Lady Blackbird – Black Acid Soul

28-01-2022

Under the name Lady Blackbird, Los Angeles-based vocalist and composer Marley Munroe mixes original songs with updates of classic jazz ballads and deep soul cuts. She favored predominantly acoustic backing for "Black Acid Soul" (2021), a meditative debut album that followed well over a decade of behind-the-scenes work with artists across genres. Before becoming Lady Blackbird , Marley Munroe, who had sang to audiences since she was a child and was signed to a Christian music label as a teenager, dabbled in genres including alternative rock and R&B in her hometown of Los Angeles. Produced by Chris Seefried, "Black Acid Soul" is Munroe's first album after a handful of singles, a 2013 EP and several years of studio work and live performances. The recordings were also made in collaboration with Seefried on guitar and a small ensemble of other collaborators, including pianist Deron Johnson , bassist Jon Flaugher and drummer Jimmy PaxsonTrombone Shorty (trumpet) on some tracks like "Beware the Stranger" and "Nobody's Sweetheart". The material includes Sam Cooke 's famous "Lost and Lookin'", Nina Simone's civil rights anthem "Blackbird" and Tim Hardin's "It'll Never Happen Again" (from Hardin's debut album 1966), as well as Reuben Bell's track "It's Not That Easy' from 1967 and Bill Evans ' slow composition 'Peace Piece' from 1958, here transformed into a tone poem called 'Fix It'. Bill Evans' heirs granted co-authorship to Lady Blackbird and Seefried to add lyrics and vocals to the composition. Munroe also reworks The James Gang 's "Collage" (a track from their debut album, "1969") into a modal number that is equally influenced byJohn Coltrane and the psychedelic band Love create. The most elaborate production of the album using strings and a choir is "Beware the Stranger", at the same time the single release. This is a version of the 1973 song by The Voices of East Harlem . "Black Acid Soul" is the debut album by Lady Blackbird , pseudonym of singer Marley Munroe. The recordings, made around 2020/21 in the Sunset Sound studio, Los Angeles, were released on September 3, 2021 (also in a limited vinyl edition) on the Fondation Music label, distributed by BMG, as a download on the Bandcamp platform . "Black Acid Soul" consists mostly of 1960s songs once sung by Nina Simone , Tim Hardin , Irma Thomas and others. The album received consistent critical acclaim; in the down beatit said: "This is an album with intelligent play on words, astonishing song selection and elegantly restrained musicianship." Gilles Peterson calls Lady Blackbird "the Grace Jones of jazz ". The highly-anticipated and debut album "Black Acid Soul", due for its long awaited release on September 3rd via Foundation Music/BMG. With a voice that has stopped critics in their tracks, Lady Blackbird is a revelatory new talent with music that transcends the jazz scene through which the LA-based artist is rooted. Reflecting influences as varied as Billie Holiday, Gladys Knight, Tina Turner and Chaka Khan, with critics drawing comparisons to Adele, Amy and Celeste, Lady Blackbird's distinct and beguiling talent is not one to be missed. Honouring the great's has come as a musical process to Lady Blackbird, having recorded her highly anticipated debut album "Black Acid Soul" in legendary Studio B (Prince's room) in Sunset Sound, produced by Grammy-nominated Chris Seefried. Minimal yet rich, classic yet timely, the album connects backwards to Miles Davis (his pianist, Deron Johnson, plays Steinway Baby Grand, Mellotron and Casio Synth throughout) and forwards to Pete Tong (he made the Bruise mix of 'Collage' his Number Two Essential Selection tune of 2020) and, yes, Victoria Beckham, Matthew Herbert's remix of second single 'Beware The Stranger' soundtracked the designer's Spring/Summer 2020 Fashion show. Its 11 tracks have a sound, feeling and attitude that speak of Lady Blackbird's deep experiences in music. The Los Angeles-based singer's exciting debut album is bursting with retro vibes and melancholy, praised Jazziz magazine. The album heralds the arrival of an enigmatic singer who spent years dabbling in