Amerie - Gotta Work

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SONG OF THE YEAR.

As Pojustice said, massive "Crazy in Love"-esque but actually BETTER I think.

― groovemaaan, Wednesday, 4 April 2007 19:22 (eighteen years ago)

i dunno, i like this but it still hasn't grabbed me in the same way as 'take control'...i don't even really hear the 'crazy in love', it's no more a CIL rip than any number of the 50 rich harrison style productions in the past four years.

i do expect it to click at some point though...

― lex pretend, Wednesday, 4 April 2007 22:25 (eighteen years ago)

man, I was already really feeling this song but then I just found out that it was produced by some dudes I know. they mostly do tracks for Baltimore rappers (Bossman, Hots, etc) but a couple of them also produced "Freak Like Me" back in the day: http://www.myspace.com/oneupisthefuture

― Alex in Baltimore, Friday, 6 April 2007 00:41 (eighteen years ago)

Where is the sample from? Sounds so familiar...

― musically, Friday, 6 April 2007 00:49 (eighteen years ago)

First impression: good but I think I prefer 1 Thing.

― chap, Friday, 6 April 2007 00:54 (eighteen years ago)

um, that's Sam and Dave if you're serious.

― forksclovetofu, Friday, 6 April 2007 00:57 (eighteen years ago)

and first impression is that this is 2 Thing and I'm okay with that.

― forksclovetofu, Friday, 6 April 2007 00:58 (eighteen years ago)

"Hold On, I'm Comin," right? And thanks for not being condescending.

― musically, Friday, 6 April 2007 02:20 (eighteen years ago)

i love this song so much. the breakdown at the end makes me want to dance around every time it comes on.

from amerie's myspace blog:

"Gotta Work" is a song that I wrote at the very last minute (while I was baking chicken of all things). I've gotten really good at writing/remembering songs in my head ever since I misplaced my dictophone. I know it's around here somewhere… Anyway, I recorded it right away and added it to the bunch right before we went in to mixing.

― maura, Friday, 6 April 2007 02:26 (eighteen years ago)

On the other thread where this was discussed, (rolling R&B, I think) I noted that I kinda wished she'd go back to a more subdued style like on her first album and stop trying to remake "1 Thing".

― The Reverend, Friday, 6 April 2007 08:37 (eighteen years ago)

have you heard her mixtape?

― maura, Friday, 6 April 2007 12:37 (eighteen years ago)

Wasn't being condescending dude; really wasn't sure if you were serious!
Also, more artists should write while baking chicken. I think that's how Aretha made 'do right woman'...

― forksclovetofu, Friday, 6 April 2007 13:55 (eighteen years ago)

um, that's Sam and Dave if you're serious.

what's the answer if he's being funny?

― nathalie, Friday, 6 April 2007 14:17 (eighteen years ago)

The Blues Brothers.

― forksclovetofu, Friday, 6 April 2007 18:01 (eighteen years ago)

Actually, I thought dude was making a commentary about plundering a fairly well-known musical grave far before it had passed from the common imagination and that he was being mock serious.
But yeah, this is pretty good. Surprised more people aren't writing about it here; the first hit on google if you search for it is a link to download it.

― forksclovetofu, Friday, 6 April 2007 18:02 (eighteen years ago)

this sounds extremely aguilera-ish

― deej, Friday, 6 April 2007 18:07 (eighteen years ago)

this sounds extremely aguilera-ish

-- deej, Friday, 6 April 2007 18:07 (1 week ago)

OTM. This is more "Ain't No Other Man" than it is "1 Thing."

― Tape Store, Sunday, 15 April 2007 23:30 (eighteen years ago)

I am not a dude. And remind me never to ask a question here again, haha.

― musically, Monday, 16 April 2007 00:02 (eighteen years ago)

okay dude.

― forksclovetofu, Monday, 16 April 2007 01:29 (eighteen years ago)

i love love love love this now - knew i was on the verge...

― lex pretend, Monday, 16 April 2007 06:14 (eighteen years ago)

um, that's Sam and Dave if you're serious.

-- forksclovetofu, Friday, April 6, 2007 1:57 AM (1 week ago)

um, it isn't. the song is 'hold on i'm coming', for sure, but its some other version, not the sam'n'dave version.

this song FUCKING SHREDS tho.

― stevie, Monday, 16 April 2007 10:07 (eighteen years ago)

The very prospect of an Amerie single with a Hold On I'm Coming horn sample has got me hugely excited.

― Matt DC, Monday, 16 April 2007 10:11 (eighteen years ago)

i have never even heard of sam and dave or this 'hold on i'm coming' song.

i can't believe that we are to all intents and purposes on the second single from the amerie album except neither of them have been released yet.

― lex pretend, Monday, 16 April 2007 10:16 (eighteen years ago)

i have never even heard of sam and dave

they were really really fucking awesome. sam moore's autobiography is a good read, as well.

― stevie, Monday, 16 April 2007 10:25 (eighteen years ago)

also, they did 'soul man', and 'soothe me', and a buncha other good stuffs. real 'work up a sweat' bionic old skool r'n'b - if you like the kind of beat amerie often works within, they're one source.

