Shemekia Copeland - Talking to Strangers (15 tracks) +Album Reviews

No Stranger To The Blues

Don Brown | Las Vegas, NV | 10/05/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Opening with Arthur Neilson's slide guitar, "LIVIN' ON LOVE" kick starts the highly anticipated TALKING TO STRANGERS, Shemekia Copeland's new CD that's chock full of hot cuts. "TWO'S A CROWD" is a rocking blues number that shows off Shemekia's powerful pipes.Copeland gives it to the dogs out there with "WHEN A WOMAN'S HAD ENOUGH". During "SHOULD HAVE COME HOME", Shemekia repents for the women who have made mistakes in their relationships. The driving rhythm of this song will stay on your mind. The emotional feelings that Copeland conveys on the songs "DON'T WHISPER" and "TALKING TO STRANGERS" shows just what the teeny bopper superstars are missing.Producer Dr. John turns performer with his piano solo on "TOO CLOSE", which helps bring out the smoldering side of Shemekia. "KA-CHING" tells of the lighter side of life. Even having fun, her voice rings true. Dr. John then brings out the soulful side of Shemekia on their duet, "THE PUSH I NEED". She then burns a hole through your heart on "HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY", with all the pain in her voice.Ending her CD with "PIE IN THE SKY", a song by her late father blues great Johnny Clyde Copeland, Shemekia shows that though she may be daddy's little girl, her great big voice makes her so much more than that. Certainly, she is no stranger to the blues.Don Brown Sr. writes for Caught Live Too! and Las Vegas Blues --BLUES.LVJAZZ.COM"

Wow!

Mark R. Van Wagenen | Elgin, Illinois USA | 01/15/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Shemekia Copeland just may be the most exciting female singer we've seen since Aretha Franklin, and with this CD, she truly reaches her stride. There is not many times when you have 15 tracks and ALL of them are good, but this is one of those rare disks. Her big, soulful voice adds a new dimension to the blues, superbly produced by old pro Dr. John (who plays keyboards on some of the tracks). She comes across as real in all her tunes here, ranging from the playful ("Livin' on Love"), the mournful ("Happy Valentine's Day", a beautiful slow ballad; "Talking to Strangers", "Should Have Come Home"); the vengeful ("Ka-ching"), the introspective ("The Push I Need", a duet with Dr John) and even her offbeat ode to the owner of a beauty salon ("Sholanda's"). I guarantee you will hear much more about this young singer in the years to come, so enjoy her now. Very highly recommended."

AMAZING LIVE PERFORMER

Gary Baker | New York, NY | 07/11/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Shemekia can perform like nobody's business. Saw her in an outdoor gig in NYC on 7/11/03, and she brought the house down. Incredible voice, particularly given her young age. Fantastic stage presence. Great band. Just a jaw-dropping hard-core blues experience. Don't miss her, and BUY THIS CD. We got all three, and had them signed at the show."

Pie on CD

Docendo Discimus | Vita scholae | 07/31/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Well, there's a song here called "Pie In The Sky"....

Anyway, the editorial review is way off the mark in claiming that Shemekia Copeland's first two albums were marred by "hamfisted musical support", but the reviewer certainly gets it right as far as her vocal talents are concerned.

"Talking To Strangers" is a fine collection of funky soul, R&B, blues and a little rock n' roll, all of it delivered with a bluesy edge. The band is not quite as low down an dirty as the small combo which backed her on her highly esteemed debut album, but the excellent production by Dr John keeps things from getting too slick.

The title track is pure deep soul, and other highlights include "Walk On", the swaggering opener "Livin' On Love", the beautiful soul ballad "Don't Whisper", the silly but funky "Sholanda's" (pay no attention to the lyrics), and, well, about five or six more.

Mac Rebennack himself, the good doctor, plays delightful blues and R&B on his customary piano, and lead and slide guitarist Arthur Neilson is top-notch when he gets the chance to shine. It would have been good to hear a little more from him.

The songwriting on "Talking To Strangers" is not highly original, sure, but it is consistently good and often great. Mood and tempo varies a lot, and while I would have liked a couple more up-tempo songs, especially on the latter half of the disc, there are a lot of nice little grooves being dug here.

Shemekia Copeland is one of the very best female blues and soul singers of the 21st century, and this fine record does indeed have a beat to which you can dance. Or you can just kick back and enjoy, whatever works for you.

3 3/4 stars. Shemekia has yet to make a bad record."

Serious Singer / Funky Fun

James Morris | Jackson Heights, NY United States | 12/12/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A while back, I had heard Shemekia talked about as a serious new blues singer by several people who I know to know what they're talking about. So I filed her name in my head for future reference as an artist worth looking into. Shortly thereafter I came upon this album in the blues section of my local store, and immediately decided to take a chance when I noticed that the album opens with Livin' On Love, a tune which had been recorded a few years ago by my favorite singer, Tracy Nelson. Good music begets good music, and I've found that albums produced by singers who are classy enough to pick great songs like Livin' On Love generally proffer superior material throughout.

I had no idea. After buying Talking To Strangers and playing it four times in one night, I went back to the record store the next day and bought two more of her albums, Turn the Heat Up and Wicked. While those two were not quite the standouts that Talking To Stranger turned out to be, I'm not sorry I got them. In time, I came to like them as much for different reasons, but let me tell everybody here and now - no matter which of her albums you choose to acquire, this woman can SING.

Besides the aforementioned Livin' On Love, Talking To Strangers is a veritable smorgasbord of good, old-fashioned funk. Happy Valentines Day, Don't Whisper and When A Woman's Had Enough are standouts. Ms. Copeland pretty much sings about affairs of the heart, both requited and otherwise, and the title track is about as apt and truthful an assessment of the singles dating scene that I have ever encountered. For great comic relief, there's a tune called Sholanda's that had me splitting my sides.

If urban contemporary blues is your thing, I highly recommend Talking To Strangers. If you know nothing about contemporary blues, it's a good place to start.

"

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