Amerie - Gotta Work

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In Australia "Hold On I'm Coming" has been used so much in advertising that I can't imagine not recognising it as something historical.

Actually I've always been disturbed by the sheer volume of ads which draw on Motown. It might be due to the themes of reliability which Motown songs often promoted - "Reach Out" and Wilson Pickett's "If You Need Me" are particularly well-plundered in this regard. And I'd be surprised "Hold On I'm Coming" hadn't been shoehorned into promoting some sort of home delivery service at one point or another - pizza? express courier post? replacement traveller's cheques? the ambulance?

― Tim F, Wednesday, 18 April 2007 06:01 (6 years ago) Permalink

the crazy harmonies at 2:00 just slay me. amerie is a genius.

i was just thinking that, they are like a rollercoaster!

― lex pretend, Wednesday, 18 April 2007 07:00 (6 years ago) Permalink

Just because someone's heard a song as background noise doesn't mean they know what the song is, no matter how ubiquitous.

― The Reverend, Wednesday, 18 April 2007 07:47 (6 years ago) Permalink

That's true - to be honest I'd thought Hold On I'm Coming was up there with Respect and Heard It Through The Grapevine and I Feel Good as records that EVERYBODY knew regardless of whether they had any active engagement with 60s soul or rnb but I'm willing to admit this perception could well have been skewed by the Blues Brothers.

Gotta Work is fantastic, by the way, and yes the horn sample is one of the less arresting things about it, possibly because it's been diluted slightly.

― Matt DC, Wednesday, 18 April 2007 19:33 (6 years ago) Permalink

(Also it wasn't that I didn't care enough, I just didn't have the time to track it down)

― Matt DC, Wednesday, 18 April 2007 19:34 (6 years ago) Permalink

3 weeks pass...

ok so marcello and i were starting to talk about the album on the bjork thread - it's great! 'crush' is AMAZING.

also, best opening couplet ever: "whatcha gon' do when A catches an attitude? drop to your knees and show gratitude"

― lex pretend, Monday, 14 May 2007 10:42 (6 years ago) Permalink

Everything I've read about this makes it sound amazing. Anticipating highly.

― Matt DC, Monday, 14 May 2007 10:51 (6 years ago) Permalink

some stunning stuff on here. SOME LIKE IT especially.

very heavy on the jam and lewis/ prince in the 80's production and drum sounds.

― pisces, Monday, 14 May 2007 11:39 (6 years ago) Permalink

currently processing reservations.

there was something about lex's "moments in mundane days" line that caught me the wrong way w/r/t confirming a creeping suspicion of her indie token status now - that line say where rnb mysteriously becomes pj-approved Adventurous Pop or whatever. (not saying that lex is culpable, or that kitchen sinks be breaches of rnb protocol ALERT ALERT, or etc, but...)but i slept on my arm last night, and now its gonna hurt all day, and the masseur's away, and its raining &

'some like it' concerns me particularly. should be a bit of messy electro workout fun on the side but somehow feels more like the keystone of the album, not only cos it bridges the funky funk funk ~~mark ronson~~ songs and the 80s/crunky/floaty/ryanleslie modern ballads of the 2nd half, but also by virtue of its toxic ott awkwardness sliming all over the other songs once its gone. and it's unfair (and boring!) to keep bringing up that first album but maybe the naturalist 80sness of its gorgeously allpervasive ways needs restating in light of the 'some like it' and the attention it is bound to recieve. xp there u go.

or maybe i could just let go and like the thing? it's not like i can say i've heard a better album this year.

― r|t|c, Monday, 14 May 2007 12:21 (6 years ago) Permalink

that line say where rnb mysteriously becomes pj-approved Adventurous Pop or whatever

yes this was a faint suspicion of mine too but the song which is most "pj-approved adventurous pop" is 'crush', which knocks down all my defences in a single hit from those drum fills.

also incidentally is there any love out there at all for the rmx of 'touch' with TI? seriously. i love it so much. "with my hands like damn and my neck like wow"!

― lex pretend, Monday, 14 May 2007 12:31 (6 years ago) Permalink

'hate2loveu' is my favourite track. she is AWESOME.

― stevie, Monday, 14 May 2007 12:50 (6 years ago) Permalink

listening to it again last night, the other thing which balances out any leanings towards pj-pop it has is its determined classicist bent - it's as much a traditional soul/motown* album as it is a rihanna-esque "adventurous pop" one.

