Editorial Review:Amazon.com: With a series of terrific albums, Cassandra Wilson has established herself as one of the day's great vocalists and, in branching out from jazz into blues and folk and pop, paved the way for genre-crossing stars including Norah Jones. But the Mississippi native has rarely sounded as relaxed or winning as she does on 'Thunderbird,' which teams her with the stalwart
O Brother Where Art Thou? producer T Bone Burnett. Recorded mostly in Los Angeles, the album is noteworthy not only for its roomy, atmospheric sound and experimental touches, but also for its improvised-in-the-studio approach. Working with innovative Burnett regulars including keyboardist (and co-producer) Keefus Ciancia, guitarist Marc Ribot, and drumming legend Jim Keltner, Wilson delivers such offbeat delights as 'Going to Mexico,' a dreamlike, funk-tinged tune built on a sample of 'Hey Pocky A-Way' by New Orleans' Wild Tchoupitoulas. Eschewing the well-known pop tunes she usually covers, she lends her huskily seductive vocals to Jakob Dylan's wistful 'Closer to You' and Burnett's dark 'Strike a Match,' to which she claimed co-ownership by changing the time signature and adding a lyric. The inspired contributors also include programmer and bassist Mike Elizondo (producer of Fiona Apple's 'Extraordinary Machine') and guitarist Colin Linden, who wails on a gripping extended reading of Blind Lemon Jefferson's 'Easy Rider' and duets with Wilson on the cowboy classic 'Red River Valley,' which eloquently sums up her ability to breathe jazz meaning into anything she chooses.
--Lloyd Sachs
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Disc 1:- Go to Mexico - Cassandra Wilson, Wilson
- Closer to You - Cassandra Wilson, Dylan, Jakob
- Easy Rider - Cassandra Wilson, Traditional
- It Would Be So Easy - Cassandra Wilson, Wilson
- Red River Valley - Cassandra Wilson, Traditional
- Poet - Cassandra Wilson, Wilson, C.
- I Want to Be Loved - Cassandra Wilson, Dixon, Willie
- Lost - Cassandra Wilson, Burnett, Joseph Hen
- Strike a Match - Cassandra Wilson, Burnett, J. H.
- Tarot - Cassandra Wilson, Wilson
Customer Reviews
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The Empress's New Clothes
I really appreciate customer reviews that assist me in making the right buying decisions. I don't write many reviews; but as a music fan and collector, I'm compelled to protect others from wasting their money on less than rewarding recordings. Here, I join the small minority of reviewers whom have tried to warn you about the lackluster substance of this product. I've been so impressed by other Wilson recordings, but just not this one. So if you're considering buying this or another Wilson recording, then I recommend you buy the other. I agree the mix here is extremely muddy, with the low frequencies pushed way outside the scope of what is normal. I mean, I like bass too, but this mix is just not smart. Additionally, I found very little SINCERELY soulful feelings in the vocals, which was the thing that turned me on so to Cassandra's work. Buyer beware.
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The inimitable
Cassandra Wilson is the blues, soul singer extraordinaire....such a stylist. Get this album and thank your lucky stars you had the opportunity to listen to one of the finest singers alive.
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A real thunderbird!!
It happened at work one day about 10 years ago. A colleague of mine was playing some Jazz music at the office and I heard what sounded like the Jazz/Blues original version of Cyndi Lauper's "Time after time". Only problem was I knew it was Cyndi that did the original so I asked who it was that was singing. "Oh, that's Cassandra Wilson" she said, "Haven't you heard of her before?"
Well, I never had, so I went out, got, and fell in love with the CD it came off, "Traveling miles", especially the African flourishes on the duet with Angelique Kidjo "Run the voodoo down". Next I heard from her was the brooding beauty, "You move me" from the excellent "Love Jones" soundtrack.
That's the Cassandra Wilson magic for you, with her dusky sensual voice and her eclectic flourishes. "Thunderbird" is no different, a Jazz/Blues/Folk take on songs done by others. Having never heard any of the originals, I just went with the flow.
At 10 tracks, she cuts right to the chase. Opening cut, "Go to Mexico" is a groovy song, rich in percussion, lovely harmonies, some skat singing, and almost falsetto vocals from Wilson. A real beauty and an excellent way to open the album. "Closer to you" (originally done by Yakob Dylan) is a dreamy affair, with lilting percussion and her soothing vocals, almost Trip hop-like. Stunning!
"Easy rider" is a more stripped horn sprinkled initially folky affair which progresses into a delicate Blues number, and "It would be so easy" is a more upbeat song with a groovy bassline. "Red river valley" is an almost acapella hymnal folky ballad with just electric slide guitar accompanying her vocals.
"Poet" is a brooding groovy song with a sketchy bassline initially, while "I want to be loved" is guitar Blues which finds Wilson singing in a slightly upper register in parts.
"Lost" is a beautiful guitar ballad (one of my favourites, but really, they are all my favourites) which sounds like it should be on some exotic movie soundtrack. "Strike a match" features skittery drums and a deep bassline, with lovely strummed guitars. Stunning! Closing is "Tarot", another song with a groovy bassline, some great harmonising, and interesting musical movements (there is a great sax solo).
Hypnotic and beautiful, Cassandra Wilson is a real thunderbird.
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Pick One...
Funky, sultry, bluesy, sexy, mellow, haunting, hypnotic, cool...this CD has it all and then some. From the opening beats of Go To Mexico to the final chords of Tarot, this is an incredibly hot disc. Wilson has certainly hooked me with her absolutely gorgeous vocals, but the music on this CD is so darn good, it doesn't make any sense. This is not your usual Cassandra and if you're looking for something different from her from a purely musical standpoint, then this is it.
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The Best, Simply The Best, Singer Going
In an era where woman singers are more often judged on appearance than artistic merit Cassandra Wilson (who by the way is a major babe) continues to carve her own path and does it brilliantly. I've said it before and I'll just repeat it; Cassandra Wilson is the best singer, in any style, of her generation, period.
