All My Life

Maysa | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 21, 2000)
• Original Release Date: March 21, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Encoded Music
• ASIN: B00004RDIW
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #83,767 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Got to Be Strong

2. Mirrors

3. The Bottle

4. All My Life

5. Pressure

6. Sunshine

7. Blue Light

8. Shadows and the Light

9. Hooked on Your Love

10. Earth Child

11. Compliments

12. Closure

13. Bonus Track 1

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Maysa Leak's first album, in 1995, had an incredible--we're not kidding here--eight producers involved. It's just as amazing that executives at her former record company are still scratching their heads over why the most dominant voice out of England's late 1980s-early 1990s acid-jazz/funk didn't make it as a solo act. Hints can be found in the title of her long-awaited follow-up, for all the people involved here have been with Maysa throughout her professional life. American-born, Maysa became a star as lead singer of the band Incognito, and she now sounds more comfortable than ever, in part because Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick took the production reins and held them tight. Maunick, the brainchild and leader of Incognito, is in a much better position to make Maysa's jazzy--yet soulful and funky--voice stand out on these 14 tracks, which have more hooks than Canadian fishermen in the North Atlantic. The record is a lot less jazzy than the usual Incognito album, which should make dance-music and urban-pop fans very happy. A reworking of Gil Scott-Heron's "The Bottle," based on the poet's live version with the African "guan-guanco" rhythms, is sure to be played heavily on radio and in clubs, as will the Sade-sounding "Got to Be Strong" and the exquisite title track. Incognito fans should rush right to "Hooked on Your Love," "Compliments," and "Closure." They're among the last five tracks, where the more adventurous horn charts and drum-and-bass style flourish. --Mark Ruffin

From Jazziz

Throughout the '90s, Maysa's soul-stirring voice has helped spark the funk-jazz Incognito projects of Jean-Paul "Bluey" Manuick. Bluey has returned the favor, producing Maysa' second solo album, "All My Life." "Bluey was really special as a producer on this record," says Maysa. "He gave me whatever I asked for musically: jazz, blues, hip-hop, soul, R&B, and opera!" Yes, the ballad title track begins with an Italian aria. Maysa says she is excited about the record's release particularly because on it she pays tribute to many of the artists that influenced her as she was growing up. "We pay tribute to Gil-Scott Heron, Roy Ayers, Sade, Sarah Vaughan, and Shirely Bassey," says Maysa.

--- JAZZIZ Magazine Copyright © 2000, Milor Entertainment, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This woman is incredible !, March 21, 2000

By 

Torquemada "dunlopilo" (Atlanta, Georgia USA / Madrid, Spain.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: All My Life (Audio CD)

I have had this album for several months now, and had time to listen to it over and over. If you ask yourselves how I got it before it was released in the U.S., it's because I got the Japan edition, and paid twice the price of today... It was well worth it because after the rumours Maysa had left the group Incognito (she eventually makes a "comeback" on "No time like the future"), and a long period since her first solo album, I didn't think we would be rewarded this way ! Maysa is sensually splendid on this cd ! Just listen to the title track of the album to get an idea that this lady has improved (and she already was outstanding) since "deep waters" on Incognito's "Positivity" album.

Of course, Jean Paul Maulnick is very present (the album is actually initially recorded on RICE records, his own label), writing or co writing almost half of the tracks. He also is probably the best producer-musician of this time and a reference. But Maysa gives an extra dimension to the music with her voice, her personnality, and beauty.

The album is a mixture of sensuality ("all my life", "blue light", "sunshine"), stylish beat ("mirrors", another incredible track, "pressure", "hooked on your love"), lyricism ("Aria de la mia vita", a Sade like song ("got to be strong") and even has an up tempo cover version from a song originally from The Christians ("The bottle", not to be mistaken with "message in a bottle from The Police) that could be heard in any disco bar of the world.