*"music i don't know enough about" if i misuse either term, i will get those chartbusters comps this week

― lex pretend, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 06:54 (6 years ago) Permalink

Wait....is this out? Coming out? Leaked? I was under the impression this was shelved until further notice.

― The Reverend, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:15 (6 years ago) Permalink

released yesterday in the uk i believe (at least i reviewed it last week on this basis)

― lex pretend, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:18 (6 years ago) Permalink

yeah, but not out in the U.S. until mid-July, for some reason (I'm guessing because "Take Control" was a top 10 hit in the U.K. but not here).

― Alex in Baltimore, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:19 (6 years ago) Permalink

its definitely out here - with '1 thing' appended, for some reason...

― stevie, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:33 (6 years ago) Permalink

Additional incentive to potential purchasers innit. (Something similar happened with the new JoJo album - they stuck "Leave (Get Out)" on the end as a bonus track.)

There's been a very proactive marketing campaign for the Amerie LP. Since before "Take Control" charted (which was only a couple of weeks ago) there have been posters up all over London advertising the LP.

― Jeff W, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:46 (6 years ago) Permalink

I don't understand why Amerie has failed to catch on in the US. I've liked nearly all of her singles from these past two records (wasn't much aware of her before that).

― jaymc, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:49 (6 years ago) Permalink

the posters are very wonderful things

― stevie, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:49 (6 years ago) Permalink

Touch also featured a remix of "Why Don't We Fall In Love" (not even a new remix, one from 2002) as a bonus track, so I guess that's a pattern with her or her label.

― Alex in Baltimore, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:51 (6 years ago) Permalink

define "failed to catch on," jaymc, two top 40 hits ain't bad.

― Alex in Baltimore, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:53 (6 years ago) Permalink

it's funny how r&b singers tend to be catch on in either the UK (amerie, kelis, rihanna) or the US (ciara, mya, nivea) but rarely both, unless they're megafamous superstars like beyoncé

― lex pretend, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:56 (6 years ago) Permalink

Amerie, Kelis, and especially Rihanna are certainly more popular in the US than Nivea.

Jaymc, get her first album now.

― The Reverend, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:03 (6 years ago) Permalink

i always got the impression kelis's profile in the US was close to zero!

― lex pretend, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:05 (6 years ago) Permalink

No, she's definitely popular, she just isn't HUGE like she should be.

― The Brainwasher, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:06 (6 years ago) Permalink

Also, Amerie is sort of boring and nondescript, that's why she hasn't really "caught on" here.

― The Brainwasher, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:08 (6 years ago) Permalink

!!!!

― Matt DC, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:08 (6 years ago) Permalink

"Milkshake" was huge! Awful fucking "Bossy" was pretty big, too. And no one gives one shit about Nivea. And rightfully so.

xps - Brainwasher, you can't be serious. (Although her new singles are kind of boring and nondescript, I'll give you that.)

― The Reverend, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:11 (6 years ago) Permalink

!!!!

― stevie, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:12 (6 years ago) Permalink

I'm not talking about her music, which I love (well... her first two albums, I don't like "Take Control" and "Gotta Work" is a bit better but not worthy of all the hype), it's her. She's rather dull, she doesn't have the persona of, say, Beyoncé or Kelis.. she's just kind of there.

― The Brainwasher, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:13 (6 years ago) Permalink

Aw, gotcha.

― The Reverend, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:16 (6 years ago) Permalink

!!!!

― lex pretend, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:19 (6 years ago) Permalink

She came across as very strong and independent and surprisingly mature and grounded in Stevie's Guardian interview the other week. And she's positively brimming over with personality when you put her next to, say, Ciara.

― Matt DC, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:20 (6 years ago) Permalink

I think Ciara has tons of personality! Maybe not in her interviews (I'd be happy if I never had to hear her talk again), but her videos and, hell, her SONGS are dripping with a personality that is unique to her. Whereas with Amerie, she just has great songs, but I feel as though anyone could've had a hit with "1 Thing"... it doesn't really have much to do with her.

― The Brainwasher, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:23 (6 years ago) Permalink

she has a degree in fine arts and draws lines on bits of paper to illustrate her vocals = personality enough for me

xp to matt shut up ciara is lovely and i have taken to quoting her platitudes at myself eg "i just feel so blessed to be who i am"

― lex pretend, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:24 (6 years ago) Permalink

fwiw i think amerie and ciara both have IMMENSE personality on record - though i remember a thread from years ago, when tim f was asked to defend "generic r&b voices" and realised he didn't think any r&b singer had a generic voice at all - i can't think of any current r&b star i'd say lacked personality on record bar maybe ashanti, who has been curiously absent from the scene recently

― lex pretend, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:25 (6 years ago) Permalink

Haha, Ciara does speak entirely in platitudes.

Brainwasher, "1 Thing" is very dependant on Amerie's high, chipper voice. It wouldn't work, or at least would be a much different song, with a less naive, less innocent voice.

― The Reverend, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:29 (6 years ago) Permalink

amerie has better legs & voice than ciara

― deej, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:38 (6 years ago) Permalink

She came across as very strong and independent and surprisingly mature and grounded

she really is... i mean, i could see how she could seem dumb, but its refreshing to me (tho many of the artists i've interviewed are like that, cf corinne bailey rae). she recorded her earliest songs using two tape recorders, in a manner similar to how the early gbv records! what's not to love?

― stevie, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:38 (6 years ago) Permalink

I feel as though anyone could've had a hit with "1 Thing"... it doesn't really have much to do with her.

i agree and disagree. there's no way that beat wouldn't have been a hit, but for me her vocals *make it, they're so dynamic, ricocheting across the chorus all lost in lust. the lyric's pretty killer too.

― stevie, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:39 (6 years ago) Permalink

I don't know about that deej, did you see Ciara in that babydoll at the Grammys? Her legs are INSANE.

Brainwasher, "1 Thing" is very dependant on Amerie's high, chipper voice. It wouldn't work, or at least would be a much different song, with a less naive, less innocent voice.

Hmm.. I guess you're right. Her strained, high voice is sort of her trademark I guess, and "1 Thing" does seem tailor-made to fit her...

― The Brainwasher, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:41 (6 years ago) Permalink

for "dumb" above please read "boring"... i am typing lyrics playing on my stereo for some insane reason.

― stevie, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:41 (6 years ago) Permalink

amerie's voice has this perpetual thrill to it, like it's permanently teetering on this tightrope, the moment just before amerie decides to hold back or take the plunge - and she keeps it there for four minutes, and that's what makes her songs so special

― lex pretend, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:57 (6 years ago) Permalink

it's funny how r&b singers tend to be catch on in either the UK (amerie, kelis, rihanna) or the US (ciara, mya, nivea) but rarely both, unless they're megafamous superstars like beyoncé

-- lex pretend, Tuesday, May 15, 2007 11:56 AM (11 hours ago)

tautology much

― s1ocki, Wednesday, 16 May 2007 03:43 (6 years ago) Permalink

this album is really likeable!

― s1ocki, Monday, 21 May 2007 03:48 (5 years ago) Permalink

On Saturday it took me the best part of an hour to get past "Gotta Work" on the album because I played it 16 times in a row. MY GOD it's brilliant - the most inspired use of a seemingly hackneyed sample ever! The way she sings "damn!" as though gleefully shaking off a feather brushing against her right cheek! "1 Thing" in Technicolor! A destination reached! And she sounds so happy and forceful at the same time! IT'S THE GREATEST POP RECORD EVER!!!!!!!!!

But the album is all great. The track which samples Duck Rock makes me swim. "Take Control" is awesome (hey, Tom Ze)! Even when we get into the slow jams there's always imagination at work ("Crush" is nearly Cabaret Voltaire) and the songs themselves are very strong ("All Roads").

I have to sit down and write it up properly, but for now it's the best pop R&B album - certainly, the only one to have reached that close to me, and possibly into me - since Brooke Valentine's Chain Letter.

In places it's like Michael Jackson AND Madonna born again. Or at least how they would have sounded with Jam and Lewis at the controls.

― Marcello Carlin, Monday, 21 May 2007 07:27 (5 years ago) Permalink

duck rock? which track is that? and which duck rock track?

― pisces, Monday, 21 May 2007 08:08 (5 years ago) Permalink

"Some Like It," "World's Famous."

― Marcello Carlin, Monday, 21 May 2007 08:15 (5 years ago) Permalink

'hate2loveu' is the highlight for me.

― stevie, Monday, 21 May 2007 08:42 (5 years ago) Permalink

it must be a great album if there's been all this talk and no mention of Make Me Believe. Some Like It is great too, with the spoken/sung parts and the "...make it take it easy, won't be sorry boy believe me..." where it matches the melody.

― jergïns, Monday, 21 May 2007 14:25 (5 years ago) Permalink

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