I thought I'd start off with a classic because although there have been quite a few more recent albums that have affected me, it's important to lay the foundation and pay homage to musical heroes of the past as well as present...
Jill Scott is an exceptional vocalist and songwriter and this album easily puts forward some of her best work to date. It's an album that I myself grew up listening to and I'm sure that a lot of the people reading this have heard the song "Golden" taken from it, whether they realised that it was her or not.
To be honest, this was probably the only song from this album that I really associated with her until earlier this year when I decided to listen through the whole record again. However, listening to the album through and with fresh ears, I just fell in love. Now that I feel that I can truly appreciate its quality and intricacy, I can see why it's stuck with me for so long. I've always listened to "Golden" to cheer myself up, make myself feel good, but now I have a whole album full of songs that can do that. Start to finish this album has me smiling at least every 5 minutes. The introduction "Warm Up", all 1 minute and 20 seconds of it told me that I would be listening to something different.
When I listen to this album I feel like I'm genuinely listening to snippets from Jill's life. Like an old friend has just come over and started chatting to me, narrating her thoughts and feelings to me. That's brilliant because half of the album is clearly directed at a man in her life. To be able to let the listener be a part of an A to B relationship is a talent on its own. Vocally "Bedda At Home" and "Talk To Me" are some of my favourites, but instrumentally "Not Like Crazy" and "Spring Summer Feeling" take the top spots. Let's not forget lyrically... lyrically "The Fact Is (I Need You)" and "Family Reunion", paint the most vivid pictures.
All in all, this is an album that I believe any music lover and especially any Neo-Soul lover MUST listen to or at the very least know about. It's one that I'll be listening to for years to come.
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