Customer Reviews

Ivory

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am totally blown away by the talent of Lady Tee. I first knew of T when I was in highschool. That was the year If I were a bell came out. I was in the 10th grade. Prior to that I had heard of Ooh La La La, but didn't know who it was and furthermore wasn't too much into that kind of music. But when "Bell" came out I did take some notice. Now at age 27 I all of a sudden have a keen interest in the career of Lady Tee. I finally went out and bought "Ivory" and I can't believe what I am hearing. My favorite song has to be "Miracles need wings to fly" This song is amazing. It is truly a great classic song. This song in my opinion blows out many of her already popular hits. The emotion in this song sends chills up my spine. I wish I had known about Lady Tee long ago. Fortunately I can purchase all of her previous albums. I really appreciate her gift. In particular her ballads. Beautiful piece of work. From what I knew about "T" I always knew she was baad. But I had no idea it was like this. I am totally in love with her music. There is a CD that she came out with that was distributed under her own label. Unfortunately it wasn't distributed very well. But you can buy limited copies on her website. And I hear that she should be coming out with a new cd which can be bought on her website when it comes out. She couldn't get a major record label to back her. Which is really a shame. Nonetheless from what I have read on various websites, there are enough fans in her ball court. And it seems that making good inspirational music is a passion. And no matter what company backs her or not, Lady Tee is going to continue with her craft. I for one am very happy to have come to appreciate such great talent.

Although I had been a fan of Teena Marie for many years, this album blew me away when it came out 10 years ago. This woman could have sung opera! Instead, she followed her soul. Like on her previous albums, she worked in a contemporary idiom and left her competition in the dust. Mariah Carey and "Whiny" Houston have shown but a fraction of Teena's class over the years. I don't know what was wrong with radio stations and record buyers 10 years ago, but at least here in lily white Idaho, I didn't hear "Here's looking at You" getting any airplay at all. It should have been a huge crossover hit. "If I Were a Bell" is still one of my all time favorite ballads. "Just Us Two" and "Since Day One" are great mid-tempo tunes. The acoustic "How Can You Resist it" is simply in a class by itself, as is "Miracles Need Wings to Fly". The latter sends chills up my spine just typing the words. I would love to see Teena make a big comeback...maybe with an all jazz album that could include working with the likes of Patrice Rushen and Pamela Williams again. HMMMM...three renaissance women in one band...

Nine years later is better than never. This CD ranks most high on my list of female vocalists. It's been nine years that I've had this CD and to this day still listen to it with the passion of having just taken the wrapping off it. "Cupid" "If I Were a Bell" "Since Day One" and "Miracles..." are in true form for Teen Marie. To compare her to the female singers of today would be unjust, however, if I did compare her I would compare the message that comes from her songs to that of Lauryn Hill, and I wouldn't be surprised if Ms. Hill credits Ms. Marie as an inspiration. Call me a funk elitist of the 80's, but you really have to have lived through "Irons in the Fire" "Portugese Love" "Alibi" et al, period, to truly appreciate the gift that Teena Marie (Vanilla Child) brings musically. I'm waiting for Teena's new album to drop, by way of a music program, it's due out any time. I can't wait to tear the wrapping off of that one.

I am a huge fan of Lady T and I was very please with the production and the lyrics. She does it again.

I had been a fan of Teena Marie at least 10 years prior to the release of this album; but I must admit that purchasing this work constituted a rediscovery. Teena not only has a spectacular set of pipes capable of the same vocal gymnastics as the greats (like Ella Fitzgerald) who inspire her; she is also a fine storyteller through her music i.e., "How can You resist it?". The range of musical styles in this collection is also extensive. "Mr Ice Cream" effectively utilizes a thumping hip hop beat to get you moving even if seated, while "Snap Your Fingers" is a driving jazz-funk fusion piece that brings to mind the '80s productions of Kashif. I look forward to another release by the legendary Teena or in the least, her presence as a producer on the cuts of other artists.