― stevie, Monday, 16 April 2007 10:30 (eighteen years ago)

Lex I will Gmail you Hold On I'm Coming this week. And I mean actually send you the real thing this time and not a Kaiser Chiefs song mislabelled or something.

― Matt DC, Monday, 16 April 2007 10:33 (eighteen years ago)

ah cool i will check them out then!

xp that would be good matt but if u try to cunningly make me listen to the arctic monkeys again i will not forgive u ever

― lex pretend, Monday, 16 April 2007 10:38 (eighteen years ago)

ice ice baby doesn't directly sample under pressure, but i'd feel okay about saying he's pulling it from Mssrs. Bowie and Gabriel, same here.

Also, lex: you could do worse than hitting the p2pairwaves and getting yourself the stax collection or a few best-of-motown discs. Seeing as much as you talk about pop on here, it's really in your best interests.

― forksclovetofu, Monday, 16 April 2007 12:54 (eighteen years ago)

ice ice baby doesn't directly sample under pressure, but i'd feel okay about saying he's pulling it from Mssrs. Bowie and Gabriel, same here.

i think you'll find it does, and that peter gabriel had nothing to do with 'under pressure' - but my point was, the version of 'hold on i'm coming' used in the amerie song is a different version to the sam'n'dave 'original', moving to a deftly different tempo.

― stevie, Monday, 16 April 2007 14:56 (eighteen years ago)

Seeing as much as you talk about pop on here, it's really in your best interests.

stop being so fucking condescending, seriously.

you know, i love what i've heard of motown, but i have no idea where to start in this massive...MASS of stuff out there.

― lex pretend, Monday, 16 April 2007 14:58 (eighteen years ago)

it is pretty bewildering, lex, but the good thing is its mostly so GREAT that you can take a blind stab and hit the good stuffz. the Motown Chartbusters comps are cheap and fine, and Stax comps usually focus on the same prime tracks, so any of those would be ace starting places.

i was really lucky growing up with a dad who played this stuff morning-noon-night.

― stevie, Monday, 16 April 2007 15:01 (eighteen years ago)

i wish i'd grown up in a house where rock/pop music was played AT ALL!

there are so many of those compilations though stevie - so often i've gone into the motown section of hmv or wherever and stared at them for 10 minutes before running away in panicky indecision. the times i've managed to keep it together long enough to grab a supremes/gladys knight/chaka khan best of on the way out were the best times.

― lex pretend, Monday, 16 April 2007 15:12 (eighteen years ago)

that's the beauty of it tho - you actually can't go wrong with the Motown chartbusters!

― stevie, Monday, 16 April 2007 15:25 (eighteen years ago)

Wow, you guys sure are fun to have a conversation with.

― forksclovetofu, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 02:59 (eighteen years ago)

Just because the sample sounds different than the original doesn't mean it's not from the original. Most samples aren't cut and pasted from the originals...they're distorted a bit to fit the new song properly.

If you're interested in Motown, Chartbusters are good, but the Hitsville box sets are terrific and come in two packages vs. 12+ separate CDs w/ Chartbusters. The main difference is that the Hitsville comps are based on the American releases, while the Chartbusters order the songs a bit oddly since the lineups are based on UK chart dates. The first Hitsville is the best, all the classic stuff, and the second one has a mix of the great and not-so-great (DeBarge, etc).

― musically, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 03:22 (eighteen years ago)

you mean these ones?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hitsville-USA-Singles-Collection-1959-1971/dp/B000025OOQ/ref=sr_1_2/026-2073899-9317229?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1176790641&sr=8-2
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hitsville-USA-Vol-2-Collection-1972-1992/dp/B00000ASAA/ref=sr_1_4/026-2073899-9317229?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1176790641&sr=8-4

Wow, you guys sure are fun to have a conversation with.

dude you are the one who's offended two people so far on this thread by patronising them!

― lex pretend, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 06:46 (eighteen years ago)

Just because the sample sounds different than the original doesn't mean it's not from the original. Most samples aren't cut and pasted from the originals...they're distorted a bit to fit the new song properly.

its a sample from a different version, audibly different - different instrumentation, different tempo, different octave etc.

the hitsville comps are ACE; however, the chartbusters comps are dirt cheap in the UK - its worth investing in the hitsville sets, because you will love this stuff, lex, but if you're not up for making so huge a leap of faith the chartbusters are good value.

― stevie, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 09:55 (eighteen years ago)

lex, I have zero interest in continuing any conversation with you at this point, so what say we both let it go, eh?

― forksclovetofu, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 14:27 (eighteen years ago)

fair enough, though to be honest you could do worse than rethinking the way you talk to people. seeing as much as you like to interact with them, it's really in your best interests.

the hitsville comps are ACE; however, the chartbusters comps are dirt cheap in the UK - its worth investing in the hitsville sets, because you will love this stuff, lex, but if you're not up for making so huge a leap of faith the chartbusters are good value.

yeah i am 99% sure it will be worth it - i'll see just how much cheaper the chartbusters ones are first though! and the other thing is, i know all these box sets have the 'classics' on them which are justifiably canonised and which i'll adore, but from my experience of current genres i immerse myself in, i know that there'll be so many gems lurking beneath the 'classic' compilations...and no idea where to find them really.

