Customer Reviews

Wild Seed Wild Flower

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a kid I listened to both alt-rock and hip-hop for quite a while, I was interested when I heard the pop hit "I Know" that brought soulful singing and a hip-hop flavor to pop rock guitars and rhythm. The single was a hit, but the album lingered somewhere around #100 on the charts, and no more singles came out. Luckily, I bought this album after listening to it in a record store, and it's one of my best. "I Know" is still fun to listen to, but it pales in front of the smoooth blues/thrash of "Passion," the death trip-hop of "Stop to Think" (amazingly constructed from a Lenny Kravitz sample, it's hard to imagine how), and the acoustic mournfulness of the "Blackbird" cover. Dionne Farris just rips up every kind of music into a classic CD that's been as throughly ignored as possible. What's wrong with people (like the A&R folks for example.) While Lauryn Hill managed to bring soul and rap together for a classic R&B album, Dionne Farris mixed rock and soul elements for a equally accomplished piece. Maybe she'll come back some day....?

Never can this be more true than with the debut album of an artist who can truly be called versatile. Her use of funk, soul, rock, lush melodies and down home sass combine to make an experience, an experience that can only be good for your soul. To this day, considered to be one of the best albums this reviewer has ever owned. Never have so many different types of music and instruments been so succesfully mixed. From the sultry breakout heat of "Passion" to her soul-filled cover of the old favorite "Blackbird" to pop favorite (and a little bit of rock'n'roll) "I Know" to the little bit of country sqeal in "Water" Dionne Farris shows she isn't even afraid to show off every kind of voice she's got coming out of that throat. How nice that she even includes an alternate version of her hit "I Know" to give us another flavour and a new vibe on a song we already love (check out the maxi single of this song to hear the Acoustic Roots version). Themes are even produced through "Now or Later" and "Find Your Way" as well as the comedic talents of David Alan Grier reprising an old Im Living Colour character for a hilarious interlude. I can't tell you enough about this album but to tell you how excited you will be to pop this in and sit back and appreciate this talent...then wait for the next album......

I bought this record when it first came out and have listened to it regularly since then, a fact that I can't say for most of the music I own. Everyone heard 'I Know' back in '94, but every track on the CD could have been a single. 'Passion' and 'Find Your Way' are probably the best showcases of this woman's true vocal talents. A lot of people have made comparisons with Lauren Hill, which is somewhat misleading. You could argue about who has the better voice for days, but when it comes down to the actual songs, Ms. Farris is less hiphop and more jazzy, delta-bluesy, rock-inflected R&B/soul (how's that for a compound phrase...). Blues Traveler fans will immediately understand this music. Which is not to say there isn't a sophisticated urban element to it, just don't expect rap solos. Further evidence of this is her other single that got radio air-play, 'Hello' from the 'Love Jones' soundtrack. Rumor has it that Arrested Development is talking about a reunion, maybe we'll get some more then. I can't wait.

I must agree with the other reviewers here in their question: "Why is Dionne not famous? What happened to the follow-up albums?" This CD is one of my top ten faves of all time. Dionne has a powerful, soulful, moving voice and the lyrics and music definately provide a wonderful showcase for her talents. Her style is not easily pigeon-holed as R&B. Although she clearly has her heart in soul music, this is also a woman who's got the Beatles, Blues, rock, and funk in her veins. This is a timeless CD that I have consistently listened to over the years. It's the kind of CD you keep in your car CD changer. "Passion" is probably the most powerful track, living up to it's title. I also love her remake of "Blackbird". You can't miss with this CD! Hey-record company execs- unless you all are deaf, you need to wake up and bring the world more Dionne!

When I first heard this album, I thought there were a few stand-out songs ("I Know" in both versions, "Blackbird", and "Find Your Way"), and a few good songs (such as "Passion"), while the rest of it tended to drag on. As I listened to it more, I found that I could hear the soul in every song, but that I didn't think the music worked in about half of them to back Dionne's soul-filled voice up. A lot of this album, even the verses in "Passion", is very minimalist, with only a little percussion and a little singing, at a slow tempo. These portions of the music did not work for me (with the exception of "Reality" for which this style fit the mood of the song). If, however, you like very minimalist music with some slow soulful singing, you should like this album more than I did. For people who like music that is more full or fast, "I Know" is likely to be your favorite song off the album, and you'll find more than half the songs disappointing.

I am very surprised that Dionne Faris has not come out with another album. I thought this was good for a first album, and am sorry there is no more.

After listening to Dionne's music, I fell in love with her voice. I would really love to know more about her, because all of her music is full of passion, soul, life, knowledge. Her voice and songs are very special to me. Why doesn't she have more albums? She sings better than anyone I have known in my life. I was really lucky to find the last CD from Dionne in the music shop, it has become a serious part of my music-life.

The absolute favourite.

I'm what you would call a SERIOUS music lover.I listen to music day and night everyday.I really love smooth jazz, classic R&B, Classic pop,pop-rock,funk,hip-hop, U name it!But ask any of my friends and they will tell you, I LOVE NEO-SOUL!!!!!Well, I thought I had heard just about everything from "neo-soul"artist(most artist hate that name, but I don't care, I'ts a perfect genre name for all R&B artests now a days giving us something different that the slick soundalikes --Beyonce,Usher,etc,etc,etc)This Cd is one that I just never got around to buying and I never heard any talk of it other than the hit"I Know" which I loved.Fast forword from 1994 to 2004. I saw the cd on Amazon's site, so I orders it.It came without any problems, I opened ,it put it on, and WOW!!!!!To sum this up, out of ALL "NEO_SOUL" cd's out there, in MY opinion there where only 3 cd's that were 5 star masterpieces..1,"THE MIS-EDUCATION of LAURYN HILL*****!,2,"WHO IS JILL SCOTT-WORDS AND SOUNDS VOL.1*****!,3,"FLOETIC"*****!......well..THIS ONE IS #4!!!!!!***** STARS!!!!!!!! If ANY one see's this that knows Dionne, tell her for ME, "I DIDN"T KNOW,DIONNE,I DIDN"T KNOW ,I'M SO SORRY I did not grab this 10 years ago. THIS IS AN INSTANT CLASSIC!!!(A LOT of artist today could learn a thing or two from "Wild Seed -- Wild Flower"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a fantastic album, but criminally underheard. In this day and age of uber melisma masquerading as soul it would be nice to hear another CD by this major (and majorly overlooked) talent.

This CD is one of my all time favorites! It pre-dates a lot of the neo-soul stuff that we're hearing these days. Although I must say that Dionne's scope is much broader than what we hear from most of the singers today. Maybe that might be the problem with the music execs. You definitely can't put Ms. Farris in a "box". Everyone that I play this CD for, is just floored by it. If you're looking for a truly eclectic and superior performance, pick this CD up.

peace,
mike

This is SUCH a great album. I keep checking back here for a new release, but no luck. C'mon, it's been EIGHT YEARS! Dionne, if you're out there, please, please, please give us another CD soon.