Customer Reviews

Flesh Tone

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Kelis' new CD "Flesh Tone" comprises 9 tracks of Eurodisco. Working with producers like David Guetta, Benny Benassi and will.i.am, it reminds one of Donna Summer's non-stop seventies Disco classics. A number of the songs intertwine with the next, with some having codas distinctively different from the main song. No skeletal Neptunes Funk ("Milkshake") or Cee-Lo penned Pop ("Lil star") here.

The midtempo "Intro", despite its name, is a proper song with swirling synths with Kelis singing in that straining-to-reach-the-notes voice she does with such ease. This segues into the propulsive "22nd century" with surging synths, electronic swishes and flourishes, gently stomping beats that come in fully after the first chorus and her vocals mechanically tweaked to lend it a futuristic bent. It ends in a piano coda that segues into "4th July (Fireworks)" which has a jittery Techno feel.

"We are all running in a race, to find everything that you're searching for is right there" she tells us in the Trancey "Home" that does itself feel like a race. Lead-off single, a UK #5 hit is the semi-skeletal Guetta-produced "Acapella" with staccato beats and lovely harmonies, segueing into the piano-sprinkled Guetta-produced "Scream" with spoken/chanted verses.

"Emancipate" is one of the grooviest songs and should appeal to fans of her prior R&B sound, as should the beautiful celebratory horn-peppered "Song for the baby" sounding like eighties Soul set to a Disco beat, an ode to her son Knight. "Brave" features buzzing synths and light vocoder effects, a stomping Club anthem with biographical lyrics.

A brave change in direction for Kelis which should be a big hit in Europe. Kelis said she wants this album to make the listener sweat, and with music this hot, you will.

A big switch in musical direction for an artist is usually the result of one of two things ... either big changes in the artist's personal life, or a marketing strategy to appeal to a different or bigger demographic.

In the case of Kelis with "Flesh Tone", I think it's a little of both. Kelis was pregnant and going through a nasty and public divorce while recording the album, which could explain the album's themes of liberation, birth, and rebirth. At the same time, the album's club/dance/electronica vibe could also have to do with the recent success of dance acts like the Black Eyed Peas and Lady Gaga.

In the end, I think it comes down to whether it works or not. "Flesh Tone" works. On her last two albums, Kelis had been playing the role of tough/sexy R&B diva, downplaying the spaciness of her earlier work. But the vibe of "Flesh Tone" allows Kelis to completely blast off into space, and it suits her. And although the tracks are full of throbbing beats and electronic sound affects, Kelis' raspy, soulful voice keeps the tracks from ever sounding too mechanical, and her lyrics, probably her most vulnerable and heartfelt ever, add an emotional core that was lacking in some of her R&B hits like "Milkshake" or "Bossy".

Ironically, by making a switch to dance music, Kelis has come up with the most soulful album of her career.

"Flesh Tone" is a deliciously perfect blend of electro-house pop. I bought the album today and I have been playing it non-stop and now I'm waiting for my hard copy so I can play it until it plays no more! The music is euphoric and the lyrics are beautiful. Yes, here is an electronic-pop album with deep and meaningful lyrics. I did not care for Kelis before, I just liked her "Milkshake" and "Bossy" hits like everyone else, but after hearing her single "Acapella" and "4th of July" I learned more about her and watched some interviews and performances--Tavis Smiley and saw her on Kimmel and Leno. She is so amazing live that I already bought my tickets to see her in concert with Robyn! (YES!)

This album is like the ultimate lullaby to her son and a kind of declaration of her independence and strength as a woman. Her divorce from Nas did not turn her into a crying woman that cowers back and loses it all. With this album she picks herself up, pieces everything together and rises from the problems with strength!

The music is amazing. If this is her new musical direction, then more power to her! There are so many club stomping hits on this album, it is incredible. My personal favorites are "22nd Century", "Acapella", "4th of July", and "Song for the Baby". I just cannot get over the fact that this is a dance album with beautiful lyrics and for such a cheap price ($7.99) it is a STEAL! It is has gotten praise from critics and bloggers alike, and all I can say is that they hit the nail on the head. This album is HOT!

Finally, this is the PERFECT SUMMER ALBUM! Buy it NOW!