― lex pretend, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 14:54 (eighteen years ago)

oh, sorry; actually, I wouldn't mind extending this conversation by forwarding one last point: blow me.

― forksclovetofu, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 14:57 (eighteen years ago)

I heard this for the first time last night and my first thought was "Wow has someone sampled JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR!!11!".

Now it seems that Andrew Lloyd Webber may have 'bitten' Sam and Dave, oh well.

I have never heard "Hold On I'm Comin" either I assume.

― Groke, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 15:13 (eighteen years ago)

good lord, england, get your lives together.

― strongohulkington, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 15:14 (eighteen years ago)

I think I was put off loads of great old Stax-y stuff by that Dave Marsh book: he managed to make it all sound so....exhausting.

― Groke, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 15:16 (eighteen years ago)

soul music was a lot of work.

― strongohulkington, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 15:16 (eighteen years ago)

we're just marinating in this stuff from the time we're born though, so i think most of us take it as a cultural given. there are probably more people who DON'T own a motown collection over here out of the feeling that they don't need to given how ingrained the songs are/how often they'll hear them in some other context.

― strongohulkington, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 15:18 (eighteen years ago)

Just played it now and it STILL really reminds me of JCS! Sorry Sam and Dave. And Amerie. And the world.

― Groke, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 15:19 (eighteen years ago)

i've never heard jesus christ superstar either if that helps.

― lex pretend, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 15:20 (eighteen years ago)

we're less concerned with this.

― strongohulkington, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 15:21 (eighteen years ago)

i'm not sure if i've heard it either.

― strongohulkington, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 15:21 (eighteen years ago)

was as much fuss made over the manifold samples on 'take control'?! as far as i recall everyone just focused on AMERIE instead of tom zé this, hall & oates that, which is as it should be

― lex pretend, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 15:22 (eighteen years ago)

WTF is it with all these people who have never heard Hold On I'm Coming? I thought that was one of those songs that passed the Bus Queue Test with flying colours (ie EVERYONE knows it).

― Matt DC, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 15:22 (eighteen years ago)

I still haven't heard Gotta Work.

― Matt DC, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 15:22 (eighteen years ago)

for some reason when i tried to sing "hold on i'm coming" in my head just now i started singing the ub40 cover of "here i am come and take me" instead

o_O

― strongohulkington, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 15:23 (eighteen years ago)

the horns on 'gotta work' are about the 10th most interesting or exciting or important thing about it anyway

― lex pretend, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 15:24 (eighteen years ago)

I still haven't heard Gotta Work.

ts not caring enough about a current single which is all over the internet by someone you know is a great popstar to have tracked it down by now vs not having heard...some old song, how on earth WOULD i have heard it anyway?

― lex pretend, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 15:28 (eighteen years ago)

Those are the Hitsville comps I was talking about...honestly, either collection will give you the basics, so if one's much cheaper than get that. And then once you discover a certain act you like, all the main Motown acts (and most of the minor ones) have about 100+ greatest hits albums and you can start exploring from there.

― musically, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 17:37 (eighteen years ago)

forks, dude, chill. didn't mean to bum you out or anything.

― stevie, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 18:52 (eighteen years ago)

WTF is it with all these people who have never heard Hold On I'm Coming? I thought that was one of those songs that passed the Bus Queue Test with flying colours (ie EVERYONE knows it).

-- Matt DC, Tuesday, April 17, 2007 4:22 PM (3 hours ago)

i have been horrifically familiar with this song for years, but i *did watch The Blues Brothers almost daily as a kid.

― stevie, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 18:52 (eighteen years ago)

the crazy harmonies at 2:00 just slay me. amerie is a genius.

― stevie, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 23:16 (eighteen years ago)

KLAJSFLKASJFLKASJFKL

― jim, Wednesday, 18 April 2007 00:11 (eighteen years ago)

As far as I know, I've never heard "Hold On, I'm Coming" either. (But I'm sure I have. The horn sample sounds hecka-familiar.)

Lex, or anyone - "Take Control"/Hall & Oates: Enlighten.

― The Reverend, Wednesday, 18 April 2007 05:33 (eighteen years ago)

In Australia "Hold On I'm Coming" has been used so much in advertising that I can't imagine not recognising it as something historical.

Actually I've always been disturbed by the sheer volume of ads which draw on Motown. It might be due to the themes of reliability which Motown songs often promoted - "Reach Out" and Wilson Pickett's "If You Need Me" are particularly well-plundered in this regard. And I'd be surprised "Hold On I'm Coming" hadn't been shoehorned into promoting some sort of home delivery service at one point or another - pizza? express courier post? replacement traveller's cheques? the ambulance?

― Tim F, Wednesday, 18 April 2007 06:01 (eighteen years ago)

the crazy harmonies at 2:00 just slay me. amerie is a genius.

i was just thinking that, they are like a rollercoaster!

