Customer Reviews

Congo Square

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Five HUGE Stars!! STUNNING performances!! Multi-Grammy-nominated singer, composer, arranger, producer, multi-instrumentalist Teena Marie has served up one of the best R&B/soul performances of her star-spangled musical career. Into her third decade of soulful music, this platinum-selling artist just keeps going and going. And she doesn't hold back on quantity, serving up a whopping 16 new original songs, including the teaser "Can't Last A Day" that generated a lot of pre-release sales on iTunes and landed the CD in Amazon's Top 10 pre-orders. This one should appeal to a broad spectrum of radio stations, including hip-hop, jazz, and 'quiet storm' as she goes from R&B to funk to hip-hop to rap to jazz to blues, and New Orleans roots which she discovered are a part of her family tree: so "Congo Square", a New Orleans historical area in the 'French Quarter', comes from that fact, but the CD is dedicated to her daughter Alia Rose Le Beau who performs on "Milk N' Honey". The CD, which she produced for Stax Records, has the highest of production values including some impressive photographs and each song under "Alia Rose Music" is dedicated to famous singers (Smokey, Marvin, John Lennon, Rick, Billie Holiday, etc..), social giants like Barak Obama, and "For all the Soldiers".

The 'best of the best' begins with the overpowering & lyrical performance of the title song "Congo Square" with keyboard wizard George Duke as guest in a sizzling performance that went straight to my iPod. The intimate love ballad "Lover's Lane" is an amazing 5-minute duet with Howard Hewett that recalls the glory days of the duets between Teena and the late Rick James. "Ms. Coretta" is a marvelous song with commentary on Dr King's wife. "Baby I Love You" is a sweet love ballad with lots of interaction with the background chorus. "The Pressure" has MC Lyte singing and rapping with 'Lady T' as they pour the heat on. A blazing "Ear Candy 101" has a sensual urgency. "Black Cool" is for the president. "Can't Last A Day" has Teena and Faith Evans in a sensational performance. "Marry Me" is a riveting love ballad dealing with 11 years of patient waiting. "Soldier Boy", with Shirley Murdock guesting, brings the reality of today's wars into focus in a wonderful song that is dedicated to the military overseas. Then there are the techno-linguistics of "Milk N' Honey" with "T" and featuring Gail Gotti & Teena's daughter under her performance name of Rose Le Beau, to whom Teena dedicates the song and passes "the torch". 30 years into her career Teena Marie's voice is as rangy and magical as ever with the wisdom of the years, her instrumental and composing skills are as sharp as ever, and she can rock and swing with the best of them. 'Lady T' has stayed 'in the soul pocket' her entire career and longtime fans have hung with her and will probably love this CD. Hopefully, the younger fans will catch up to her because this artist deserves much more recognition. My Highest Recommendation! Five BIG Stars!! (This review is based on an iTunes Plus download with digital booklet.)

Length:: 2:48 Mins

SHE HASN'T LOST A BEAT HER VOICE STILL SOUNDS GOOD FROM DAY ONE. SHE'S IN MY BOOK THE BEST FEMALE ARTIST AROUND NOW. I LOVE THIS ALBUM ITS SMOOTH AND LAID BACK. A MUST FOR EVERYONE TO HAVE IF YOU DONT BUY THIS CD YOU WILL BE MISSING OUT WHAT GOOD MUSIC SOUNDS LIKE. SHE'S HAS SO MUCH SOUL IN THIS ALBUM ITS THE BEST ONE I HAVE HEARD OUT THERE NOW. CONGRATULATION TEENA ANOTHER FANTASTIC CD. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!

Like many others of her fans who have followed Teena Marie's god-sent & heart-touching music
since she first burst on the R&B / Soul scene back in 1979 with her Rick James-produced debut
"Wild & Peaceful", I was floored by the news of her passing!
Teena Marie's voice was singular, soulful and unique!
She could tear your heart out, make you laugh or make you say "YOU BETTER SANG IT, LADY T!!"
I was so glad to see that the younger generations had embraced her musical gifts when
she made her triumphant comeback on to the music scene with 2004's "La Dona", followed by
the equally well-recieved "Sapphire" in 2006.
She began to make appearances and be visible again and was really upbeat about her life and
everything which had transpired...the highs and the lows, as evidenced by her own episode
of TV1's "UNSUNG". When she dropped "Congo Square", her 13th album in 2009, who knew that it would
be her final showcase of her amazing talents?
Teena Marie; singer, songwriter, arranger, musician and producer.
Yes, she always had many "Irons In The Fire" right from the very start to the very end!
She left us on a high note though y'all!---this is a fantastic album which represents all
that the "Ivory Queen Of Soul" was about throughout her brief journey here on earth.
There are duets with many artists who she had admired that were her contemporaries, as well as
those from the younger generation who had grown up on her music and jumped at the chance to work with her!
Then there are the poignant pieces...the ballads..which we loved to hear Lady T wail on as only she could!
This album is well worth having...after I had already made a 2-disc collective of all of my favorites
by her over the last 30 years a few months ago, in lieu of her untimely passing last week at the age of 54,
I figured I better make sure that I get this one and purchsed the MP3 version yesterday.