For years now, R&B chanteuse Kelis has been releasing innovative, emotive singles and albums, a large majority of which, sadly, have been sorely underappreciated (at least in the United States). This is a marvel, given what freshness she brings to just about any genre she works with. Even her most successful U.S. singles, "Milkshake" and "Bossy," which catered to a much more mainstream crowd and were generally more mindless and less ambitious than the vast majority of her work, had a bewitching, skittering bite to them. With `Flesh Tone,' her fourth U.S. album and fifth internationally, she delves even deeper into the electronica she'd previously dabbled with in work with the likes of Moby and Richard X. `Flesh Tone' is a surging, pulsating blend of trance, house, dance-pop and heavy electronica from start to finish, and not so startlingly, given her previous track record of creative successes, it works.

What really makes it a standout in her discography, however, is that like Madonna's `Confessions on a Dancefloor,' the dizzying dance beats are accompanied by expressive, contemplative lyrics. The decidedly desolate intro has Kelis lamenting, `You draw me in/every time I think I'm free you win/your force so dark now my life feels uninspired/I heard the signs but now everything is quiet/the pain's so vicious but it must be that I like it.' The rest of the album isn't nearly as bleak, but melancholy is always expressed beautifully on a Kelis album ("Get Along With You" remains one of her brightest moments), so it meshes perfectly with the more blissful moments regardless. The words "we control the dancefloor" segue the intro into "22nd Century," a pounding and futuristic yet simple filtered bassline tune.

The `Segues' that filter the songs into one another throughout the album are made up of several swirling, vocal-free electronic beats, a few of which, although oftentimes blending into the mood of the following track, deserved to be entire songs of their own (the bombastic Segue 2 in particular). The Moby-esque "Fireworks (4th Of July)," the album's second single, has Kelis proclaiming "nothing I ever say or do will ever be as good as loving you," along to a synthy piano sample. "Home," by far one of the album's best tracks featuring a transcendent, trance-y chorus, seems custom-made for endless nights of raving.

The simple, skittering, David Guetta-produced "Acapella," the album's lead single, opens with a beat heavily inspired by minimal techno, a sub-genre of electronica sparsely known among most mainstreamers. The instrumentation and beat grow slightly heavier as the song plays, and although this song may not click with some listeners right away, its increasingly infectious hook and sincerely heartfelt lyrics become difficult to resist. If you're feeling doubtful, stick with it anyway, because it is one of the album's biggest highlights, and one of Kelis's strongest singles.

"Emancipate" is graced with a fantastic Benny Benassi beat, but ironically, it is likely the album's weakest track. The highly repetitive, cacophonous chorus just doesn't gel, and although Kelis had the right idea with this one's concept and lyrics, it's unlikely to earn any repeat listens. "Brave" swiftly picks up the slack, however, with its dizzying surge of a beat; Kelis even manages to keep things lyrically engaging this far into the album, vulnerably providing a dissertation of her divorce from rapper Nas. The song's hard, booming beat is an intriguing contrast to the deeply personal lyrics. Ending things on a positive note is the gorgeously uplifting "Song For The Baby," which should pretty much speak for itself. The finale makes unique use of horn and piano samples all while riding an impressively upbeat (literally and metaphorically) beat and hook.

Although the genre of pure electronica in and of itself hasn't quite taken yet here in the United States, it certainly seems to be the general direction the mainstream is headed in with pop/R&B crooners and rappers alike weaving progressively noticeable undercurrents of trance, techno and dance into several of their biggest singles. Electronic music is sometimes pigeonholed as being cold, calculated, emotionally detached music, but here Kelis has displayed what electro-pop should sound like in 2010: with `Flesh Tone,' she's crafted an electronic album with feeling. Hopefully the U.S. will come to recognize a genre-and artist-they've unjustly been neglecting.

I have to say I have followed Kelis since the 1st (Kaleidoscope) album and her second lp (Wanderland) was by far the Best. And what is sad about that one it was never released in the U.S? So in my opinion she has had it pretty hard in the music industry. I think she was just to advanced for our market at the time. I have loved each and every album she has done for different reasons. (Tasty) was the u.s Watered down version of (Wanderland) which was a far more superior album. (Kelis was here) Was mainly produced by Polow Da Don Mostly and sounded like a bad interpretation of pharrell. So each album in my opinion was least creative after the 1st two. So lets face it people, the Neptune's were her muze and her creative partners and best work. And for what ever reason they have chosen not to work with her anymore. So her music has definitely been kind of a stretch since then. The previous album wasn't mixed properly and the songs were only reinterpretations of her past glory. So I pride her in going into a new direction that will put her in a new genre all together. It shows that she listens to different things like Madonna and wants to expand her self into a different culture. This isn't all about the money and the fame she is going for the recognition in a underground arena. Armin Van Buuren and a lot of other famous Dj's can now add her too there playlist. This is a beautiful album and very easy listening, almost like a trance experience. I think at this point she has no choice but to move forward there are no R&B producers in the game left that can propel her forward. She has had her time in that genre and I think she was a innovator like Aaliyah so she has done her time. This is authentic Euro Trance/Dance music this is not some cheesy techno commercial garbage. So I have to applaud her on actually knowing the music and not doing a interpretation. If I had to guess... at some point in her earlier years she was a rave kid! If every R&B/Hip Hop artist thought this way they probably would have a longer career.