― lex pretend, Wednesday, 18 April 2007 07:00 (eighteen years ago)

Just because someone's heard a song as background noise doesn't mean they know what the song is, no matter how ubiquitous.

― The Reverend, Wednesday, 18 April 2007 07:47 (eighteen years ago)

That's true - to be honest I'd thought Hold On I'm Coming was up there with Respect and Heard It Through The Grapevine and I Feel Good as records that EVERYBODY knew regardless of whether they had any active engagement with 60s soul or rnb but I'm willing to admit this perception could well have been skewed by the Blues Brothers.

Gotta Work is fantastic, by the way, and yes the horn sample is one of the less arresting things about it, possibly because it's been diluted slightly.

― Matt DC, Wednesday, 18 April 2007 19:33 (eighteen years ago)

(Also it wasn't that I didn't care enough, I just didn't have the time to track it down)

― Matt DC, Wednesday, 18 April 2007 19:34 (eighteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

ok so marcello and i were starting to talk about the album on the bjork thread - it's great! 'crush' is AMAZING.

also, best opening couplet ever: "whatcha gon' do when A catches an attitude? drop to your knees and show gratitude"

― lex pretend, Monday, 14 May 2007 10:42 (eighteen years ago)

Everything I've read about this makes it sound amazing. Anticipating highly.

― Matt DC, Monday, 14 May 2007 10:51 (eighteen years ago)

some stunning stuff on here. SOME LIKE IT especially.

very heavy on the jam and lewis/ prince in the 80's production and drum sounds.

― pisces, Monday, 14 May 2007 11:39 (eighteen years ago)

currently processing reservations.

there was something about lex's "moments in mundane days" line that caught me the wrong way w/r/t confirming a creeping suspicion of her indie token status now - that line say where rnb mysteriously becomes pj-approved Adventurous Pop or whatever. (not saying that lex is culpable, or that kitchen sinks be breaches of rnb protocol ALERT ALERT, or etc, but...)but i slept on my arm last night, and now its gonna hurt all day, and the masseur's away, and its raining &

'some like it' concerns me particularly. should be a bit of messy electro workout fun on the side but somehow feels more like the keystone of the album, not only cos it bridges the funky funk funk ~~mark ronson~~ songs and the 80s/crunky/floaty/ryanleslie modern ballads of the 2nd half, but also by virtue of its toxic ott awkwardness sliming all over the other songs once its gone. and it's unfair (and boring!) to keep bringing up that first album but maybe the naturalist 80sness of its gorgeously allpervasive ways needs restating in light of the 'some like it' and the attention it is bound to recieve. xp there u go.

or maybe i could just let go and like the thing? it's not like i can say i've heard a better album this year.

― r|t|c, Monday, 14 May 2007 12:21 (eighteen years ago)

that line say where rnb mysteriously becomes pj-approved Adventurous Pop or whatever

yes this was a faint suspicion of mine too but the song which is most "pj-approved adventurous pop" is 'crush', which knocks down all my defences in a single hit from those drum fills.

also incidentally is there any love out there at all for the rmx of 'touch' with TI? seriously. i love it so much. "with my hands like damn and my neck like wow"!

― lex pretend, Monday, 14 May 2007 12:31 (eighteen years ago)

'hate2loveu' is my favourite track. she is AWESOME.

― stevie, Monday, 14 May 2007 12:50 (eighteen years ago)

listening to it again last night, the other thing which balances out any leanings towards pj-pop it has is its determined classicist bent - it's as much a traditional soul/motown* album as it is a rihanna-esque "adventurous pop" one.

*"music i don't know enough about" if i misuse either term, i will get those chartbusters comps this week

― lex pretend, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 06:54 (eighteen years ago)

Wait....is this out? Coming out? Leaked? I was under the impression this was shelved until further notice.

― The Reverend, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:15 (eighteen years ago)

released yesterday in the uk i believe (at least i reviewed it last week on this basis)

― lex pretend, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:18 (eighteen years ago)

yeah, but not out in the U.S. until mid-July, for some reason (I'm guessing because "Take Control" was a top 10 hit in the U.K. but not here).

― Alex in Baltimore, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:19 (eighteen years ago)

its definitely out here - with '1 thing' appended, for some reason...

― stevie, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:33 (eighteen years ago)

Additional incentive to potential purchasers innit. (Something similar happened with the new JoJo album - they stuck "Leave (Get Out)" on the end as a bonus track.)

There's been a very proactive marketing campaign for the Amerie LP. Since before "Take Control" charted (which was only a couple of weeks ago) there have been posters up all over London advertising the LP.

― Jeff W, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:46 (eighteen years ago)

I don't understand why Amerie has failed to catch on in the US. I've liked nearly all of her singles from these past two records (wasn't much aware of her before that).

― jaymc, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:49 (eighteen years ago)

the posters are very wonderful things

― stevie, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:49 (eighteen years ago)

Touch also featured a remix of "Why Don't We Fall In Love" (not even a new remix, one from 2002) as a bonus track, so I guess that's a pattern with her or her label.