different genres before a partnership with producer Chris Seefried led the artist formerly known as Marley Munroe to reinvent herself. Marley Munroe (aka Lady Blackbird ) evokes singer Nina Simone 's idiosyncratic style . Much like Simone, Munroe is blessed with a throaty, high-resonance voice that's well suited to carrying a jazz standard , but also goes well with dark R&B ballads. With her accompanying musicians she finds a fascinating balance between acoustic jazz and the live soul of small groups. Though Lady Blackbird's distinct influences and affection for Nina Simone certainly make up a large part of Black Acid Soulmake out, the album has an immediacy and warmth that feels "all her own." "Black Acid Soul" is a potent record that, without sounding self-confidently "retro", is reminiscent of an era before AutoTune and Pro Tools . She's always had that voice, a soulful instrument that blends the drama of Tina Turner with the bluesy blur of Amy Winehouse and she also has presence. Certainly "Black Acid Soul" is one of the best albums of 2021. It conjures up associations of Jimi Hendrix- esque guitars, P-funk and Afrofuturism . But the old adage about not judging a book by its cover remains as true as ever. For the most part, Black Acid Soul is musically reserved, rugged and rooted in jazz : bass, piano or guitar, occasional drums and Munroe's extraordinary voice, devoid of affectation, filled with ease and growling power. IfListening to "Black Acid Soul", one is struck by the emotion of an artist who has finally found her calling. "These are songs and performances that burn deep into you." This is intoxicating, haunting, sexy, soulful, heartbreaking material. With a voice reminiscent of a cross between Mahalia Jackson and Nina Simone, Lady Blackbird tears the heart apart and puts it back together with these eleven songs. The ease, growl, coo, and persuasive nature of her voice comes from within herself. For example, when she pleads, " Come back, come back, come back/ I've had enough, " on Allen Toussaint's hit "Ruler of My Heart."' sings, there is a penetrating search for love that few artists can deliver. Above all, float the voice and artistry of this new and incredibly exciting artist. "We'll be talking about this debut for many years to come." The real highlight is hidden in the middle of the album, a dramatic reworking of Joe Walsh's 1969 psych-rock opus "Collage". If you look at the original known on the first LP by Walsh's original band, The James Gang ( "Yer" Album) was released, you will be overwhelmed by this wistful, moody reinvention. Another highlight is "Fix It" which is based on the classic instrumental track "Peace Piece" by Bill Evans, which amazingly sounds like an original and complete work and once again highlights her very rich Nina Simone influence. Pianist Deron Johnson's solo adds "a beautiful shower of sparkling raindrops to this foggy Sunday morning mood." It's hard to believe this isn't the culmination of a six-decade career spanning as deep as the wisdom, expression and control of her voice. It's not just that Munroe has a powerful voice or that she can convey great, centuries-old pain and struggle, but that she can extract nuance from every twist; it is often possible to read her performance of a single word in different ways, she layers that meaning into her performance. Munroe realizes that someone who can demolish the house with ease has even more say if they don't want to. Vocalist Marley Munroe (aka Lady Blackbird) evokes the maverick style of singer Nina Simone on her potent 2021 debut "Black Acid Soul". Produced by Chris Seefried, "Black Acid Soul" is Munroe's first full-length album following a handful of singles and several years of studio work and live performing. Much like Simone, Munroe is blessed with a throaty, highly resonant voice that's well-suited to carrying a jazz standard, but which also fits nicely on dusky R&B ballads. Working with guitarist Seefried and an intimate ensemble of collaborators, including pianist Deron Johnson, bassist Jon Flaugher, and drummer Jimmy Paxson, Munroe finds a spellbinding balance between acoustic jazz and live small group