Cree Summer’s name may sound familiar since she spent a few years on the Cosby Show spin-off A Different World. Still don’t know who she is? Don’t fret, you soon will.
Summer’s first album, Street Faerie, hits the ground running with the first track, “Revelation Sunshine”. Summer found a producer at his best in Lenny Kravitz and he found a way to stretch Summer’s vocal abilities to their limits. Her voice is natural and doesn’t sound processed. The biggest asset of the album is that it doesn’t sound adulterated. It is fit for folkies, but still would appeal to Kravitz fans.
“Deliciously Down” boasts a calm current disguised as a verse and folds it into a distorted, wah-filled chorus. One of the best songs on the album is “Mean Sleep”, a duet with Lenny Kravitz that is filled with his signature ’70’s sound. The ticking clock that weaves throughout the verse is hypnotic, but Summer’s solo parts are perfect and the best part of the song. Straight out of this buzzing track comes the folkish “Life Goes On”. The song is heaven on an album that already boasts a certain angelic mood.
“Sweet Pain” is not pure saccharine. It has a tinge of all things bittersweet and makes certain that it doesn’t quickly leave your memory. The last track is ferocious; “Curious White Boy” is cool without sounding clich. This song shows Summer’s amazing dexterity.
It’s refreshing to hear an album that has so many moods and different states of being, never treading upon the same ground. For her first attempt, Cree Summer has put out a very poignant album.
+ rae gun
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