― Alex in Baltimore, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:51 (eighteen years ago)

define "failed to catch on," jaymc, two top 40 hits ain't bad.

― Alex in Baltimore, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:53 (eighteen years ago)

it's funny how r&b singers tend to be catch on in either the UK (amerie, kelis, rihanna) or the US (ciara, mya, nivea) but rarely both, unless they're megafamous superstars like beyoncé

― lex pretend, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:56 (eighteen years ago)

Amerie, Kelis, and especially Rihanna are certainly more popular in the US than Nivea.

Jaymc, get her first album now.

― The Reverend, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:03 (eighteen years ago)

i always got the impression kelis's profile in the US was close to zero!

― lex pretend, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:05 (eighteen years ago)

No, she's definitely popular, she just isn't HUGE like she should be.

― The Brainwasher, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:06 (eighteen years ago)

Also, Amerie is sort of boring and nondescript, that's why she hasn't really "caught on" here.

― The Brainwasher, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:08 (eighteen years ago)

!!!!

― Matt DC, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:08 (eighteen years ago)

"Milkshake" was huge! Awful fucking "Bossy" was pretty big, too. And no one gives one shit about Nivea. And rightfully so.

xps - Brainwasher, you can't be serious. (Although her new singles are kind of boring and nondescript, I'll give you that.)

― The Reverend, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:11 (eighteen years ago)

!!!!

― stevie, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:12 (eighteen years ago)

I'm not talking about her music, which I love (well... her first two albums, I don't like "Take Control" and "Gotta Work" is a bit better but not worthy of all the hype), it's her. She's rather dull, she doesn't have the persona of, say, Beyoncé or Kelis.. she's just kind of there.

― The Brainwasher, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:13 (eighteen years ago)

Aw, gotcha.

― The Reverend, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:16 (eighteen years ago)

!!!!

― lex pretend, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:19 (eighteen years ago)

She came across as very strong and independent and surprisingly mature and grounded in Stevie's Guardian interview the other week. And she's positively brimming over with personality when you put her next to, say, Ciara.

― Matt DC, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:20 (eighteen years ago)

I think Ciara has tons of personality! Maybe not in her interviews (I'd be happy if I never had to hear her talk again), but her videos and, hell, her SONGS are dripping with a personality that is unique to her. Whereas with Amerie, she just has great songs, but I feel as though anyone could've had a hit with "1 Thing"... it doesn't really have much to do with her.

― The Brainwasher, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:23 (eighteen years ago)

she has a degree in fine arts and draws lines on bits of paper to illustrate her vocals = personality enough for me

xp to matt shut up ciara is lovely and i have taken to quoting her platitudes at myself eg "i just feel so blessed to be who i am"

― lex pretend, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:24 (eighteen years ago)

fwiw i think amerie and ciara both have IMMENSE personality on record - though i remember a thread from years ago, when tim f was asked to defend "generic r&b voices" and realised he didn't think any r&b singer had a generic voice at all - i can't think of any current r&b star i'd say lacked personality on record bar maybe ashanti, who has been curiously absent from the scene recently

― lex pretend, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:25 (eighteen years ago)

Haha, Ciara does speak entirely in platitudes.

Brainwasher, "1 Thing" is very dependant on Amerie's high, chipper voice. It wouldn't work, or at least would be a much different song, with a less naive, less innocent voice.

― The Reverend, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:29 (eighteen years ago)

amerie has better legs & voice than ciara

― deej, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:38 (eighteen years ago)

She came across as very strong and independent and surprisingly mature and grounded

she really is... i mean, i could see how she could seem dumb, but its refreshing to me (tho many of the artists i've interviewed are like that, cf corinne bailey rae). she recorded her earliest songs using two tape recorders, in a manner similar to how the early gbv records! what's not to love?

― stevie, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:38 (eighteen years ago)

I feel as though anyone could've had a hit with "1 Thing"... it doesn't really have much to do with her.

i agree and disagree. there's no way that beat wouldn't have been a hit, but for me her vocals *make it, they're so dynamic, ricocheting across the chorus all lost in lust. the lyric's pretty killer too.

― stevie, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:39 (eighteen years ago)

I don't know about that deej, did you see Ciara in that babydoll at the Grammys? Her legs are INSANE.

Brainwasher, "1 Thing" is very dependant on Amerie's high, chipper voice. It wouldn't work, or at least would be a much different song, with a less naive, less innocent voice.

Hmm.. I guess you're right. Her strained, high voice is sort of her trademark I guess, and "1 Thing" does seem tailor-made to fit her...

― The Brainwasher, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:41 (eighteen years ago)

for "dumb" above please read "boring"... i am typing lyrics playing on my stereo for some insane reason.

― stevie, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:41 (eighteen years ago)

amerie's voice has this perpetual thrill to it, like it's permanently teetering on this tightrope, the moment just before amerie decides to hold back or take the plunge - and she keeps it there for four minutes, and that's what makes her songs so special

― lex pretend, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:57 (eighteen years ago)

it's funny how r&b singers tend to be catch on in either the UK (amerie, kelis, rihanna) or the US (ciara, mya, nivea) but rarely both, unless they're megafamous superstars like beyoncé

-- lex pretend, Tuesday, May 15, 2007 11:56 AM (11 hours ago)

tautology much

― s1ocki, Wednesday, 16 May 2007 03:43 (eighteen years ago)

this album is really likeable!