soul. She underlines the Simone connection from the start, opening with a burnished take of the legendary singer's classic "Blackbird," conjuring a menacing, earthy sensuality that perfectly sets the tone for what is to come. Part of what made Simone's classic work of the '60s and '70s so intriguing was her ability to take a song from any genre and make it her own. Munroe has the same gift and displays it throughout, diving into an organ-tinged take on Reuben Bell's 1967 track "It's Not That Easy" and transforming Bill Evans' languid 1958 composition "Peace Piece" into a dreamily intoxicating tone poem called "Fix It." She even reworks the James Gang's 1969 "Collage" into a far-eyed modal number that draws equally from John Coltrane and the psychedelic band Love. While Lady Blackbird's distinct influences and love of Simone certainly drives much of "Black Acid Soul" there's an immediacy and warmth to the album that feels all her own. Female singers with expressive, individually formed voices are not uncommon in the USA. Jazz in particular has always thrived on these great ladies, most of whom are of African-American origin. And then there are the exceptional singers whose voices have made jazz history, such as the civil rights activist Nina Simone, Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan, to name just a few. Clearly on her way to joining the squad of exceptional singers is the young soul jazz singer Marley Munroe, who, under her stage name Blackbird, covers songs from the sixties by her great predecessors Nina Simone, Tim Hardin, Irma Thomas and others on her debut album Black Acid Soul, in addition to her own songs. The ease and persuasiveness of her voice come naturally, as she has been singing in front of audiences since childhood. "Black Acid Soul" was recorded at Sunset Sound in "Prince's Studio" (III). The singer was accompanied by a quintet of accomplished musicians who playfully succeed in reviving the sound world of the sixties for this album. Right from the start, the singer succeeds in triggering goosebumps on the listener with her Nina Simone cover version of "Blackbird" through luxurious sound, especially since she succeeds in believably conveying the pain inherent in the song with a warm voice. The whole thing seems so real and natural that one forgets what a sophisticated technique is behind such a performance. The cover version of Reuben Bell's "It's Not That Easy" announces the great art of this singer to restrain her voice and thus to create an almost uncanny tension. "Nobody's Sweetheart" shows how Blackbird can convey heartbreak to great effect. In this song, she dyes her voice in dark velvet, doing it justice to the unforgettable Cassandra Wilson. In the cover version of Sam Cooke's "Lost And Looking" her voice carefully approaches the melody and finally floats along following its course as light as a feather. Rounding out the album are "Fix It" and "Five Feet Tall." The former is an elegant piano ballad inspired by the classic instrumental "Peace Piece" by Bill Evans, and sounds like a standard from the Great American Songbook, sung by a singer who has instantly succeeded in making a great album with "Black Acid Soul". As for "Black Acid Soul," closing the album, it speaks of Hot Buttered Soul-era Isaac Hayes. Explaining how the song became the title and then, again, the vibe, Lady Blackbird says: "We used to hashtag #blackacidsoul, as our sub-genre of music. It just encompassed everything we were doing. It cemented all those ideas and genres in this made-up shit!"

1 Blackbird (Nina Simone) 4:00

2 It's Not That Easy (Reuben Bell) 3:00

3 Fix It (Bill Evans, Chris Seefried) 4:50

4 Ruler of My Heart ( Naomi Neville ) 3:42

5 Nobody's Sweetheart (Chris Seefried) 3:38

6 Collage ( Patrick Cullie , Joe Walsh ) 3:17

7 Five Feet Tall (Marley Munroe, Chris Seefried) 3:20

8 Lost and Looking ( James W Alexander , Lowell Jordan ) 4:21

9 It'll Never Happen Again ( Tim Hardin ) 3:38

10 Beware the Stranger ( Eugene Dixon , James Thompson) 4:13

11 Black Acid Soul (Jonathan Flaugher, Deron Johnson, Marley Munroe, Jimmy Paxson, Chris Seefried) 3:54

Marley Munroe - Lead Vocals