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 Articles · Photos · Promotional · Reviews · Tour · Miscellaneous 1998: Stereophile Records to Die For Joi Gilliam, vocals, vocal arrangements; Dallas Austin, bass, drums, keyboards; others EMI 27762 2 (2 CDs). 1994. Dallas Austin, prod.; Alvin Speights, Leslie Braithwaite, George Catfish Pappas, engs. AAD? TT: 2:34:38 "We will not bow down..." announces the keening solo voice, as an a cappella chorus "Amen"s. Suddenly the airy acoustic mood gives way to the electronic distortion of a thundering rhythm track as a rapper chants "It's a beat-box Jesus" over an insistent low-end roar; a swelter of narrators vies for attention as a gospel chorus and the protagonist's brassy blues shouts cut through the sonic murk of radio interference with cries of "Freedom!" It's as if past, present, and future are commingling in one moment. So begins this unheralded R&B concept album by vocal diva Joi, one of the finest natural voices to emerge since Aretha first demanded r-e-s-p-e-c-t. With each successive track, producer Dallas Austin peels away another layer of electronic illusion and artifice until voice and instruments are depicted with near-acoustic veracity, as this remarkably versatile vocalist enlivens a series of inspired arrangements about the end of a relationship and the onset of higher consciousness. Moving easily from urban feminist anthems ("Sunshine & the Rain," "Find Me") through sweet jazz-soul ballads ("Memories," "Fatal Lovesick Journey") with a classical stopover in church ("Adoramus Te Christie"), to catty tales of eroticism ("Narcissa Cutie Pie") and the raga-rock resignation and acceptance of "I Don't Mind," Joi comes full circle, concluding with a serene spiritual worthy of Sweet Honey in the Rock, and a conclusive reprise of "Freedom." This recording has massive low end, and is shot through with loads of aural details. Joi manages to cover half a dozen vocal styles with character, charisma, conviction, and nary a sniff of bathos or whiny ho-ho-ho vibrato, evoking everyone from Dinah Washington and Minnie Ripperton to Marian Anderson and Aretha. And between them, Joi and Austin share an encyclopedic breadth of musical influence worthy of TAFKAP. The Pendulum Vibe is as visionary an R&B record as I've heard in the past 25 years. - Chip Stern |
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