Bambaataa but one would think it was influenced by Talvin Singh rather than a hip-hop pioneer as it sounded very eastern. "Window Shopping" also featured a sample but that was a particularly silly one of Molly Sugden as Mrs. Slocombe from the TV sitcom Are You Being Served, injecting the catch-phrase "Are you free." The album lost its way a little in the middle as "La La Love," "Go," and "Get Up, Get Out" are rather insipid, chugging mid-tempo ballads, and then it's back to R&B-soul on "Got It so Good." The album closed with "Hustle," a Latin-grooved dance track that did exactly what you would expect, and a good way to end an album, leaving the audience wanting more. ~ Sharon Mawer, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The music industry isn't exactly known for its patience. A flop single, an underperforming album, or a lackluster comeback is sometimes all it takes for an artist to be dropped and never heard from again. Birmingham-born Jamelia has had all three during her short four-year career (three of her seven singles have failed to reach the U.K. Top 30 and debut album Drama sank without a trace), and yet somehow she's still here. The faith invested in her by her record company is admirable in this fickle day and age, but with her second album, Thank You, it's been totally justified. Taking two years off to raise her daughter, the MOBO Award winner has obviously used the time well, raising her game to produce a record bursting with potential singles. While partly influenced by the U.S. production sound of the moment, Thank You, unlike countless other U.K. R&B albums, never forgets its roots, either. So the Neptunes-alike production of the title track, a female empowerment anthem about domestic violence, sits comfortably alongside "Off da Endz," a frenetic grime duet with So Solid Crew's Asher D, as does "Cutie," featuring a Kanye West-style helium-voiced chorus, next to the grinding dirty basslines of "Taxi," written by Alisha's Attic's Karen Poole. Indeed, the best track here is quintessentially British and a masterstroke in fusing R&B with the modern rock establishment. "See It in a Boy's Eyes," written by Coldplay's Chris Martin, is a beautiful, slinky piano-driven ode to understanding the opposite sex. It's one of the best things Martin has done, but it's also the most blatant indication of how Jamelia has matured as an artist. She's just as at ease when she moves outside her comfort zone. "Superstar," the single that rescued her career, was originally a hit for Denmark's Christine Milton, but Jamelia makes it her own to produce a simple but effective pop classic, while final track "Antidote," a haunting, quirky ballad smothered in a glossy electronica production, promises a bolder, different direction for the future. Overall, Thank You is a confident, imaginative record that oozes with personality and should be a lesson to record companies everywhere that patience can sometimes reap the biggest rewards. ~ Jon O'Brien, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Angela Bofill enjoyed surprising commercial success with her first two albums, Angie and Angel of the Night, produced by contemporary jazz executives Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen for their GRP label, distributed by Arista. She then jumped to Arista proper (causing some bad blood with GRP) to try for a deliberate jazz-pop crossover on her third album, which was produced by Narada Michael Walden and shepherded by Arista president Clive Davis, who took an executive producer credit. Davis canvassed the publishing world for likely hit songs, then Walden put together a studio team to create a smooth, sophisticated sound that would, it was hoped, work for pop, R&B, and adult contemporary radio as well as setting feet moving in the discos. In practice, it didn't work out that way. The title track, with a lush disco arrangement, arrived as a single after disco had faded, though it, like second single "Holdin' Out for Love," a professional song by professional songwriters Cynthia Weil and Tom Snow, managed to peak in the R&B Top 40. With those calling cards, the album was able to register only a Top 20 R&B/Top 100 pop showing, not as high as Angel of the Night, as Bofill's contemporary jazz fans deserted her in droves for her commercial sellout. This is a shame, since, however compromised its goals, much of Something About You is effective early-'80s jazz-pop, and Bofill sings powerfully throughout. Particularly impressive are the ballads "Break It to Me Gently" and "Time to Say Goodbye." ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
