Everybody Got Their Something

Nikka Costa

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 22, 2001)
• Original Release Date: May 22, 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Virgin Records Us
• ASIN: B00005B0S6
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (141 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #52,508 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Nikka Costa's fiercely bootylicious first single, "Like a Feather"--that song with the thick, clapped 16th notes--has already garnered the 28-year-old singer one hell of a buzz, and for the most part, she's got the goods to back it up. Already a platinum-selling artist in Europe and South America, the Tokyo-born, L.A.-bred singer's stateside debut bulges with ambition. It's a mixed bag of musical tricks that's equal parts '70s-style funk, hazy Led Zeppelin-inspired psychedelia, and angst-ridden alternachick yowling, with healthy dollops of soul, hip-hop, and thrash thrown in for good measure. Produced by Costa, Australian rocker Justin Stanley (who's also the singer's husband), and high-profile New York City DJ Mark Ronson, the album works best when it piles on the noise--like on the standout "Tug of War," which features the unmistakable rim-shot work of Roots drummer ?uestlove. On that track, a flurry of scratched samples, layers of soundboard-smeared noise, and a few luscious string sweeps break into gospel-choir harmonies that swirl gorgeously beneath Costa's reedy mezzo-soprano wails. It's a shame that she can't match this intensity on sparser down-tempo ballads like "Nothing" and "Just Because," where she sounds like Fiona Apple's slightly less annoying older sis. As the album's title says, everybody got their something, and Costa sounds best when she sticks to hers. --Sylvia W. Chan

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars She's got my attention---next it's gonna be yours., June 7, 2001

By	Grafs (United States) - See all my reviews

This is a great album that explores many different textures and genres of music. In her debut effort Nikka Costa manages to do just about everything on this album:

she gets real gritty and raw on the album's opening track, "Like a Feather." The following track, which i believe is the best on the album, features Costa showing off her robust vocal range as she beautifully belts out the album's most beautiful chorus on "So I Have For You." Costa's vocals on this track give this song a snese of boundless energy and passion.

"Tug of War" is a bona-fide soulfed song, as Nikka shows great vocal restraint as she slithers through the sultry stanzas of this track. Costa makes this track even more interesting by complementing the song's soulful feel with symphonic and electronic elements. The fourth track, "Everybody Got Their Something" is a track that you will like five seconds in to it. This 70's sounding track screams funk! One of the album's best tracks, this catchy tune adds another layer to this eclectic album.

The next two tracks, "Nothing" and the short "Nikka What?", add extra textures as they are a beautiful ballad and a short track of record scratching, respectively.

"Hope it Felt Good" is an energetic assertion of a lover left jaded. Awesome guitars on this track. Lots of very interesting instrumentation with trumpets and saxaphones in the later part of this track.

"Some Kind of Beautiful" is a soulful funk track that will have you bobbin your head before you know it.

"Just Because" is a slower, blues tune. Costa lets her words lazily fall out of her mouth as I have only heard seasoned singers do. The next track is another solid effort, but next to all the album's other songs, which all sound very original in one way or another, this song seems kind of plain.

The album's closer, "Corners of My Mind", is a fitting end to this album. Costa turns the energy down a few notches on this beautifully bare track, which features a cello accompaniament and the gentle lapping of slowly running water in the background. This song seems to give the listener a chance to peacefully meditate and relax after 45 minutes of bombastic energy and powerful music.

I would highly recommend this album to anyone who is interested in hearing the debut of an artist who's music we will be listening to for years to come. Enjoy!

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SOUL MAMA ROCKS ON!, May 23, 2001

By	"illmama" (VA) - See all my reviews

If you've seen that catch as hell Tommy Hil commercial and ask who is singing that funky soulful song...well look no further. It's music best kept secret NIKKA COSTA!! Well, she may be selling millions internationally and now she's honored us with her presence in the US with this rare gem of an album that makes you think she's Sly Stone and Janis Joplin's love child. She's definitely got the pure, exquisite funk of Sly and Co., and vocal hysterics of Janis, Tina, and a few other soul sistas. She's got the depth of Fiona Apple and the rowdiness of Alanis during her Jagged Pill days. Yet this is totally on some next platueau. She's like this ancient futuristic soul child coming back to ressurect a dying art. Like Erykah and D'Angelou trying to evoke the spirits of earthy soul, Nikka's trying to breathe new life to rock before it began to lose it's soul. Rock when it was funk-sweaty and bluesy as jazz, rock when you could understand the vocals and nod your head, instead of bang it. There are some beautifully-crafted songs up here, that tug at your soul and make you wanna dance all night. Thank you Nikka for this riveting, heavy soul stirrer. It's definitely time for real rhythms again. Everybody gotta have this!!

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vibrant Debut from a star to be!, May 23, 2001

By	Grafs (United States) - See all my reviews

This is a great album that explores many different textures and genres of music. In her debut effort Nikka Costa manages to do just about everything on this album:

she gets real gritty and raw on the album's opening track, "Like a Feather." The following track, which i believe is the best on the album, features Costa showing off her robust vocal range as she beautifully belts out the album's most beautiful chorus on "So I Have For You." Costa's vocals on this track give this song a snese of boundless energy and passion.

"Tug of War" is a bona-fide soulfed song, as Nikka shows great vocal restraint as she slithers through the sultry stanzas of this track. Costa makes this track even more interesting by complementing the song's soulful feel with symphonic and electronic elements. The fourth track, "Everybody Got Their Something" is a track that you will like five seconds in to it. This 70's sounding track screams funk! One of the album's best tracks, this catchy tune adds another layer to this eclectic album.

The next two tracks, "Nothing" and the short "Nikka What?", add extra textures as they are a beautiful ballad and a short track of record scratching, respectively.

"Hope it Felt Good" is an energetic assertion of a lover left jaded. Awesome guitars on this track. Lots of very interesting instrumentation with trumpets and saxaphones in the later part of this track.

"Some Kind of Beautiful" is a soulful funk track that will have you bobbin your head before you know it.

"Just Because" is a slower, blues tune. Costa lets her words lazily fall out of her mouth as I have only heard seasoned singers do. The next track is another solid effort, but next to all the album's other songs, which all sound very original in one way or another, this song seems kind of plain.

The album's closer, "Corners of My Mind", is a fitting end to this album. Costa turns the energy down a few notches on this beautifully bare track, which features a cello accompaniament and the gentle lapping of slowly running water in the background. This song seems to give the listener a chance to peacefully meditate and relax after 45 minutes of bombastic energy and powerful music.

I would highly recommend this album to anyone who is interested in hearing the debut of an artist who's music we will be listening to for years to come. Enjoy!