There Will Never Be Another Like The Soulful Lady T!!---You've Earned Your Rest With Soul Music's Immortals!
You really did get to "Have Your Cake & Eat It Too!!" (-: R.I.P. Teena Marie

When I first listened to samples from this CD last year, I thought to myself, "DAMN, Teena Marie still sounds FABULOUS!" And today I learn that she has passed away at the age of just 54. That's tragic. It's really sad to lose such a talent so prematurely. And make no mistake about it: Teena Marie was still recording, still performing, and she still sounded fabulous. The fact that radio considered her yesterday's news didn't change that fact. Teena Marie had much more talent than most of today's pre-packaged, over-produced, auto-tuned pop tarts. So I'm ordering this CD right now, and I hope sales of this recording go through the roof ... because it would be no greater tribute to such a unique voice.

The cd is classic Teena, but she's gone and I can't believe it. A black hole has been left in the music industry...lost without Lady T. Much love & comfort from Almighty God to her family and especially her beautiful daughter.

As a virtual lifelong fan of Teena Marie I must say that it is fantastic that she is still interested in putting out great music! The music on this album is a great balance of the ballads that I love to hear from her mixed in with a few hip hop references of today. Somehow when Teena sings a line about her man "poppin' his collar" at their wedding, it does not sound trite or like she's trying to hard to stay "down", it just sounds like the inimitable Lady T!

This album as others have mentioned is more in the vein of her last two releases in that the funky tunes that we love to hear from back in the day have been replaced by smoother r&b tracks. This isn't a bad thing because her songs still sound as relevant as anything that younger r&b divas are releasing (but better cause Teena can sing a lot of them off the planet).

The album gets off to a great start with 5 outstanding tracks:

THE PRESSURE f/ MC Lyte - I love how smooth both ladies sound on this track and the fact that the rapper doesn't overtake the track

CAN'T LAST A DAY f/ Faith Evans - love this duet. Teena's soaring vocals mixed with Faith Evans' laid back cool vocals

BABY I LOVE YOU - Lady Tee breaks out her rapping skills

EAR CANDY 101 - catchy lyrics & arrangement

LOVER'S LANE f/ Howard Hewett - wonderful pairing, it was great to hear Howard & Teena together

Other standouts to me are: MARRY ME, MILK N' HONEY (sung with her daughter, Alia Rose); YOU BABY; CONGO SQUARE; SOLDIER; MS CORETTA & THE ROSE N' THORN

Like I said, as a fan I appreciate the new music and think it's great that she is able to produce music that is still as relevant to me as the first songs of hers I ever heard!

