Me'Shell Ndegeocello
"Peace Beyond Passion"
Maverick, 9362-46033-2 (59 mins)
Dial-a-track code 1531
If Plantation Lullabies marked Me'Shell out as one to keep an eye on, Peace Beyond Passion is confirmation of this potential realised. As deep, intense, moody and sultry R'n'B albums go, this one takes all the medals. Digging deep into an early 1970s black musical heritage (think Herbie Hancock, Sly Stone and Stevie Wonder, providing those seductively rich jazz, funk and soul rhythms) Me'Shell's voice covers all remaining bases with ease, making this album a joy from start to finish.
She may have talked up "a dance able rock `n' roll album about God, sexuality and lies," but Peace Beyond Passion is more about funk than any other musical flavour. Naturally, given Me'Shell's towering introspection, it is also brimming with lyrical cut and thrust. Tracks like God Shiva and Mary Magdalene abound with religious overtones, while the epic Makeve Wanna Holler is an honest and searing look, through a child's eyes, at a broken home.
With the brooding stomp of a cover of Bill Withers's classic "Who Is He And What Is He To You?" also in the mix, Peace Beyond Passion is something of a must.
De La Soul
"Stakes Is High"
Tommy Boy, TBCD1149 (68 mins)
Dial-a-track code 1641
You may be surprised to learn that this is the fourth De La Soul excursion into the unknown. While 3 Feet High & Rising propelled them into an unexpected limelight, the subsequent albums, while largely overlooked, were just as worthy of inspection. 1993's Buhloone Mindstate, for example, was a riot of rare groove smiles and funky rhymes yet did not set the world alight. In a year when a hip-hop attitude is in the ascendant, Stakes Is High is a vintage cut.
The raps are as intelligent incisive and humourous as they come. Whether putting the spotlight on sucker MCs (Dog Eat Dog) or dropping words of wisdom about the Long Island scene, De La Soul create acerbic tales which swing with panache.
Beneath the raps, the musical flow is understated yet funky with the scratch frenzy on Pony Ride standing tall. De La Soul are in the area once again just don't ignore them this time around.
Renegade Soundwave
"RSW 1987-1995"
Mute, STUMM152 (2 CDs 144 mins)
Dial-a-track code 1751
Not so much saying goodbye as merely bidding farewell to the Mute label, Renegade Soundwave's collection of singles and tunes from eight years of activity is a dubby, punky, booming riot. Along the way they've produced some monster breaks and beats, influencing everyone from The Chemical Brothers to Leftfield in the process.
This two CD set (one disc of singles, one of remixes) traces RSW's transformation from post industrial dubheads into eclectic and highly individual sound system selectors. The abrasive arrangements of early tracks like Cocaine Sex and Biting My Nails gave way to a more subtle blend of dubby dance with Probably A Robbery and Women Respond To Bass.
By 1994's excellent Howyadoing? album, RSW were hard stepping with some style as Renegade Soundwave (especially the orgasmic Left field remix) and Blast Em Out set increasingly influential agendas. They will be back.
Fun Lovin' Criminals
"Come Find Yourself"
Chrysalis, 7243 8 37566 29 (57 mins)
Dial-a-track code 1861
Sharp, urban and witty, the Fun Lovin' Criminals are three Italian Hispanic New Yorkers who mix a welter of sounds into a modern, rocking, gangsta hip hop stew.
Combining soundbites from classic movies with elastic grooves, the Criminals rock in a very Beastie Boy Dog Eat Dog manner but with a wider lyrical base than the former and a better dress sense than the latter. Dark and thoughtful in places (The Grave & The Constant is a tale of strife in the American prison system), the Criminals are at their best when they talk movies, mafia, dope and bank heists.
