Jamelia: Walk With Me
Walk With Me is Birmingham-born Jamelia's third album
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Sunday, 01, Oct 2006 03:28
Polydor, out now.
In a nutshell.
Catchy, uplifting, girlie, self-affirmative, sassy
What's it all about?
After a second break from the limelight the Brit RnB sensation who brought us the smash hit pop ditties Call Me and Superstar is back with her third studio album. Walk With Me showcases Jamelia's usual winning mix of R&B, hip-hop and pop, but it also
has more of a rock edge to it. The subtle hints of motown, gospel and soul that streak most of Jamelia's work are still there, but the overall effect is much more edgy than anything she's done before.
Walk With Me kicks off with Jamelia's first single Something About You, which peaked at number six in the UK charts. This catchy guitar-laden pop number gives a clue as to what the rest of the album sounds like and puts the Birmingham-born songstress on to a winner straightaway. The album carries on with Do Me Right, which combines a down and dirty baseline and provocative lyrics with an oddly befitting Middle Eastern sound.
Window Shopping and Know My Name are the girlie anthems of the album, doing what all good female RnB records should do - criticise men. One of the real gems of the album is No More, a self-affirmative tune that samples Golden Brown by The Stranglers and turns a timeless folk rock classic into a glorious gospel-like melody.
The album cools down with the smooth La La Love and the melancholy yet inspiring Go, before bursting back with man-hating gusto in Get Up Get Out, which uses angry break-up lyrics to great effect, and Beware of the Dog, a fresh and funky glam rock stomp of a tune that is built around Depeche Mode's Personal Jesus and is bound to be a huge hit in nightclubs across the country.
Who's it by?
Mum of two Jamelia has kicked up quite a storm in the UK as one of only a handful of the county's truly talented female urban artists. Born in Birmingham to a Jamaican mother and Zimbabwean father, Jamelia had an inner-city upbringing, and this can clearly be heard in the sassy, streetwise style of her music.
Bursting on to the scene at the tender age of 18, Jamelia amassed a large following of loyal fans with her debut album and collaborations with some of RnB's top names. Following a temporary break from the music business to give birth to daughter Teja, Jamelia came back all grown up and ready to take on the world with the smash hit Superstar in 2003. This song allowed her to make her breakthrough outside of Europe, going top ten in multiple countries.
After the success of her second album Thank You, Jamelia disappared from the limelight yet again, giving birth to her second daughter Tiani last year. But now she's back to finish what she started, and after taking centre stage at the MOBOs this year and instilling hope that British RnB can finally succeed in taking on America, Jamelia's third album looks destined to be a hit.
As an example.
"I walk away with my dignity. You can't take that away from me."
"Stop! You better shake him off, before he gets ya. He's comin' to get ya, he's comin' to get ya. Stop! He'll only build you up, and then forget ya. He's dirty to the bone, beware of the dog."
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
Though Jamelia has so far failed to crack the tough American market, Walk With Me offers a glimmer of hope for fans. Dubbed Britain's answer to Beyonce, the 25-year-old diva is currently the subject of a media frenzy together with other emerging British RnB artists like Lemar and Corinne Bailey Rae as hope grows that UK urban talent may soon be recognised across the pond.
What the others say
"Walk With Me, Jamelia's third, is both spirited and sensible, sustaining tunes all the while. There's a steady pop production hand at work which means much of the album's mid-section treads water nicely enough as it recalls Liberty X." - The Observer
"Walk With Me is the album Jamelia has been working towards all her career." - The Sun
So is it any good?
There's no debating this girl's ability to churn out a brilliant single, and Walk With Me is certainly an album packed with potential smash hits. Unlike her 2004 album Thank You, Walk With Me does not rely on the talent of some of the big American rap artists. Instead it features just handful of British producers including Bloodshy & Avant, Soulshock & Karlin and Jimmy Hogarth, resulting in a slightly more understated yet just as dynamic offering.
Critics have dubbed her the British Beyonce, and that may certainly be the case if Beware of the Dog turns out to be the Crazy in Love-type smash hit it is expected to be. But this album departs from Beyonce in that it isn't disappointingly packed with dirge-like ballads. Jamelia tries out a host of musical styles, sounding like Mary J Blige one moment and Janet Jackson the next, but despite the experimentation the albums hangs together incredibly well.
There are one or two moments where Walk With Me does run the risk of becoming just another generic RnB/pop record, with La La Love standing out as lacking in substance. Yet such moments are fleeting, and on the whole her much improved, self-assured vocals make sure this is definitely her most impressive album to date.
8/10
Gemma Roskell