I have been a fan of Lady Tee's since 1979 when she first climbed out the box with "I'm A Sucker for Your Love." I've seen evolutions of sorts in her music/product since then and have had many favorites (of hers) over the years, namingly "Irons in the Fire" from 1980 and "Robbery" from 1983. In general, to be a 50-somethin' white woman who has consistently charted in R&B deems marvel. I mean, really...Angela Winbush used to write, produce, arrange and perform her own stuff and for The Isley Brothers, but where is she today? Teena, on the other hand, has been there and is STILL HERE today, 30 years later, still charting, still touring, still doing what she's always done: writing, arranging, performing and producing. Sure, she could easily have gotten with the likes of Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis as well as Babyface over the years, but she doesn't need any of those top notch producers because she's one herSELF and she's ALWAYS produced herself, save for Rick James (her mentor) and Dick Rudolph (Minnie Riperton's husband) back in the day. The Pioneer Award she won earlier this year, was no fluke and despite the Grammy Awards which have eluded her for years for singles and albums which were rich with soul and served up straight out of R&B Camp in the racially tense times of the early 80's when a white artist couldn't be taken seriously for so passionately delivering R&B as convincingly as any Black artist, her receipt of this highly coveted honor so far exceeds the value of ANY Grammy Award in the category of Soul and/or R&B. This woman is a one-woman show and she is a master musician, lyricist and performer. This being said, "Congo Square" continues in the same vein as the street-saavy, current, Hip Hop-tinged "La Dona," and "Sapphire" CD's. Okay, okay...so she dabbles with a little bit of auto-tuning. Who doesn't today? And besides, she certainly doesn't dabble to the point where it's for such obnoxious, trendy effect. The ones who use it today, NEED it. She doesn't, therefore, she's entitled, and rightfully so, it enhances the Hip Hop flavorings which she has in place to good effect. The songs are CLASSIC Lady Tee. CLASSIC. Most artists today rely on samples of other artists in their songs, Teena Marie has been sampling herSELF on her OWN records for YEARS using her OWN music. The music on Congo Square is excellent in so far as that it remains current while rooted in the R&B of today and yet still able to capture elements of the R&B of yesteryear. No one can do this so fluidly and so adroitly as Teena Marie. I'll skip reviewing each/every song on the CD where it's already been done here, however, I WILL SAY that my favorites are: "Can't Last A Day," "Ear Candy 101," "Milk 'n Honey," "The Rose 'n Thorn" and quite a few others as well. I find "Lovers Lane" and "Marry Me" to be as majestic as anything else she's ever composed, arranged and produced. Truth be told, she never really even NEEDED Faith Evans or Howard Hewitt. By herself, she can deliver ANY SONG "solo" with the highest results. With outside production (e.g. "Lead Me On" produced by Giorgio Moroder, 1986,) the results are not as polished nor are they as desirable. She only need rely on herself (which she does) and that is what makes Congo Square yet another brilliant feather in her ultra cool, ultra HIP(HOP) R&B cap. What is sad in the music industry today is the complete absence of great vocalists(There are only a few, mind you.) who uphold tradition as well as talent. Teena falls right in with Chaka, Miss Patti, Gladys, Minnie and a small handful of others. Sad how the "greats" (Jennifer Holliday, Cheryl Lynn and Rachelle Farrell to name a few) are so outnumbered and so under-honored by the current day roster of talentless, tone deaf and "looks only" examples. It's sad for the music and it's sad for the generation that puts 'em up there to begin with. They are so undeserving. I seek not to offend. Truth is beauty. Teena Marie is truth, passion, poetry, rhythm and more than anything else, "The Ivory Queen of R&B."

Thirty years after the release of her debut album "Wild & Peaceful", Teena Marie proves that she's still got it with her current release. "Congo Square", which is a concoction of R&B, jazz, funk and hip-hop-flavored songs, is easily Lady Tee's best album since "Ivory" (1990). The songs are fresh & versatile, and her sound is contemporary without compromising her classic style. "Congo Square" is star-studded with featured guests including Howard Hewett, MC Lyte, Faith Evans, George Duke, & Shirley Murdock. (Well-known jazz musicians include Brian Bromberg and Terri Lyne Carrington.) Unlike "La Dona", the featured guests actually enhance the album, not diminish it. It's apparent that this is a Teena Marie album, not a "Friends (featuring Teena Marie)" album.

The album kicks off with "The Pressure", a danceable hip-hop tune featuring MC Lyte. Other hip-hop tinged songs include "Ear Candy 101" and "Milk N' Honey". The lead single, "Can't Last A Day" (featuring Faith Evans) instantly grabs you with that vintage R&B sound that reminds you of songs like "Ooh La La La" and "Dear Lover". "Baby I Love You" also has that old-school R&B vibe. "You Baby" is one of my favorite tracks (it reminds me of "Rescue Me", by A Taste Of Honey [1980]). The title track is a jazzy smooth groove paying tribute to musical legends (Ellington, Ella, Louie) and the historical New Orleans landmark, with George Duke laying down some serious keyboard solos.

No Teena Marie album is complete without a ballad or two, and on this album there's "Lover's Lane" (a duet w/ Howard Hewett), and "Marry Me". "Harlem Blues" and "The Rose N' Thorn" are nice jazzy offerings consistent with her earlier 70s & 80s work. Lady Tee also does three tribute songs: "Black Cool" for President Obama, "Ms. Coretta" for Coretta Scott King, and "Soldier" for the fallen troops. Some may consider three tribute songs on one album excessive, but they're all timely and very nicely done.

What's really great about "Congo Square" is its originality, production and variety, notwithstanding the drum machines as others have mentioned. Teena's voice is still great, and her sound is contemporary, yet classic. Even the hip-hop songs are nice with good lyrical content without sounding juvenile and gangster. This album will appeal to both the younger fans as well as the older fans. This is a return to Teena Marie's roots, and what better way to celebrate her 30th anniversary in the music business than with "Congo Square". (By the way, the photos and artwork are top-notch too.) Enjoy the music!

Wonderful cd, I am a real fan of Teena Marie. I knew it would be great music, I never expect anything less. She is timeless in her music and sound is simply unique.