I still remember the day that I rushed out to buy this disc upon learning that Teena had released a new record. Teena Marie is truly a great and underappreciated artist -sadly I think that after she's gone, more people will pick up her music & she'll receive posthumous accolades.

This disc is yet another stellar entry in the great career of Teena. It contains her usual top notch work, easily blending funky cuts with her wonderful ballads. What I've always appreciated about her is the fact that she never sold out in her music - she stayed true to the form of music that she loves and I think that's why her fan base is so wide, varied & multi-cultural.

My fave songs are: Just Us Two, How Can You Resist It, Miracles Need Wings to Fly, If I Were A Bell (classic), Here's Looking At You, Cupid is a Real Straight Shooter & Since Day One.

This a great disc to add to your Teena Marie collection.

This is perhaps Teena's "glossiest" album. It always amazes me that only two of the tracks from this album landed on the R&B chart.

The album's opener, "Here's Looking At You" is totally in line with the New Jack era in which this album was recorded. Teena drops slang fluently on this one, as she did on "Square Biz" and "Lips to Find You" on prior albums.

Other uptempo gems include "Sugar Shack" (a great tribute to artist Ernie Barnes) which features Teena's second collaboration with Klymaxx's Bernadette Cooper and "Since Day One", Teena's collaboration with Soul II Soul's Jazzy B, which features another infamous Teena Marie Scat.

Of course it is the ballads that shine above all else. "If I Were a Bell" is another classic Teena Marie composition. Lyrically, somewhat of a sequel to "You Make Love Like Springtime" (the "fingers floating" line ties the two together) and Teena delivers a BLISTERING vocal.

"Miracles Need Wings to Fly" has been described by others as a relative of Teena's classic "Dear Lover". Dedicated lovingly to Smokey Robinson, the track has a vintage feel to it and Teena unashamedly wears her heart on her sleeve.

Other memorable tracks are the title track (a beautiful spoken word moment), "Just Us Two" (featuring a spoken Marvin Gaye sample) and the political ode "The Red Zone".

Perhaps Teena's most radio friendly and directly R&B album...Again, I'm amazed that radio didn't lap this one up more than it did.

When a veteran R&B performer is compelled to update her sound(s)to fit the style of their contemporaries at a time when the sound of music was changing more toward the New Jack/Jill Swing styles of the late 80's/early 90's, it's a daring and challenging move.

Such is the case with the opening cut (and first single,) "Here's Looking At You" (#12, R&B,) which boasts an absolutely contagious rap by the Lady herself. "The Sugar Shack" and "Mr. Icecream" are also solid and good and fall into similar territories. My only issue is on "The Sugar Shack" during which she exclaims at the end of the song, "Yeah...we scandalous," which made my skin crawl. THEN, you dive into "If I Were A Bell" (the 2nd single and a #8 R&B hit), "Cupid Is A Real Straight Shooter" and "Miracles Need Wings to Fly," and you know EXACTLY where she's comin' from.

Another special moment here is in the title cut/tone poem which has some of the most beautiful language goin' on and which further cements the fact that she truly IS a poetess and that her talent always HAS lied within the lyrics as well as within the music.

A couple more treats to note are the Jazzie B. (of Soul to Soul fame) -produced tracks, "Just Us Two" and "Since Day One," where she employs outside production (for the first time since Rick James) to serve up two sizzling slices of decent U.K.-ish R&B/Soul, in which she shows off her chops and impeccable Soul sensibility by executing "scatting" on the latter.

"Snap Your Fingers" is a nice uptempo little jam that fits in well and "The Red Zone," the album's least interesting track, slugs along to a reggae-ish vibe with a political metaphor and closes out the CD.

