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| Walhello -> Knowledge Base -> CDs -> J -> Jody Watley Larger Than Life |
| Jody Watley - Larger than Life Band: Jody Watley Tracks: - Real Love - Friends - Everything - What'cha Gonna Do for Me - L.O.V.E.R. - For Love's Sake - Lifestyle - Precious Love - Something New - Once You Leave - Come into My Life - Only You - Real Love [Extended Version][*] A Landmark album!!!! Larger Than Life is the only cohesive, intelligent album to come out of the dreck of 80's dance-pop. That is due in part to the skillful production of Andre Cymone, but it is mostly a Testament to the fabulousity of Jody Watley. From the ruins of Shalamar, Miss Watley rose to a fame as a solo Artist that far exceeded her previous success as 1/3 of her former group. None of her contemporaries (i.e. Janet Jackson, Paula Abdul, Pebbles, Taylor Dayne, etc.) could touch Miss Watley for sheer diva attitude. Down to Earth in real life, Watley was very convincing as the imperious diva on vinyl. While Miss Jackson was just playing around with "What Have You Done For Me Lately", Watley was dead serious when she took it a step further and asked "What'cha Gonna Do For Me". The majestic introduction of "Lifestyle" does little to prepare you for the pulsating, wildly infectious beat that overtakes you seconds later. "Friends" was one of the first pairings of a singer and a rapper, and it is no less a rapper than Rakim, the godfather of east coast rap. Though today a pairing such as this is common, when I first heard Jody's sultry croon meshed with Rakim's blistering flow, it was a revelation. Jody gets down and funky on the midtempo "For Love's Sake", its slow groove caressing her surprisingly soulful vocal. "Once You Leave" (. . . you can't come back!) finds Jody once again artfully dismissing a wayward lover. All of this just served as a Prelude for the true masterpiece in this collection: throwing down the gauntlet on the mind-blowing "Real Love" (i.e. "Gotta have the real thing!"). The unrelenting beat, the easy-to-learn chorus and a whole heap of Jody Watley attitude were the makings of a classic. It didn't hurt that the stunningly beautiful Watley came up with a video as compelling as the song. While she has grown substantially as a musician and vocalist, Jody has not managed to recapture the magic of this CD. However, she did manage to cap the decade of greed with a genre-defining moment in pop history. Buy Jody Watley Larger Than Life at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.comJamster - the latest ringtones for your phone! |