― s1ocki, Monday, 21 May 2007 03:48 (eighteen years ago)

On Saturday it took me the best part of an hour to get past "Gotta Work" on the album because I played it 16 times in a row. MY GOD it's brilliant - the most inspired use of a seemingly hackneyed sample ever! The way she sings "damn!" as though gleefully shaking off a feather brushing against her right cheek! "1 Thing" in Technicolor! A destination reached! And she sounds so happy and forceful at the same time! IT'S THE GREATEST POP RECORD EVER!!!!!!!!!

But the album is all great. The track which samples Duck Rock makes me swim. "Take Control" is awesome (hey, Tom Ze)! Even when we get into the slow jams there's always imagination at work ("Crush" is nearly Cabaret Voltaire) and the songs themselves are very strong ("All Roads").

I have to sit down and write it up properly, but for now it's the best pop R&B album - certainly, the only one to have reached that close to me, and possibly into me - since Brooke Valentine's Chain Letter.

In places it's like Michael Jackson AND Madonna born again. Or at least how they would have sounded with Jam and Lewis at the controls.

― Marcello Carlin, Monday, 21 May 2007 07:27 (eighteen years ago)

duck rock? which track is that? and which duck rock track?

― pisces, Monday, 21 May 2007 08:08 (eighteen years ago)

"Some Like It," "World's Famous."

― Marcello Carlin, Monday, 21 May 2007 08:15 (eighteen years ago)

'hate2loveu' is the highlight for me.

― stevie, Monday, 21 May 2007 08:42 (eighteen years ago)

it must be a great album if there's been all this talk and no mention of Make Me Believe. Some Like It is great too, with the spoken/sung parts and the "...make it take it easy, won't be sorry boy believe me..." where it matches the melody.

― jergïns, Monday, 21 May 2007 14:25 (eighteen years ago)

The horns on "Make Me Believe" are great but my favourite is "Crazy Wonderful". Laidback Amerie is just as good or maybe even better than 1Thing Amerie, which explains why Siik Remix was so sick. But it seems everyone has a different favourite on this album.

― danzig, Monday, 21 May 2007 21:06 (eighteen years ago)

one month passes...

Not out until August 21 in the US? Jeezum crow.

― jaymc, Wednesday, 18 July 2007 19:48 (seventeen years ago)

one month passes...

By far the best song on this is the accusatory ballad "Paint Me Over".

I like the rest of it but I share some of rtc's renovations.

― Tim F, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 02:56 (seventeen years ago)

Nice to see Marcello giddy.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 03:00 (seventeen years ago)

Also "All Roads" is much better than you probably think it is.

― Tim F, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 03:00 (seventeen years ago)

"Crazy Wonderful" is so great

― groovemaaan, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 08:09 (seventeen years ago)

why did i ignore this thread till now?

this is so good.

― gr8080, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 08:17 (seventeen years ago)

Some Like It is the one I feel most inclined to skip, apart from Somebody Up There and whatever the slow jam is called, as both of those are outright terrible.

Paint Me Over took a while to click with me but it's great.

― Matt DC, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 11:13 (seventeen years ago)

Also worst sequenced album of the year - mix the ballads and bangers up, don't cynically front-load everything uptempo.

― Matt DC, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 11:14 (seventeen years ago)

"Some Like It" is pretty dire, actually. I casts quite a shadow over the rest of the hyper-eighties tracks.

― Tim F, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 11:42 (seventeen years ago)

renovations! ur too kind old boy.

at least no one really reps for 'some like it'... i could take a cricket bat to 'gotta work' and its fans quite frankly

― r|t|c, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 12:08 (seventeen years ago)

that 'streets alone' is probly the track i still listen to most after 'take control' is probably a measure of how far i've copped out of thinking about this album since.

― r|t|c, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 12:10 (seventeen years ago)

Ha ha did I write "renovations". of course I meant "reservations". Weird.

Yeah I'm not really into "Gotta Work" either. Its hyper-ecstatic desire to impress is perversely boring.

― Tim F, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 12:18 (seventeen years ago)

the Sam & Dave lift is boring and i don't think it's a patch on '1 Thing' but it's OK.

― blueski, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 12:25 (seventeen years ago)

So does this actually come out today, or has it been delayed again?

― jaymc, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 13:04 (seventeen years ago)

I thought it did (and posted so on the rolling R&B thread), but I guess Wikipedia faked me out as no other websites are confirming it. I went to pick up some new releases yesterday (at a store that puts out the Tuesday releases on the shelves on Monday) and it was nowhere to be found. Damn! Even if the album is as flawed as people here are saying, I could really use a halfway decent female R&B album this year.

― Alex in Baltimore, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 13:19 (seventeen years ago)

Good Girl Gone Bad is halfway decent, but not R&B enough I guess.

