Funk This : Chaka Khan : Review : Rolling Stone

Chaka Khan has never bothered with great albums because she has such a great voice -- juicy, airy, spunky, transported. Though she's fifty-four, it's also unfrayed, one reason this committed if never classic comeback makes its mark. Another is hot-no-more producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who add bite while discreetly leaving the songwriting to the likes of Hendrix, Prince, Sly Stone and the indelible Ed Townsend. Respect as well to Mary J. Blige's New York raspberry.

ROBERT CHRISTGAU

(Posted: Oct 4, 2007)

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5of 5 Stars

One of the reasons I have always liked...did I say like, I mean loved Chaka Khan is that she has always had the ability to have an album (now known as CD's) that didn't fall in one category. It seems that this is a definite no no in the eyes of the record companies. You are either R&B, Hip-Hop, Blues, Rock etc. This one is no different. The only thing that stays constant is its ability to stay funky, in the old school way.
It's true there has not been a release from Ms. Khan with any funk appeal since CTMY W/ Prince in 1998.
Now some other old school Minneapolis funkers known as Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis are at the control switch egging Chaka on to remember her funkability skills in a way only Chaka can relay. There is actually another remake of Prince's on here "Sign of the times" that I thought would be way out of pocket but I was pleasantly surprised.
Quite a few remakes are here but definitely not a rehashing set of material. There are new cuts like "Angel" that makes you realize Chaka can be gentle in some of her delivery and not in constant wailing mode, the makes of a true artist who knows he or she have the pipes to wail but doesn't feel like its a necessity in every syllable they sing. It is also apparent at the end of "Will You Love Me?" she could wail but she uses her funkability at a lower register to bring the song home with the all too well known Wall of Chaka background she has made famous. She glides slowly upward with the rock/funk of Jimi Hendrix's "Castles Made Of Sand" to a controlled climaxed.
There are your wailers like her contribution with penned song by Mary J. "Disrespectful". Even though she wasn't disrespectful to Mary by overpowering her throughout the song. Mary pulled some pretty good punches but we knew who's cd this was and why Chaka is Chaka and Mary is Mary (No disrespect intended at all). Many may complain that Chaka has done it again by doing what she wanted and not what was expected (a commercial release) but I think that is what makes Chaka Chaka. A melting pot of multi-tempered fire.

Sep 28, 2007 15:52:07

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