Search - Jazzyfatnastees :: Tortoise & Hare

IF YOU ONLY BUY ONE NEW CD THIS YEAR...LET THIS BE IT!

coolchick_bl | Washington, DC | 09/27/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Jazzies are one of, if not my absolute favorite, musicians around. I bought their first CD "The Once and Future" and was blown away. The new CD "The Tortoise and the Hare" is equally fantastic. I saw them in concert (one of the best live performances I've ever seen) and have their CDs on constant rotation at home, work and in my car! These ladies are gifted singers, talented writers and excellent performers! The standout songs on "The Tortoise and the Hare" are "Something In the Way" with it's soulfull 70's groove and romantic lyrics, "El Medio" (sang in Spanish I believe) though I only speak and understand English and don't understand a word of this song, it sends chills up and down my spine when I hear it...I can think of only one word to describe this song - SEXY! "All Up In My Face" - the one song that actually gets some radio play, and the always Jazzy, definately phat and consistently nasty "Give A Dog A Bone." Mercedes and Tracy truly put their heart and soul into this album - keep up the good work girls! Your number one fan!"

The Jazzyfatnastees are back and it's about time

J. Highsmith | Mitchellville, Maryland United States | 10/19/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'll never forget when I was talking with a co-worker about music and she said, "What!", you've never heard of the Jazzyfatnastees?" She brought the CD to work and I recorded the CD and 2 weeks later, I went to purchase my own copy of "The Once And Future". The Jazzyfatnastees had a classic on their hands but unless you heard one of their songs on an urban contemporary radio station or heard from word of mouth, you never would have known they were out there. Songs like "The Wound", "Breakthrough", "Sail The Seas", "Related To Me" and my favorite, "Unconventional Ways" were always in my heavy rotation. As time went on, since I didn't hear anything else from the Jazzyfatnastees, I wondered if they ever would release anything else. To my luck, I checked amazon and I saw that they were releasing "The Tortoise And The Hare" in September. "The Tortoise And The Hare" is a nice follow up to their debut CD. The disc starts out with the refreshing "Something In The Way". This is definitely the best song on the CD. Tracey and Mercedes sing about a man that isn't typical of the man that they may have been looking for, but he has qualities that they are feelin'. From there, Mercedes puts you in a trance with the Spanish laced, "El Medio" and then with track #3, the Jazzyfatnastees display some attitude and spunk with "All Up In My Face". Tracks like "Four Lives" and "Adolescent Blues" remind me of why I liked "The Once And The Future" so much. They have a way of writing about real life issues and you can almost picture what they are singing about actually happening somewhere around you. "Compelled" is reminiscent of "Free Your Mind" by En Vogue because of its rock and roll tone to it. In the middle of the midtempo song the beat switches to a more uptempo club track and will surprise the listener when they first hear the song. This track reminds me of when I was at a Maxwell concert and he performed the slow jam "Fortunate" and then switched to a club beat and performed the song over again to the new beat. It is a nice concept, just like what Jill Scott did with her "He Loves Me" (Illegal Mix) from her "Experience" double CD. After hearing the instrumental to the title track,you will wish that the ladies would have added some vocals to all of the ad libs and women will love "Give A Dog A Bone". The Jazzyfatnastees are not a victim of the sophomore jinx at all. These two ladies are very talented and it is just a shame that they don't receive more pub. Scott Storch, who produced the majority of their debut CD, is limited to only one song on this CD, "Tumbling". This is probably the only thing that is missing from "The Tortoise And The Hare", which is why I would rate this CD a 4.5 instead of a 5 like their debut. Randy Bowland, who produced all of Gerald Levert's new CD, "The G Spot", with Gerald Levert and Anthony Tidd who produced "Sail The Seas" and "The Lie" from "The Once And Future" handle the majority of the production this time around, along with the Jazzyfatnastees. The writing gets an A+ as usual. Tracey and Mercedes just have a way with writing and presenting their words. If you liked their debut, there is nothing wrong with "The Tortoise And The Hare". You should add this CD to your Jazzyfatnastees' collection, if you haven't already..."

SOMETHING IN THE WAY.......

DAMON PALMER | BUFFALO, N.Y. | 09/06/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I can honestly say that I thoroughly enjoyed this album more than their debut cd "The Once And Future". That isn't to say that their debut was a bad album, but it just seems as if the Jazzies have grown with their current release. While the album is a little more mellow than the first cd, the lyrical content and music arrangements are very tight. It seems that the ladies (Tracey Moore & Mercedes Martinez) got more introspective with the songs this go round. While I love the entire album, standouts are "ADOLESCENT BLUES", "TORTOISE AND THE HARE", "COMPELLED", and "SOMETHING IN THE WAY". The beat change on the song "COMPELLED" from Betty Davis-esque rock & soul, to disco, back to rock & soul is a TRUE showing of innovation. "SOMETHING IN THE WAY" gives the listener a sound reminiscent of early RUFUS featuring CHAKA KHAN. If you want to hear an album that's short (10 songs....less IS more)and DEFINITELY sweet, pick up "THE TORTOISE & THE HARE". Your ears will love you for it, and your mind will be taken back to a time when an artist put their heart AND soul into their music."