Cat Scratch Fever

Leela James

James’ debut album, entitled A Change Is Gonna Come, was released on June 21, 2005. The album was conceived as a throwback to an earlier era of American soul music, building upon the legacy of 1960s and 1970s soul singers while incorporating elements of contemporary R&B, funk, and gospel.

In the lyrics to the album’s lead single, entitled “Music,” James laments the current state of contemporary popular music. She condemns the glorification of materialism and misogyny that has often been attributed to the lyrical content of contemporary R&B and hip hop songs while pleading for the return of the artistry, dedication, and sincerity displayed by musicians of earlier decades. (from wikipedia)

Here’s Leela with the incomparable Ray Charles singing, “Compared to What”

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“It’s been a long time since you’ve heard it like this… / Ain’t nobody bringing it quite like this,” contends neo-soul belter Leela James on “Long Time Coming,” the closing track on her 2005 debut, A Change Is Gonna Come. And while these claims might smack of hyperbole, James’s album sounds awfully fresh for a record that’s so thoroughly nurtured in the well-plowed funk and soul of Mavis Staples, Betty Wright and Chaka Khan. James describes her husky vocals and gritty music as “back porch soul,” a style that harks back to a time when “folks sat around on those hot, sticky days on their porches singing and playing the blues.” (from Bill Friskics-Warren, Houston Press)

“Music” from A Change is Gonna Come album

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This entry was posted at 8:04 am on 10/20/07 | tagged: Ponderings.
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