Without a doubt, Tears of a Clown, as performed by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles is one of my most favorite songs ever! Its one of those timeless songs that makes me feel like I was born in the wrong space, place and time. Like, I should have been the one at the “Sock Hop” spinning the record or doing the monkey. And if you have any love, admiration or respect for Motown Records, that piano riff will always spark those emotions – bling, bling, bling, baba blingblingblingblingbling… So to hear that riff coupled with the ballad type arrangement and Nnenna Freelon’s vocal integrity makes me love that song in a new way. Unfortunately I can’t say that I feel the same way about her renditions of I Say a Little Prayer or Body and Soul. Whereas the vocals are still incredible, not all popular songs are built to be “jazzed” out. And the arrangements for these two songs left some to be desired.
Better than Anything is a compilation recording which features the best tunes from 5 of 6 discs Nnenna has recorded for Concord Records.
The title cut Better than Anything, is a driving Latin groove that never looses its movement. The thing that I love about Nnenna is that she as much and more than a lot of female vocalist never gets overtaken by the music. With or without instruments, Nnenna finds ease in taken her place as the lead in songs. She takes flight while singing over the complex yet identifiable harmonies of the mega jazz/gospel group, TAKE 6. Straighten Up & Fly Right, done acapella brings you right to a street corner in Harlem in the 40s. It’s a street corner vocal dance that would surely capture the passer-by’s attention.
The thing that is great about this record is the individuality and creativity in song choice and performance. Nnenna stretches her unlimited potential as musicians should. Most especially jazz musicians! Better than Anything is as good as anything I’ve heard so far this year. But I’ve always dug Nnenna; this just makes me want to hear more.
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