Kelis stands on her own and has always been a little different from the rest of the artists out there.

She explores and revels in her uniqueness on 'Flesh Tone' and has released an album so real and refreshing that I can not stop raving about its greatness.

This album is a true work of art.

When she debuted in 1999 with the song 'Caught Out There', she garnered attention for being different, got some rotation on MTV, but mainly took off in the UK, as did the rest of the singles from that album. Her next album was released outside of the US in 2001, when the first single failed to take off in the states. Then came 'Milkshake' in 2003. That song made her name known. When she followed up with 'Bossy' in 2006, it too, was infectious.

I appreciate that Kelis. I love that Kelis.

She was sassy, beautiful, and had an amazing voice to back it all up with.

However, I feel that Kelis shows who she REALLY is on 'Flesh Tone' and it's a side of her that has me hooked and even more in love.

She still possesses the amazing voice, but this time around, she conveys her message so poetically and maturely. She manages to do this all to the beats provided by great DJ's David Guetta, Benny Benassi, and Jean Baptiste. The hooks and beats on each song are stellar. I appreciate that 'Flesh Tone' isn't clouded with fillers and every song stands on its own. You could play this record at a club, from start to finish, and have the dance floor full through it's entirety. It's that good.

'Flesh Tone' is a different direction and sound for Kelis and I can't applaud her enough for taking the risk. I believe a true artist takes risks; Kelis has proven that she is a TRUE artist with this record. She also astounded me with the videos for the first two singles, 'Acapella' and '4th of July (Fireworks)'

These two videos seal the deal.

If you haven't seen them yet, they are groundbreaking in originality and beauty. They capture the essence that is 'Flesh Tone'

I'm glad that I "get" this album. It's groundbreaking, risk taking, and the epitome of a true dance record.

Like Kelis says...."welcome to the 22nd century"

While Kelis has consistently been stunning, her records have always sold relatively poorly. All four of her studio albums (including the Europe-only Wanderland) contain many high points, but feel shoddily put together to me. I'm definitely a fan, but I can't say I've had a completely satisfying Kelis album experience until Flesh Tone. Just like Tasty and Kelis Was Here, Flesh Tone works with multiple producers, but you wouldn't know it. The album sounds so uniform, and is a brilliant, satisfying collection. The highlights for me are Home, Brave and the stunning Song for the Baby. The only song here that seems lesser than the others is Emancipate, but don't let that stop you from buying this perfect summer album!

Because if they are, then this would be the disc to have on hand. Made up of R&B and the electronic-techno funk that seems to be coming back, this cd had me revved up and ready to go, especially in the mornings when I'm on my way to work and motivated to stay there. It started to give me flashbacks of when me and my still best friend would hit the club scene and partake in a house party or two, and it was the funky beats before we left that got him in the frame of mind to drink and jam. I don't think that Kelis reinvented herself with this recording, as much as defining her talents. This cd, when keeping an open mind, is an accomplishment of sorts....just remember to break out the disco ball when you put it on.

I am a huge Kelis fan so when writing my revies I try not to be biased. Intially I wasnt feeling the tracks but one Saturday while cleaning I popped itg in and found myself rushing to the computer to repeat some of the songs. I really like the dance tracks on the cd..its diffrent and definately good. If at first you do not like it just give it a try. I wish she would do some tour dates in the U.S. Kelis dress in the 4th of July video is bomb.com by the way lol.

My favorite tracks are

Home( REPEAT REPEAT REPEAT REPEAT)

Brave (REPEAT X1000000)

Acapella

4th of July

22nd Century!!!!!!!!!!!<<< My Fave!!!!

Flesh Tone is approahing a techno medal sound with open eyes. The teasing voice of Kelis forces you to embrace love and independence away from the mindset of worldly thinking in terms of hot fleshly desire and escorts you into the dance only party mode. When all you want is the pounding sound of voice and beat, nine compositions are more than enough to take your breath away and satisfy your eardrum. Rest assured, when you are ready to open up for the party, you will be able to get your grove on.