Walk Miles in Susaye's Shoes
Eso | Oakdale | 08/24/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"On the heels of her 2002 musical declaration "No Fear Here", Susaye Greene, a former Supreme, member of Stevie Wonder's Wonderlove and Ray Charles' Raylettes returns with a far more adventurous, genre-bending slightly left-of-center and yet at the same time accessible release which, if we were living in a more advanced society, would be received as the commanding musical accomplishment it is.
To dabble in many different genres on one release yet invent radio-friendly material is indeed a challenge. Sometimes multi-instrumentalists and musicians as talented as Susaye are indicted for the esoteric; while their intentions are sound, hooks and melodies are the stuff by which even some of the most staunchly sophistocated critics and members of the intelligentsia measure musical worth, and thus on some level there is no escaping that even critics in this day are forced to equate commerical appeal with the measure of an artist's work.
That is what makes "Brave New Shoes" miles beyond "No Fear Here"; although there was experimentation at play there was something standoffish about "No Fear Here" which lacked strong hooks and novel ideas. The set seemed to straddle the middle-of-the-road weighted toward ballads or to squarely appeal to sensibilities of yester-year only hinting what Susaye is truly capable of. This was a bone of contention among many critics.
The standout cut "Living in a Vacuum" is emboldened by an ironic urgency - a musical message that if we turn away in the face of fear and pain, or anything unpleasant we should learn from cut ourselves off we only will be stifled then swallowed whole in that vacuum we have created for ourselves hence the avant-garde operatic-stylings in the conclusion of a progressive alternafunk that would have the likes of Outkast even jealous.
Then, we step into sweet yet far from the schamltz balladry of "Never Dreamed" which should be embraced by Smooth-Jazz outlets; the song will appeal to Susaye's Diana Ross fan contingent as it seems to be a nod to Diana Ross circa "Take Me Higher" with "Voice of the Heart".
"Love Controls You" is a perfect offering sparse enough in its arrangment to suggest subtley how wide open the album is in terms of its use of different styles and possibilties. It is a jazz-inflected funked up R and B anthem advancing the sounds of the early '90s a la Tara Kemp's brand of soul on "Hold You Tight". It should be a major hit IF certain trends did not dominate the landscape right now. The song advances the "Queen of Fates" theme from "No Fear Here" and sports Eric Kirkland who also collaborated with Susaye on "Queen of Fates" and also incidentally sampled Susaye's work on his group Portrait's bouncy '92 hit "Here We Go Again".
Susaye even composed a Liza Minelli-style Broadway anthem entitled "Back When We Were Young" that even surpasses her glass-shattering remake of "Bali Hai" from her last set.
The song perfectly segues into "Never Can Wait for Love" where the interlude between that song and the aforementioned "Back When We Were Young" is the sound of a carnival bustling which carries into and throughout the thumping bass of the song - a metaphor for the highs we get when the newness of young love finally comes after waiting. The return of the carnival is the recurring sense of, in a sense, love - a timeless metaphor.
"In The Wind" incorprorates Deep Forest-era chants and world beats interwoven through yet another sparse jazz arrangment to suggest fleeting love. Fans of "Laugh 'Till You Cry" from her previous set will value the layered approach taken here. On "Rhythm Revolt", she and her son/rapper Schism seamlessly merge opera, electronica and rap. Then, there is the Jazz/Rock fusion on "Get What You Give".
"Brave New Shoes" is an apt title as Susaye is on a path she has charted from her first few steps in her shoes; one can only imagine what the next new bold release will bring. One wonders if the title is play on Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" as Susaye uses her metaphoric "brand new shoes" to step into a world where such musical sensibility as embodied by the release "Brave New Shoes" will be a vision of our future.
"
Steppin' in my Brave New Shoes
Synthia L. Powers | Chicago | 11/12/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Susaye Greene is a quadruple threat: singer/songwriter/producer/musician/artist (she draws/paints, too). I guess that makes her a quintiple threat!
The voice: Prior to this release, I was only aware of Susaye as a vocalist with The Supremes, and only familiar with the higher end of her five octave range. Susaye displays a wide range of singing texture, styles and 'colors' on this album. The most amazing thing about her voice is that she can sing with herself in harmony, but by using a different styles of singing, she sounds like a roomful of different people! And it's not all sweetening her voice in the studio - the lady just has vocal chops like that! Susaye can sound throaty (ala Stevie Nicks, but on purpose)... yet achieve the pristine pitch of an opera diva (in the classic sense) which her singing suggests - and every point in between. Words don't describe it - I've never heard ANYONE sing like THIS! You gotta hear her sing to experience what I am typing about! (She hit's one note on "Children of the Ghetto" that touched me so deeply, I cried!) My favorite thing about Susaye is her voice... (or is it her poetry? Perhaps I like her musicianship the most... or how she produced the songs and her interesting musical ideas? Like I said - quadruple threat!)
The music: This album is avante garde, yet accessible. Brave New Shoes is a diverse album; the musical influences of this woman are too broad to record an album in one genre of music. If I had to sum it all up in one word, I would say "Jazz". But jazz is such a broad term, and Susaye gives it her own unique meaning with these songs. She experiements with hip-hop, hard rock, smooth soul and jazz on Brave New Shoes. Most artist who attempt this usually fall flat - but NOT Susaye Greene. She made a wise decision in employing the perucssive talents of Mr. Raymond Pounds. His masterful (live!) drumming gives the album a cohesive feel, despite such a wide range of musical styles. The live percussion (and other aucoustic instrumentation) lends an organic feel to the album, but the production values give the feeling of brand new music. Brave New Shoes takes classic soul production principles to a new level - all of these melodies and musical ideas borrow from the past but are made entirely new. She has fun with sound effects... and uses them as an elegant compliment the overall compostion, without sacrificing musical integrity, therefore taking the music to a whole new level of sonic experience.
The poetry: Her lyrics suggest a very positive spirit; although she has taken her knocks in life (as some songs suggest), she has pondered philosophies which have helped her move beyond the pain... and has shared her experience as a gift to all who listen. There are a lot of subtle messages on this album that have given me little boosts of inspiration, but Susaye conveys her messages without "preaching". The messages are conveyed in a 'non-intrusive' way that causes the listener to 'contemplate'. Her lyrics are poetic without being confusing... yet they are compelling enough to engage the listener, without being trite. It's genius songwriting!
Standout cuts: Living In A Vacuum, High Energy, Love Controls You, Get What U Give, The Ocean, Deep Inside It, Children of the Ghetto and Never Dreamed.
You won't be able to take your ears off of this!
"
Strut your stuff
Steven R. Munsch | houston | 06/23/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"i wont be verbose. true music is artistic expression. It can be heard and fealt as what its really suppose to be here. Even if you dont like the wide span of musical genres covered,Susaye is a force to be reckoned with. You do the thing, gurl!!!!!!!!"
Track Listings (17) - Disc #1