Entertainment
MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO REIMAGINES CLASSIC SONGS ON NEW ALBUM ‘SYNONYM’
Meshell Ndegeocello has brought together an unusually wide range of musical collaborators for Synonym, an album that transforms familiar songs from di...
By Patience
The jazz and soul artist’s latest project draws from the catalogues of Bob Dylan, Jennifer Lopez, the Human League, Barbra Streisand, Temple of the Dog and other acts, while featuring guest performers including Chaka Khan, Bill Callahan, Cat Power, Cynthia Erivo and Robert Glasper.
A COLLECTION BUILT AROUND REINVENTION
Rather than simply reproducing the original recordings, Ndegeocello reshapes the songs through different arrangements, tempos, vocal approaches and instrumentation.
The album's concept is connected to what Ndegeocello has described as an “expression of queer liberation as a synonym for liberation of all kinds.” Several of the songs originally performed as male-female duets are reinterpreted with different vocal pairings, giving some of them a changed emotional perspective.
Among the tracks is a new version of Barbra Streisand's Guilty, performed with Ink, while Cat Power joins Ndegeocello on a reggae-influenced interpretation of the Human League's Don't You Want Me.
DYLAN SONGS TAKE NEW DIRECTIONS
Bob Dylan's music receives particularly extensive treatment on the album.
Ndegeocello's version of It Ain't Me Babe, featuring Madison Cunningham, moves far from the familiar arrangement, combining electric guitar, mandolin and musical-box textures to create a dreamlike sound.
The album closes with With God on Our Side, performed with Bill Callahan and Chris Thile. The arrangement begins with elements associated with the song's folk origins before expanding into electronic noise and distorted guitar, creating a much more abrasive atmosphere.
A WIDE RANGE OF COLLABORATORS
The album's guest list reflects the breadth of Ndegeocello's musical interests.
Alongside Callahan, Cat Power, Chaka Khan and Erivo, the project features artists such as ANOHNI, Brandi Carlile, Lianne La Havas, Moses Sumney, Willow, Nick Hakim, Robert Glasper and others.
The songs span soul, pop, rock, jazz, reggae and other styles, with Ndegeocello using the different musical settings to reinterpret each composition rather than treating the recordings as straightforward covers.
SOME EXPERIMENTS DIVIDE FROM THE ORIGINALS
The album's radical approach does not work equally in every case.
The reinterpretation of Sonny and Cher's I Got You Babe, featuring ANOHNI, strips the song down into a sparse jazz arrangement built around brass and woodwind. While the musical restructuring is substantial, the emotional effect differs considerably from the original.
Ndegeocello also gives Yarborough and Peoples' Don't Stop the Music a darker electronic treatment, while maintaining a more plaintive vocal performance and acoustic guitar at its centre.
‘SYNONYM’ CONTINUES NDEGEOCELLO'S MUSICAL EXPERIMENTATION
Ndegeocello has spent much of her career moving between jazz, R&B, alternative rock, reggae, fusion, gospel and other styles. Her previous album, No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin, also crossed several musical boundaries and won a Grammy for Best Alternative Jazz Album.
Synonym continues that approach by treating established songs as starting points for new musical ideas. The album is scheduled for release on October 2 through Blue Note Records.