Girl Like Me
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Where do I begin? I
can truly say with hand on heart that I have never heard anything quite like this before. The CD arrived with an accompanying flyer, which
provided some interesting background information on KJ Denhert. In it she describes her music as “Urban Folk
and Jazz though it is rooted in Funk and R&B”.
For the life of me I could not begin to imagine what folk music rooted in
R&B might sound like. Listing James
Taylor as a major influence really aroused the curiosity.
It came as no surprise to discover therefore that even her musicians were of
mixed races. Now I am well aware that contemporary artists like to
cross-fertilise between different genres, and that in itself can produce innovative
results. The drawback, as I have often
stated, is that contemporary music rarely gives a pure interpretation of anything anymore. The boundaries between genres are constantly being
eroded. None-the-less the melting pot is
capable of producing quality music provided the ingredients are blended well. The is little doubt that K.J is a talented musician, indeed
she composed or co-composed nine out of the twelve tracks on the album. The exceptions were a folksy interpretation of the
Beatles “She Loves You”, a very slowed down bluesy treatment of the
Police’s “Message in a Bottle” and her own rendition of “Oh
Susannah”. If you’re wondering if I
mean that “Oh Susannah” the answer is yes, complete with banjo and still
travelling from Alabama. It amazed me how
such a silly country hick song could be so re-invented into a very pleasant bluesy number. I’d bet this woman could make a nursery
rhyme sound profound. There is no question that the main influence on K.J is folk
music as Funk and R&B are minimal. A
strong clue is her instrumentation, which include guitar, bass and keyboards. There is not a horn to be found anywhere on any
track. Her compositions are excellent, but
don’t ask me what they are about because I haven’t a clue. This music deals in moods rather than stories. She is very capable of singing soulfully, but she
chooses to do it in alternative styles. There is no doubt that this lady has a fine voice, but she is
gate crashing a party here. Any funk or
R&B influences she has ever had are barely detectable.
This really isn’t for the soul purist, but blues and folk fans will lap
it up, as will people of more eclectic tastes. In
the end I allowed it to sneak in because whatever its roots it is unquestionably a very
pleasant album. I hope to hear more from this
lady in the future and it would be interesting to see how she performs on more
traditionally black material. Track Listing
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Why Not visit the Authors other Website, 'The Alternative Blackpool Website' at http://www.localdial.com/users/jsyedu133/bpool This Site Last Updated 18/05/05
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