― blueski, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 13:39 (seventeen years ago)

Yeah, I think Rihanna officially turned in her R&B card when she got an Aeon Flux haircut and recorded the Republica b-side that is "Shut Up And Drive."

― Alex in Baltimore, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 13:44 (seventeen years ago)

Album of the year.

― The Reverend, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 15:26 (seventeen years ago)

I love "Crush" and "Take Control" but I just can't get into the "1 More Thing"s, at least when she's chirping those high notes. Not sure why I find it so grating when it defines the pleasure principle for some many others.

― da croupier, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 15:28 (seventeen years ago)

Tim F OTM re: "Some Like It"

― da croupier, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 15:40 (seventeen years ago)

"Shut Up & Drive" is great, either in spite or because of it's Republica b-side sounding-ness. Rihanna's album is exactly halfway decent, although I'm not sure exactly what would improve it. I think it's perhaps a bit less than the sum of its parts.

xp: If anything on the album is "1 More Thing", it's "Take Control". As far as the chirpy high notes go, Amerie doesn't have the greatest chops, per se, but she knows how and when to force beyond her comfort zone for maximum impact. It's very thrilling, as Lex put it, when she goes all out. These moments never seem forced, though. They seem to happen as she gets caught up in the moment. This isn't to say that there isn't any artifice behind that phenomenon, but just to say that she's very good at hiding/selling it.

Also, OMG the harmonies & vocal production on this record. I love cool vocal production.

― The Reverend, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 15:40 (seventeen years ago)

You all love "Some Like It".

― The Reverend, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 15:41 (seventeen years ago)

More seriously, does it really matter whether "Some Like It" is "pj-approved Adventurous Pop"? Does that have any bearing whatsoever on how good or bad the song is? Worrying about something like that seems pointlessly self-conscious to me.

― The Reverend, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 15:44 (seventeen years ago)

If anything on the album is "1 More Thing", it's "Take Control".

Are you actually saying "Take Control" sounds more like "1 Thing" than "Gotta Work"?

― da croupier, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 15:46 (seventeen years ago)

I went to pick up some new releases yesterday (at a store that puts out the Tuesday releases on the shelves on Monday) and it was nowhere to be found.

OK, I really wanted to buy this album, but this is ridiculous. Someone Sendspace it to me already.

― jaymc, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 15:49 (seventeen years ago)

At least as much so. When I first heard "Take Control", my first thought was that she was trying to remake "1 Thing". By the time I heard "Gotta Work", I just kinda expected it. (xp)

― The Reverend, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 15:51 (seventeen years ago)

At any rate, I like "Take Control" (the idiosyncrasies of which eventually made themselves clear) more than "Gotta Work". On second thought, you're probably correct (assuming your thesis is that "Gotta Work" sounds more like "1 Thing" than "Take Control" does; you haven't explicitly stated that).

― The Reverend, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 15:54 (seventeen years ago)

It's implied by my disbelief in your rather adamant "if <i>anything</i> on the album...," (italics mine) though. You seemed to be ignoring the drums, horns and vocals on "Gotta Work."

― da croupier, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 16:06 (seventeen years ago)

haha but then I forgot there weren't horns on "1 Thing," so I'll shut up now.

― da croupier, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 16:08 (seventeen years ago)

My problem with Some Like It is it's a bit disjointed and therefore doesn't quite take off.

― Matt DC, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 16:09 (seventeen years ago)

Yeah, the drums and vocals are similar (horns? um... {xp nm}). The guitar hook on "Take Control" is a big part of what made me think of it as a retread.

― The Reverend, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 16:10 (seventeen years ago)

The disjointed feel of "Some Like It" is a large part of its appeal for me. I love how it just shoots off on random tangents, barely bothering to patch them together.

― The Reverend, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 16:12 (seventeen years ago)

"1 Thing" is so shrill and splashy that I think I just assumed there was a brass section blowing out my eardrum as well.

― da croupier, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 16:13 (seventeen years ago)

I was disappointed by how soon I lost interest in "Gotta Work" – it's too damn relentless, like Sparkle Motion or something.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 16:15 (seventeen years ago)

I didn't put that very well, but I don't know how to state it better at the moment. (xxp)

"1 Thing" is so shrill and splashy that I think I just assumed there was a brass section blowing out my eardrum as well.

Completely understandable.

― The Reverend, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 16:16 (seventeen years ago)

I dunno. The whole first half is pretty damn relentless, but that's a positive in my book.

― The Reverend, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 16:17 (seventeen years ago)

Actually, "Gotta Work" is probably my least favorite song of the first half.

― The Reverend, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 16:19 (seventeen years ago)

"Crush" & "Crazy Wonderful" prove that Cassie album tracks are much better with someone capable of displaying emotion.

― The Reverend, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 16:30 (seventeen years ago)

OMG the remix of "Take Control". Mr. K-Pop singer is way ott.

― The Reverend, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 17:16 (seventeen years ago)

The album comes out here in November, with a *new and improved* tracklist. "That's What U R RMX" with Fabolous and Slim Thug is the firts single, new version of "Crush" that samples the Tom Tom Club - Genius of Love will be single after that I think...

