Erykah Badu - Mama's Gun (2000)

I'm not really surprised that the album pictured above opens with a reggae-inspired number. I am a bit surprised that I sorta like it. Aside from the vocal track having a sharp tone applied (I don't know the technical term) the instrumentation is deep and balanced, and the song winds up being more than just a long slow groove. It's a nice kick-off to an artist I've never heard of before.

I was hopeful after the first two songs that this album would play lots of soulful music with mostly real instruments, maybe a synthesizer once in a while. Sadly "My Life" and "...& On" feature a lame hip-hop-ish drum-machine driven rhythm track. It makes me suspect lot of the rest of the instrumental tracks aren't really being played in studio but are loops from someone else's song. That's probably not true in every case, but once you start using fake instruments why take the time to record live at all?

I'm guessing this song is meant to be jazz-inspired because it features a vibraphone? Sorry, that's mean. But I am a bit perturbed that so far the only song I've found interesting is the reggae one. I hate reggae. I'm also starting to hate Erykah Badu's nasally voice. With a more soulful voice this album would be a smooth and easy listen. The problem is especially prevalent on "Kiss Me On My Neck" where Badu's voice is double-tracked, so it's not only piercing but feels like it's dangerously vibrating my inner ears. I probably shouldn't listen to an album like this with my in-ear headphones.

Songs on side 2 could use some extra trimming, particularly "I'm In Love With You" which eventually breaks down to Badu and a male singer going back and forth singing scat for 3 minutes. The final track "Green Eyes" opens with a segment that sounds like it was being played on an old-timey Victrola before seguing into a soothing piano jazz piece. The song has varied movements which make it feel much shorter than its 10-minute runtime.

With all that said, Mama's Gun is a pleasant enough listen. With its 71-minute runtime it could have used a trim here or there, and I'm not a fan of Erykah Badu's voice. But the music selection is a solid mix of soul, jazz, blues, reggae, and even a bit of hip-hop. If you're going to make a long album mixing things up is a big step towards making it worth listening to. 3 stars.