For her first album of the 90's, one would have expected a #1 hit with "Here's Looking at You" and another #1 hit with "If I Were A Bell," but with the changing times and sounds, not even the Ivory Queen of R&B could quite keep up and this resulted in a flop and a drop from the label which saw her through some of the most incredible and diverse music she's created in her entire career. In the scope of things, she's always had one-up on her more successfully marketed contemporaries whose careers had been long dead as she continued to carry on victoriously producing herself as she had been all along, save for her debut album which dates back to 1979 with production from the late, great Rick James.

First of all, this is most definitely not a bad album, and Teena Marie's vocals are in fine form as usual. However, there are a few moments throughout this album that kind of leave you thinking "Did that really just happen?" To start with, a Teena Marie album should absolutely NEVER have rapping on it, and what the hell is up with her uttering the words "We Scandalous?" If using street slang makes Mariah Carey sound like a total idiot, just imagine the cold chill you'll get from hearing Teena Marie talk like that. Even the cover photo may have some people shaking their heads. Aside from these imperfections, there is much to like about this album. The impassioned singing usually associated with Teena Marie is prominent on such muscular vocal masterpieces such as "If I Were A Bell" and "Miracles Need Wings To Fly," and (most of) the lyrics still have the depth and passion that is to be rightfully expected of Teena Marie.

I've always heard enough mixed commentary on this album to approach it with extreme caution. And some of that commentary was to myself. Growing up during this era I remember how,for a time from about 1989-1992 soul/funk basically WAS new jack swing and/or some other hip-hop soul variant. Not hating on that. Just seemed the way it was. After listening to a lot of it,it got old somewhat fast for me. So I tend to be very careful when purchasing albums in the R&B genre recorded in 1990 in particular. On an up note,in recent years I've discovered there was actually some excellent music recorded during the early 90's in this genre. It really depended on the enthusiasm of the artist as well as the involvement with the musical process. I am very happy to say Teena Marie was one of those artist who managed to enter the 1990's on a note she would never have to be embarrassed about or regret. Although due in part to family obligations and mild fatigue with the business side of music she would leave Epic,luckily in a better manner than she did Motown. Lucky for her she left following up her excellent 1988 release Naked to the World with an album that,while very different in sound was really a superb follow up release.

Teena's creative involvement with this music is what excites the songs. And they are excited. She starts out with "Here's Looking At You",a powerful early 90's funk number that allows the new jack sound to groove heavier rather than sputter out an easy melody. Incorporating a sample from Casablanca this song is every bit equaled by the other spirited hip-hop/pop inspired funk of "The Sugar Shack" and "Mr. Ice Cream",all of which showcase her usual complex melodic ideas and harmonies and she actually does the rapping herself when it's used (she had experience early in the same on "Square Biz" anyway). "If I Were A Bell" is one of her finest epic gospel/jazz/soul ballads. Naturally she revisits this with three excellent counterparts in "Cupid Is A Real Straight Shooter","How Can You Resist It",which has a mildly folksy charm and "Miracles Need Wings To Fly". She also incorporates some contemporary jazz elements into "Just The Two Of Us" and "Since Day One". On the title track,a briefly rapped tone poem and the closer "The Red Zone",another jazzy epic in a more midtempo she explores the ideas of all the troubles of the modern world seeming to resolve themselves by the hope of new love and life. Even saying her lover helps her be inspired when the world around her doesn't.

Rather than make soft ball music simply to be seen and heard and earn profit you can see Teena Marie just has too much bardic style creativity in her approach to art to really ever fully meet the demands of a highly commercialized musical era. Even if the music industry itself pretended not to be. That's probably part of why she left Epic. She would spend much of the 90's decade as an absentee presence in music,save for her ultra rare and independently distrubuted Passion Play. To be honest however I personally find this a more appealing album. I'm glad everyone has opinions. However one thing makes this album so strong is that it gives you the that certain mixture of variety and unity that Teena Marie always made a part of her music throughout her career. And even at a time not particularly known for musical progression she was still continuing to evolve creatively. Even though this actually amounted to being the first of only two albums she made during this decade it's actually represents her still in her prime on every level. And has the feeling of an album that shouldn't be slept on.