― The Brainwasher, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 17:43 (seventeen years ago)

Is "here" Amurrica? If so, I'm glad I got my import copy before they fucked up a good thing.

― The Reverend, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 17:50 (seventeen years ago)

Yeah, America.

― The Brainwasher, Tuesday, 21 August 2007 17:51 (seventeen years ago)

two weeks pass...

Holy shit -- the first half is unstoppable.

TS: Amerie's "Crush" vs Ciara's "C.R.U.S.H."

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, 6 September 2007 23:51 (seventeen years ago)

one month passes...

Um, Ciara no contest. This album is really OVERRATED by you folks...

Anyway, UPDATE: The US has been scrapped and she's recording a brand new album...

― The Brainwasher, Friday, 12 October 2007 23:11 (seventeen years ago)

one month passes...

rong, and rong ;_;

― Jordan, Wednesday, 28 November 2007 20:11 (seventeen years ago)

I can send this to you, Jordan. I got impatient and downloaded it from Limewire. It's pretty great, or at least the first 9 or 10 tracks are. Probably in my top 10 this year.

― jaymc, Wednesday, 28 November 2007 20:17 (seventeen years ago)

I've cooled on it, but still mighty fine.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Wednesday, 28 November 2007 20:20 (seventeen years ago)

um, it isn't. the song is 'hold on i'm coming', for sure, but its some other version, not the sam'n'dave version.

this song FUCKING SHREDS tho.

-- stevie, Monday, 16 April 2007 10:07 (7 months ago) Link

It's Erma Franklin's version FYI.

― The Brainwasher, Wednesday, 28 November 2007 20:24 (seventeen years ago)

jenny hooked me up awhile back, jaymc, but thx. i've just been listening to it a lot (the 1st half anyway!).

― Jordan, Wednesday, 28 November 2007 20:27 (seventeen years ago)

The hate for "Some Like It" on this thread is RONG.

― jaymc, Wednesday, 28 November 2007 20:28 (seventeen years ago)

4-4-2

― The Reverend, Wednesday, 28 November 2007 20:51 (seventeen years ago)

whatever i've moaned, it is sad to see her having to play the game and sing hooks for chingy and stuff now.

probably time to give this album another go. don't think my opinions will change (certainly not about ugh 'some like it'), but in the context of other rubbish albums that've been out it'll probly get a bump up. c'est la grim vie.

ciara's 'crush' was great and underrated.

― r|t|c, Wednesday, 28 November 2007 20:56 (seventeen years ago)

crush vs crush, take control vs lose control

― Jordan, Wednesday, 28 November 2007 20:58 (seventeen years ago)

all four are great

― da croupier, Wednesday, 28 November 2007 20:59 (seventeen years ago)

why have they completely fucked up the US release of this? And why was "Losing U" relegated to bonus track status?

― danzig, Wednesday, 28 November 2007 23:49 (seventeen years ago)

Because it would have stuck out like a sore thumb on the album.

― The Reverend, Thursday, 29 November 2007 04:38 (seventeen years ago)

i like 'some like it' even if it is horribly predictable coming from me. I love the tinny piano with its classy jazziness, matt bianco meets some passionate house diva who cant dance, i mean she sounds like cathy dennis. it just conjures all the right hair salon blow dried mousse french restaurant gold bauble feeling, it's so amerie,i walk with good posture, way more than that awful 'don't be afraid to touch' song, because amerie is jazzy. i agree the sam and dave song is boring though.

― minna, Friday, 30 November 2007 06:08 (seventeen years ago)

You know, she's really not a good singer for slow jams. I listened to an acapella last night and now her vibrato kind of gets on my nerves, it's like she can only do it one way and doesn't have a lot of control?I think that's why the uptempo rhythmic stuff works so much better for her.

Btw Make Me Believe, Crush, and Gotta Work are all A+ (Some Like it is A-)!

― Jordan, Friday, 30 November 2007 16:23 (seventeen years ago)

For some reason this just doesn't work as an album even though there are 5-6 tracks I absolutely love.

― Matt DC, Friday, 30 November 2007 17:08 (seventeen years ago)

Best track = All Roads and its unashamed soft rockness.

― Matt DC, Friday, 30 November 2007 17:09 (seventeen years ago)

Any other singer would have made "All Roads" into sub-"American Idol." I love how her voice starts to crack in the last third.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Friday, 30 November 2007 17:15 (seventeen years ago)

"All Roads" is kind of painful to listen to. :/

― jaymc, Friday, 30 November 2007 17:36 (seventeen years ago)

can someone link to the rolling r'n'b thread?
i cant find it

― robin l, Wednesday, 5 December 2007 10:40 (seventeen years ago)

here

― r|t|c, Wednesday, 5 December 2007 13:30 (seventeen years ago)

four years pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TX87SBDDCFY

^knew about the curtis og, but never knew about this version

― hologram ned raggett (The Reverend), Tuesday, 1 May 2012 08:44 (thirteen years ago)

seven years pass...

have been obsessed with Because I Love It all year

― ufo, Wednesday, 4 September 2019 10:55 (five years ago)

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