Dance On the Ceiling With Vanessa Fernandez!
don't let the forlorn cover shot fool you!
Not since Veronica Swift's This Bitter Earth (Mack Avenue MAC1177LP) has a record cover been so at odds with what's in the grooves as this filled with funky covers Groove Note title from Vanessa Fernandez.
Think of it this way: there are eleven tunes here from Childish Gambino, Prince, Lenny Kravitz, Barry White, Maurice White and a few others and the mostly celebratory funk is in the air (with a mellow stop over in Bill Withers territory), produced by a hot band with arrangements by guitarist Tim Pierce (Joe Cocker, Crowded House, Goo Goo Dolls, Michael Jackson, Beth Hart, Roger Waters, Alice Cooper, Johnny Hallyday, Phil Collins, etc.).
Now look at the cover and the album title. Before writing this I contacted Groove Note's Ying Tan to ask if Vanessa was alright because between the photo and the album title I was afraid this was a farewell party before she headed for the big exit.
He assured me she's fine and that's not at all what this is about. So let's party on! Fernandez is backed by the aforementioned Pierce, along with Grammy Award winning guitarist Felipe Melanio, bassist Alex Al (Michael Jackson's bassist for a decade), keyboardist Jeff Babko http://www.jeffbabko.com (most visibly known as keyboardist/arranger/composer for Jimmy Kimmel Live but check out that link), drummer Victor Indrizzo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Indrizzo (Queens of the Stoneage, Beck, Macy Gray, Willie Nelson, Redd Kross etc.) and Latino percussionist Luis Conte https://www.luisconte.com.
Of course the arrangement and playing are super hot and Fernandez, who some of you know from her album of Led Zeppelin covers, is well up to the task and sounds nothing like she looks on the cover! She is nimble, soulful and has a falsetto to die for. Oops. She has a sends shivers falsetto.
Add a tracked to 2 inch 30 IPS tape on a Studer 24 track production in Sunset Sound Studio 2 (engineered by co-producer Michael C. Ross), recording mixed down to 1/4" 30 IPS stereo on an ATR 102 in Sunset Sound Studio 1, with 45rpm lacquers cut by Bernie Grundman and pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI and without hearing a measure of music you should have no doubt about the 11 for sound rating.
Fernandez does a wonderful cover of Portishead's "Roads" (from the band's debut album Dummy)—she's got the emotional fortitude and expressiveness to do it justice—and the cover of Michael Kiwanuka's "Love And hate" with powerful and sympathetic electric guitar accompaniment by Pierce is an album standout.
A '70s era feeling Fernandez original, "Breathe Easy" ends the album on a mellow note. I hear Bonnie Raitt covering it. There's nothing more difficult in the studio than recording vocals 100% unadorned with reverb, processing or other cover-ups. Fernandez is directly on-mic and she fully fills the space between the speakers strong-voiced and passionate. Her phrasing is remarkable and always in service of the song.
As great as all of that is, one of the most impressive aspects of this project is the A&R work, the eclectic and varied song choices, both classic and up to date. Mercury Prize winner Kiwanuka, TED fellow lyeoka Ivie, and the others add fresh excitement to this outstanding production.
If I didn't think Fernandez's covers were anything but worthy of standing on their own, which they are, I wouldn't embed these originals but why not? Hearing them should entice you to check out Fernandez's covers.
Here's an "audiophile" release that delivers well beyond the usual audiophile "sounds great but the music is meh" standard. Check it out!
But first: Here's a hi-res transfer I made of Fernandez's cover of EW&F's "That's The Way of the World" courtesy, Groove Note Records
