Chicago's entry in the bad-boy vocal group sweepstakes, PublicAnnouncement blew up big this spring with its debut single, "BodyBumpin' (Yippie-Yi-Yo)."
The mix of '90s R & B slickness and vintage cowboy hokumproduced the strange spectacle of dance floors filled with peoplechanting a chorus that Roy Rogers would have found silly. But itaccomplished exactly what the quartet wanted - platinum sales and aTop 5 position on Billboard's singles chart - and the group has beenon the road ever since, trying to convince audiences that PublicAnnouncement has more to offer.
"With `Body Bumpin' at that time, we needed a trick." says leadsinger Feloney Davis. "Public Announcement had been off the scene along time. We needed the type of song that would stick in people'sheads. The vibe we came off with was kind of sexy - that rugged kindof image - but it's bigger than that. People who pick up the albumwill see that we have real songs, and we actually talk about theissues in our material."
Much has been made of the group's connection to R. Kelly. ButEarl Robinson is the only member who sang with Chicago's R & B giantwhen Public Announcement was Kelly's backing group, and that was onlyfor a short time circa "Born Into the '90s."
Davis and Robinson were men with a plan when they recruitedfellow singers Euclid Gray and Glen Wright some 18 months ago. Thegoal: to mix Kelly's brand of gospel-tinged groove, serious sassinessand genuine freak appeal with Boyz II Men's cute 'n' cuddly guy-groupformula.
"(R. Kelly) paved the way majorly for a lot of artists trying tocome out of Chicago," Robinson admits. "Once he blew up on the firstand second album, the path was wide open."
"Body Bumpin' " was basically Kelly's "Bump N' Grind" deliveredby four singers instead of one, and with the weird cowboy chorustacked on. "It's About Time," the second single from "All Work, NoPlay" (A&M), is both less distinctive and more ambitious. It's aslow and sappy ballad with a familiar but worthwhile message.
"In `It's About Time,' we're trying to deliver a serious messageabout domestic violence, basically saying if a woman is in amessed-up situation, there's somebody out here who can treat youbetter and it's time that you be treated right," Davis says. "Ouralbum consists of a lot of stuff that's really from the heart."
That may be the case: "Turn the Hands" is about a husbandwondering if he can repair his marriage after succumbing to theseven-year itch, and "Children Hold On (To Your Dreams)" is a callfor . . . well, for children to hold on to their dreams. Thesesentiments may well be sincere, but the thick layer of gloss thatcovers the entire album (much of it produced by Robinson) blocks outthe deep soulfulness of Prince or Marvin Gaye, artists that Kelly athis best approaches.
The problem of synthetic slickness isn't unique to PublicAnnouncement, of course. It permeates much of modern R & B.
"Every 10 to 20 years, everything goes back," Robinson says."The old school to us is basically the new school to kids growing uptoday. The production work the record company is looking for is whatthe kids want: They want to hear hip-hop within the track, scratchingand samples. What Public Announcement is doing is we're goingbetween with our music. This album is less samples - it's almostlike the old school in that everything is played live, the stringsand all the instruments."
And while Public Announcement is still doing track dates now -singing live over prerecorded backing tapes - the group hopes to betouring soon with a real, kicking band.
"The second single is climbing, and we figure we'll still beworking this album two years from now," Davis says, laughing."Chicago not actually being a music capital, all we have here areindividuals who really love to do music and want to try to find a wayto make it, as opposed to New York or L.A., with all the labelsthere. Here in Chicago we don't have that, so we have to work hardand love music. That's where the staying real comes in."
In other words, "All Work, No Play" isn't a boast but a way oflife, so don't count Public Announcement out yet.
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий