Let’s be frank for a moment. Clef is brilliant. He is easily one of the most talented MC’s, producers, players in the hip-hop stage over the last two decades. Everything he touches simply turns into musical gold {even if the critics oft be hatin}. From the Fugees, to the impressive list of musical acts he’s discovered and/or produced hit songs for, to his rich and vibrant solo career, Clef never fails to impress. And his latest effort, Carnival Vol. II Memoirs of an Immigrant (iTunes), is another fine addition to the Wyclef Jean musical legacy. Pulling in such varied guests as Serj Tankian, Shakira, Paul Simon, Norah Jones and stalwart collaborator {whose career he literally helped get back on track} Mary J. Blige, Clef uses this album to show his depth as a composer as well as a talent schooled in various forms of hip hop, soul, r&b, and other more eclectic sounds.
Although I wouldn’t place this new album at the top of the Wyclef heap it easily dominates most of the drivel which is currently being pawned off as modern hip hop. Music fans and aspiriing MC’s alike would be wise to give this amazing album a listen from start to end.
mp3 : Wyclef Jean (feat Akon, Lil Wayne and Niia) - Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)
mp3 : Wyclef Jean (feat Norah Jones) - Any Other Day
mp3 : Wyclef Jean (feat Paul Simon) - Fast Car
My only regret with Clef is that I wasn’t there at Woodstock 99 when, in tribute to the great Jimi Hendrix, he played The Star Spangled Banner and ended by lighting his guitar on fire. Regardless of your opinion of his musical style there is no doubt that Clef has more talent than some entire record labels.
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Norah has the looks of the girl next door and the voice of a multi Grammy winning artist. She’s cute and talented, a daring dynamic that is often overlooked in today’s pop culture driven ear torture. Granted the next greatest pop or hip hop star from Barbados might look nice but it’s more than likely that they will possess the same talent as a bag of drowning kittens. [Not that I would ever condone or encourage harming kittens in any way shape or form].
But her good looks meets great vocals aside Norah Jones is something special. The other night I found myself watching a little public television. And on my local PBS was a Ken Burns miniseries simply titled The War. The miniseries is brilliant and I highly recommend watching it. Not only is it filled with amazing, and true, stories from World War II, but Mr. Burns has filled each episode with a brilliant selection of music. You can’t go wrong when you have Count Basie, Les Paul, Wynton Marsalis, and Duke Elllington on on album. Honestly, click here and check out the entire track listing, it is rather impressive.
Anyway, at the end of the episode who else but Norah Jones and her trademark smoky vocals to ease us from drama to the eventual fade to black. The song she sings here is called American Anthem and is not a Norah original. But she owns it. And in the spirit of covering an artist with more depth than simple single mp3 link I thought it would be great to include another cover that Ms. Jones has done. The other included track here is a cover of an Arcade Fire song. If you listen carefully to the track you’ll hear that whoever attends Norah Jones concerts really has no idea who Arcade Fire is, which I thought was ridiculous on first blush, but in hindsight seems to make a lot of sense. They aren’t exactly targeting the same audience. Or are they?
mp3 : Norah Jones - American Anthem
mp3 : Norah Jones - Ocean of Noise (Arcade Fire Cover)
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