Kelis - Tasty (Vinyl - 2003) [Explicit Lyrics]

Following up the non appearance of her excellent second release Wanderland in the US it was quite appropriate that Kelis chose a loose theme for her third album here. It's title refers not only to the intro and outro of this album but also an aural expression of the many flavors contained within. Still produced as before by the Neptunes,this time around Kelis achieved a streamlined and flowing sound that went down well from one song to the other and found the influence of Sly Stone,P-Funk and Prince taking up a huge element of her sound as well. This is one of her most popular albums as a result and one of the most common to locate. And that's a great thing because it really is one of her greatest releases up to this point and actually gives an excellent overview of her particular style of mutant funk/hip-hop/electronia style grooves and songs. "Trick Me" starts out the album with a kind of fast paced modern variation of the Family Stone sound. The Minneapolis electro funk style shines not only on the breaktrhough "Milkshake" but also more obviously on "In Public",a feminine take of sexual exibitionism. After a reprise (and for most people first airing) of "Flashback" from the previous album she's back to more Minneapolis funk with "Protect My Heart" and "Millionaire" with Outkast's Andre 3000. Raaphael Saadiq shows up for two excellent straight ahead neo funk numbers "Glow" and the throbbing "Attention". His influence is also strongly heard where he's not physically present on the extra lean funky soul of "Sugar Honey Iced Tea" and the Fender Rhodes fueled jam "Rolling Through The Hood",her personel realization of continuing urban decay. She concludes the album with two more Neptune styled modern,flowing electro funk tunes "Stick Up" and "Marathon",both of which are excellent melodically as well. The fact that all these songs stand so well individually and also have a smooth enough flow across each of them is one of the hallmarks of this album and what makes it likely Kelis's finest moments so far. As with her musical mentors Stevie Wonder and more so Prince her eclectic creative outlook often leads her to make awkward artistic jump cuts and produce uneven albums as a result. But on this case that didn't exactly happen. At a time where it was badly needed she and the Neptunes managed to reinvent a classic funk/soul sound that was both suitable enough for hip-hop oriented audiences AND flexible and musical enough to have an appeal who gather more from the original intention of soul,R&B and funk. That's a very difficult achievement. Very few outside of John Legend,Alicia Keys and Andre 3000 have really managed it in their time and here Kelis not only does just this but successfully puts her own spin on it. Kelis - Tasty

Condition:NEW. Marked UPC.

TRACK LISTINGS

A1 Intro 1:31
A2 Trick Me 3:21
A3 Milkshake 3:04
A4 Keep It Down 4:02
B1 In Public 4:23
B2 Flashback 3:22
B3 Protect My Heart 4:24
C1 Millionaire 3:43
C2 Glow 3:58
C3 Sugar Honey Iced Tea 3:22
C4 Attention 3:23
D1 Rolling Through The Hood 4:41
D2 Stick Up 3:51
D3 Marathon 4:34