Overall, it has less Brazilian influences than her first cd and it perhaps is a bit more homogeneous. But both of them a five stars, without doubt. A must buy if you like refined and stylish pop soul with jazz-blues influences, and a voice that will perhaps be one of the best and greatest in the 21st century.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another stellar release from our Next Great Diva, March 21, 2000

By 

John Jones "Musician" (Chicago IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: All My Life (Audio CD)

If Incognito is a sort of Rufus for the 90's (and with their retro stylings, thick grooves, and heavy horns, indeed they are), that must mean that their best-known vocalist, Maysa Leak (the pipes behind the group's "Don't You Worry Bout a Thing" and "Deep Waters") is a sort of modern-day Chaka Khan. And judging from the quality of Maysa's second solo effort, "All My Life," a comparison to Chaka is not at all inappropriate.

At equal ease with both funk-laced grooves and seductive ballads, Maysa manages to both build on the foundation she has with Incognito as well as forge her own original path. Of course, the fact that this record was produced by Jean Paul "Bluey" Maunick, the brains behind Incognito, doesn't hurt a bit...but even he knows when to let go and let Maysa chart territory that wouldn't be touched on an Incognito project.

The half-scatted "Mirrors" and the lush title track will certainly win over any self-respecting Incognito fan, and "The Bottle" and "Pressure," for all their jazzy, club-ready energy, will likely do the same. But never has Incognito attempted the likes of "The Shadows and the Light," a gorgeous, almost experimental ballad. Here, over a calypso-influeced groove, Maysa trades turns at the mic with her saxophonist and guitarist; this is not a short, let-the-diva-catch-her-breath solo...all three artists have equal floor time and the results are gorgeous. And in yet another one of Sade's absences Maysa generously serves up "Got to Be Strong," a lush, inviting composition with a beautifully understated vocal...certainly enough to make the Nigerian Queen of Cool a bit nervous.

Elsewhere Maysa Leak is poised for commercial acceptance: the Marvin Gaye-ish "Blue Light" is a classic-sounding R&B ballad just begging to have a sultry clip played on BET; "Compliments" has a chord progression that hints at Steely Dan laid over a thick, radio-ready beat; "Sunshine" is a catchy, slow-burn funk number (warning: involuntary head bobs may occur); and "Closure" boasts not only up-to-the-minute rhythms but also a warm, jazzy chord progression, sexy trumpet flourishes, and a killer vocal that could easily leave every boyband and teenaged female vocalist gasping in the dust.

In her liner notes Maysa calls this record "the album I've been dreaming of." But in times of so many new artists barely being of age to drive, this is the album any adult fan of R&B has been dreaming of. Mature, intimate, and gorgeously sung, Maysa Leak's "All My Life" easily ranks as one of the best R&B albums you'll hear this year.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Serenade, Sing, Keep Hope Alive, January 18, 2001

By 

Girlfriend "girlfriendnj" (NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: All My Life (Audio CD)

I am always craving music and lyrics with meaning. For all of 2000 there were only a few artist who fit the bill. Maysa Leak is definitely on the very top of my list along with Jill Scott, Rachelle Ferrell and Sade. You see, not only can these women sing, they are singing about something. Thats massive and often unheard of today with all the teeny boppers popcorn, bubblegum, meaningless tunes. Getting back to Maysa, Ms Diva.....I don't often come across a CD that makes me want to keep in the player and never take it out, but Maysa gets that off from me!!! Her voice is sensual, sultry, strong, and draws you in like a long drag off a cigarrette after a meal. Its very necessary. I became familiar with Maysa from back in the day when she sang with Stevie Wonders group Wonderland, and then again with Incognito (where she shines like a diamond in the ruff). Every song on this CD is tight. My favorites are Blue Light, All My Life, and Mirrors. She even funks it up on this CD on tracks like her take on "The Bottle".

This CD is a must for all those R&B/Soul/Jazz fans who've been let down lately by the lack of real and truly blessed voices in the music industry these past few years. I would personally like to thank Maysa for keeping hope alive. Now get back in the studio and keep em coming sis. One can never get tired of the goodness. The Godess of Goodness is Maysa!!!!