G. Mitchell | Los Angeles, CA United States | 01/20/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is my favorite LABELLE CD if only for three of the songs: COME INTO MY LIFE, ISN'T IT A SHAME, AND esp GOING DOWN MAKES ME SHIVER - have you ever heard better, more emotive singing? Patti, Sarah, and Nona really turned it out on this one, their swan song - amazing this album came out some 30 years ago. They don't make 'em like they used to."
Let's Talk About The FUNK
Mr. Music Man | Wolf Point, MT | 04/06/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Hey guys
I bought this cd while in New York and let me tell you these songs made that city come to life for me. It was the last night i was there and I went to the Virgin megastore to find more music and found this gem and others. I listened to this album first and it just fit with NYC Times Square! I rode the subway back to the hotel and the song Voodoo came on and absolutely fit the atmosphere of the Subway. MAN i repeated that song all night and began to learn the words. Fortunatly the words are printed inside the cd sleeve. THANKS TO WHOEVER THOUGHT OF THAT! So now when I listen to this album all I can this of is Times Square and the subway at night. Can't wait to go back there again and experience more. Thanks Labelle!"
Labelle's Final Masterwork
gassy goon | 11/22/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Labelle left us with their 6th album exploring new sounds & expanding our minds . These songs & performances will certainly take you on a musical trip. Patti, Sarah & Nona were so inventive and unique, they couldn't figure out what to do next, and broke up just months after this album was released.
Amazing vocals, lyrics, & music way ahead of the rest of the pack. Labelle spread their messages out loud & clear that they could not be contained musically. This album is all over the map. Especially noteworthy is the expansion to a more rock sound with WHO'S WATCHING THE WATCHER? where Patti & Nona trade leads! And all of Side Two on the original album from CHAMELEON , GYPSY MOTHS, Nona's head trip epic A MAN IN A TRENCHCOAT , and the finale GOING DOWN MAKES ME SHIVER are mind and ear altering experiences. Amazing!
This final album opened up the door to their solo careers. But think of what Labelle could have sounded like if they had continued."
It Doesn't Get Any Better Then LaBelles Chameleon
Andre S. Grindle | Brewer Maine | 07/06/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Considering that I hear Lenny Kravitz is producing a 32 year delayed follow up to this album for these ladies finding the out of print CD of 1976's 'Chameleon' is one of my happiest suprises recently. What really stands out about this recording is that while Patti LaBelle plays her part in it,she gets a lot of time with the fiercely soulful Nona Hendryx,who would surprise everyone the following year after this with a rock oriented solo album that bombed.But that doesn't stop her,Sarah and Patti from seriously rocking out here on "Who's Watching The Watcher?" which features their always outrageous gospel harmonies on the great lyrics about hypocricy with a sizzling Ray Parker Jr. rock guitar solo.You can bet that LaBelle didn't leave the funkateers out in the dark either with the loud,freaked out funk of "Get You Somebody New" and the only somewhat slower burning groove of "A Man In A Trenchcoat (Voodoo)". Also featured in equal measure are the gospel-soul ballads "Come Into My Life","Isn't It A Shame" and the passionate "Going Down Makes Me Shiver".As with any LaBelle album they always include some fun musical surprises and on "Gypsy Moths" the trio do in a pretty mess of a New Orleans "melting pot" type tune,influenced heavily by the sound of their old producer Allen Toussaint.On the title song a rousing gospel shuffle lead along a pointed lyric about ethnic diversity. So if you happen to find this at a reasonable price and already own their "other" classic Nightbirds then 'Chameleon' is the place you'll need to go next.It is a very significant and musically brillant contribution to the world of contemporary mid 70's Philly soul meeting the R&B and funk of the bayou and New Orleans in general."
Underrated is too weak a word
mianfei | 12/23/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"After Vicki Wickham's makeover and a modestly successful collaboration with Laura Nyro on Gonna Take a Miracle, Labelle released three albums so commercially unsuccessful they were dropped by two major labels. Then, under the direction of Allen Toussaint, they had a smash hit with "Lady Marmalade" and its parent album Nightbirds.
Momentarily stars, Labelle recorded "Phoenix" as a follow-up, but it was not very successful and (like their sole RCA album "Pressure Cooking") missed the CD era completely.
Although Labelle were drifting apart by this point, "Chameleon" showed the three women working together in finer form than ever. The energy level of Nona Hendryx's compositions and the singing is far ahead of much of their previous work, and the freer song forms suit Labelle perfectly. The opener "Get You Somebody New" - one of only two songs not written by Hendryx - is gut-wrenching in its power, whilst "Come Into My Life" balances it perfectly with light, but equally emotional, textures. The ballad "Isn't It A Shame" may be very generic in its lyrics but Patti's voice is purely erotic in a way very seldom seen on any recording, and Nona and Sarah provide eerie backing over the full eight minutes. "Who's Watching the Watcher" is Nona's most socially conscious number ever, and rocks hard without the pomp that was to ruin what I've heard of Nona's solo work.
It is the second side, though, that is the real treat. "Chameleon" is a beautiful piece of pure soul with supremely tuneful vocals, and the ecstatic, passionate yet somehow light "Gypsy Moths" is even better, a call to dance that rivals anything P-Funk were producing at the time. The mantra-like "so you can dance" is truly entrancing and almost spiritual.
The absolute stunner, though, is the second-last track "A Man In A Trenchcoat (Voodoo)". Its quiet, percussive intro and vocals gradually develop into fiery soul without relenting for the full eight minutes, quite like Can's "Future Days" does only with more emotion on the surface. Nona's lyrics this time seem to be discussing psychological problems, but they match the mysterious growth of the song very well and she and Sarah back up Patti's soulful leads superbly. The last track, "Going Down Makes Me Shiver" is the most conventional, but also has Patti's biggest vocal on the record.
As a finale to a difficult career for Patti, Nona and Sarah, "Chameleon" was indeed grand, but it was a commercial failure reaching only #94 on Billboard. After Labelle split up, it became clear that they were much more than the sum of their parts: Patti was soppy and Nona pretentious, but here together they create something wonderful and never appreciated."
