Label: Kitten Kong Records

Producer: Melissa Forbes with Ben Stewart

Release Date: March 07 2005

It's -34 Centigrade outside and I hear the crunching grinding sound of snow boots approaching the R Cat mail box.. and, as I'm expecting something rather special that's a little overdue, I head out to find that rather special something has indeed arrived. With the glee of a child being handed a candy for being especially good, I head back into the office with the package hastily opened and I grab the phone immediately to call Murray at Kitten Kong, Melissa Forbes record label. 'Murray... Murray GUESS WHAT I'VE GOT!!!!' Of course it takes a second or more for him to realise that it's me in Canada and him in London and we're both pretty relieved that this about-to-be-reviewed and eagerly anticipate CD has finally got to us here at R Cat. Setting everything aside that can be set aside, I grab a coffee, and think about some of the greatest soul and jazz female singers I have had the priviledge to become associated with in recent months; Sandy Foster from Edmonton, Canada, Mitzi Zilka from Portland, Oregon, and Melissa Forbes from Queensland, Australia, who I have only recently started listening to.

So I take the first sip of coffee and Oh deary deary me reviewing Melissa Forbes 'No More Mondays' is going to be a real pleasure...

Melissa's debut album 'No More Mondays' opens with the sensuality wrapping, heart and soul enagaging Sshhh! (Intro) complete with astounding vocal clarity and polished brass that sets the mood for the magic to follow and which is the perfect lead in to Black Coffee/Brown Sugar. Here we have one of the finest covers of D'Angelo's classic that you are ever likely to hear in your life! The production is delivering the kind of classy bluesy vocals and equally classy musicianship that one would expect from a multi Grammy award grabber in this delectably classy genre. You don't quite know what to do with your shoulders as they sync with the expertly delivered arrangement and, this is happening while Melissa's inimitable vocal style messes with your stupidly compressed preconceptions of where this genre seemed to be going for the new millenia. It's pretty clear to me that with the likes of Melissa Forbes.. the genre is suddenly diamond like and it's providing an incredibly bright future.

Broken Wings (For Chet) arrives at the gateway that exists beyond the speakers to engulf and amaze anyone with any sense in an instant. Mark Turner's lovely little jazz guitar intro is what hits you dead centre before another blue sky reappears in the form of Melissa's seemingly effortlessly sparkling vocals, and John Hoffman's uncompromising and heart caressing flugelhorn. This is the stuff of greatness folks... and nothing less.

Don't Stop til You Get Enough is now officially awarded my 'surprise of your life cover of the decade award' and oh how Michael Jackson would be stunned by this colourful and vibrant reworking. You see, it's actually quite hard to place personality and dynamics firmly into the roots of a classic song and if I go around recalling Melissa's version over the orginal... well I'd say that's pretty damn good wouldn't you? The arrangement is kinda deluxe and innovative without being overtly glossy... it's a serious and respectful reworking and it's quite simply platinum performance level stuff... albeit a little richer than it's founding father.

Thinking You Over features some truly magnificent vocal, piano, and fretwork performances I have heard in quite some time and it's all down to the atmosphere creating craftsmanship that these guys exude in. Thinking you over is the kind of song that provokes the emotions in a delicate and diplomatic fashion... nothing too overdone... nothing too mushy.. just sprinklings of excellence for the listener to contend with. Meanwhile, The Weekday Sun takes superbly casual yet skilled vocal training and mesmerising Fender Rhodes sounds just a few rungs further than you ever thought this lovely ladder was going to go up to. The view from the top is magnificence and splendour... what a singer.. what a superbly gifted artist!

Rising Up? is cleverly uplifting with it's exceptionally tight arrangement, glowing performance, and expert production. You get the feeling that you've been blessed and although it's -38 outside and this coffee is almost done, it's just not a good idea to let your attention to detail drift when there's so much more happening in this song than you might have expected possible. I could listen to this kind of thing day in day out without even the slightest risk of becoming sidetracked or disenchanted... if only relationships where this certain!

Speaking of relationships.. Shadows of Love (Love for Sale) features exceptional styling in vocal prowess and hauntingly beautiful harmonies that are as spellbinding as the horns that caress them every now and then in all of the right places. The tricklings of Hammond and the slow soulful bass pace is partiuclarly intriguing and yet another indication of the classyness and raised standards I mentioned earlier. Within seconds of the last notes fade, You're My Alter Ego/Nothing Else Matters brings back vivid images of the elegance of rich and passionate vocal meanderings and candlebra lit piano. The sound engineers need to be acknowledged here too.. what you have ended up with in the production is a broadly coloured sound spectrum that appears to have been meticulously crafted while retaining the energy in dynamics that this song demands. It's the sound skills, techniques and workmanship that makes up the craft in production and these guys are craftsmen of the first division.

Still takes me willingly back to the passionate artist realm were notes and lyrics are born with the kind of fine balance nature itself had always intended. Countless songwriters past and present dreamed of this kind of fruit from their labours and many label-ready singers engaged the same yearning as their voices and inspirations evolved and took on the strains and struggles of being heard and appreciated. There's some nice guitar work here that runs sympathetically alongside the bass playing... very classy! Meanwhile, at the other half of the sky we have the unanticipated arrival of Blackheart Blues - a rather rare treat for my Roland monitors but an absolute emerald of a song that thrills and pounds down on your soul like there's no tomorrow. Watch out for the truly magnificent guitar, drums, and keyboard work.. before the spectacular brass and vocal harmonies take the reins and your flight destination becomes a little more certain when Melissa gets back to the mic. Absolute brilliance!

The last track on this wondefully crafted album goes by the title As I Sing.. what a remarkable example of superior songwriting and vocal magnificence this song really is. When I think back to where my head was in it's eager anticipation when the postman turned up ... if he was here right now he be kissed all the way down the street with the deepest of affection and appreciation for his cold and lonely role in life, and, for bringing me this exquisitely crafted example of where soul blues and jazz breaks previously untethered horizons.

No More Mundays indeed! Melissa Forbes has, with her first album, succeeded in estabishing herself as the multivitamin our hearts and souls always needed but frequently found out of stock. This is a magnificent album.. it feels more like a gift than a review copy, and I have to say with absolute conviction that today... Melissa.. it wasn't just my mailbox that was blessed.

 

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