- Purchase a product from the Music Store sold by Amazon.co.uk and receive £1 to use on an album download in our MP3 Store. Here's how (terms and conditions apply)
Amazon.co.uk allows you to pay for your items in your local currency. Restrictions apply. Learn More. |
Special Offers and Product Promotions
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
Track Listings
| 1. Intro |
| 2. 22nd Century/Segue 1 |
| 3. 4th of July (Fireworks)/Segue 2 |
| 4. Home/Segue 3 |
| 5. Acapella/Segue 4 |
| 6. Scream |
| 7. Emancipate/Segue 5 |
| 8. Brave/Segue 6 |
| 9. Song For The Baby |
Product Description
Review
As Kevin Rowland knows, pulling off a whiplash change of musical direction can backfire on you. It can make you look like a sales-chasing dilettante, or worse. But Kelis, an RnB artist for more than 10 years, has made a dance album with such confidence and aplomb that it seems no more of a shock than a new hairstyle.
Flesh Tone credits house-man of the moment David Guetta as producer, and he brings the same vitality and sheen to it as he has to Madonna's work. Kelis has always been a strong character and a brave musician–this is what carries the album and assures your ears that it's no out-of-element flounder. It's arresting from the start, the hooks having immediate familiarity without directly pilfering. References leap exuberantly between decades–Moroder here, Justice there, some sweaty Ibiza melody filtering through.
Kelis's honey-husky voice slips easily into the hypnotic repetitions of dance music vocalisation; she uses the classic language of love songs and the soaring declarations of generalised euphoria particular to house music. The sense is that she's singing of her love for her child, this made explicit in Brave (the most Madonna-esque track here) and breezy closer Song for the Baby, but seeming more heartfelt in the astonishing centrepiece of Acapella. This is an absolute trampolining technicolour dancefloor monster, a model of songwriting precision but also the sound of pure joy, so happy it sounds like it's distorting its own fuzzed-up backing track with its bouncing. It's followed by Scream, a beat-free piano-based meditation giving way to Fedde-le-Grandian fist-pumping. Wow!
The album is surprisingly taut–nine tracks, most around four minutes long–incredibly disciplined for an RnB artist, unheard of for a dance act. There's an understanding of how dance music works and a willingness to rule-break–sometimes build-ups go nowhere and structures are discarded, but there's tremendous self-assurance in every swerve and extended breakdown. It only improves with further listens, the rich layering revealing itself and the hooks bedding in. It's a sensual and exhilarating album, and Kelis is a unique treasure. --Sarah Bee
Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
CD Description
Flesh Tone is the first album from "Milkshake" singer Kelis for nearly four years, and her fifth in total, following the success of the top 10, Grammy-nominated Kelis Was Here. The album sees Kelis worki with producers including will.i.am, Free School, Boys Noize, Burnz, DJ Ammo and Benny Benassi.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I love this so much right now,
By Truecolours09 (London, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Flesh Tone (Audio CD)
One look at the sleeve design makes it clear that Kelis is not about to be turned into some kind of bland, generic dance artist. She risks a back cover shot which peels away her skin to reveal every sinew beneath and a centrefold in which she is presented Sphinx-like as half woman and half animal.
It's this sense of being slightly off-kilter that has always informed Kelis' work. 'Flesh Tone' sees her move firmly into an electro/house sound and yet she remains distinct - this feels genuinely inventive and fresh. Lead single 'Acapella' still sounds stunning - the Donna Summer vibes competing with an almost atonal, throbbing backing that at first threatens to overwhelm it but eventually enables the track to take flight. Hugely uplifting and anthemic. It must be said that the songwriting is at times a bit disappointing. The chorus of 'Emancipate', for example, features the phrase 'Emancipate Yourself' repeated sixteen times. There is also a lack of melody in some places, with the (albeit catchy) hooks covering up some occasionally dull tunes. Yet the sheer joy of the surging basslines on tracks like 'Home', 'Brave' and '22nd Century' is undeniable. There is also some variety - first track 'Intro' is a lovely minor-chord piece of Euro synth pop. Final track 'Song For The Baby' is the most instantly appealing song on the album - lyrically similar to 'Acapella' (celebrating the love she has for her new baby) it also has a sweeter, Salsoul-era disco feel. At only nine tracks long, this is an album that should be heard in full. With tracks segued into one another (not mixed, but musically linked together) it's a collection that takes Kelis into new, exciting musical territory.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
TUNE!!!,
By
This review is from: Flesh Tone (Audio CD)
Short and simple..... First listen was awfull..... Second listen was good.... Third listen is still great!! On a serious note, I've been a great fan of Kelis since her first album. I didn't know where this album would meet me on a personal level due to her new dance sound but it has hit the spot sweetly! I think her independent vocal style has made the album to be honest. A dance tune can be repetative but Kelis has generated her own spark and sound on each of the tracks to make it not only catchy but unique! 5 stars for taking the balls to go in this different direction.... 4 stars for the album!!!
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
best dance album for ages.....,
By
This review is from: Flesh Tone (Audio CD)
I bought this after hearing the advert for the album on tv. I'm pretty sure they showed her singing Acapella. It sounded just like the kind of music I enjoy listening to on my iPod.
Pretty much like every single song. It reminds me a little of the early 90's Inner City stuff. Very dancy, very catchy - the kind of music you can lose yourself in. Highly recommend.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews |
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
