Anybody in here got the new Meshell Ndegeocello
cd "Dance of the infidel"?
What's the deal with this 1?
I really want it but it sems impossible
2 find.Is it only released in France?
I tried 2 order it from the french amazon but I did something wrong
& I don't understand france.
Anybody of y'all got it?
/peace Manki

I've had this for about a month now. I found it at Amoeba Records in Hollywood, they sell it as an important for around $25. According to freeyourheart.com (a fan website) the album will be released in the states in June...

by the way...it's an amazing piece of work. This is the type of Jazz album Prince wishes he could do...

Try Tower Record, it's expensive though (Import)

i got mine through Amazon.co.uk

ehuffnsd said:

Oh,thanks.That was cheaper 2 me since I live in Sweden.
/peace Manki

a beautiful piece of work...the whole thing

but the trio of tunes in the middle...

Aquarium
Pappilon
Dance of the Infidel


whew...they just take me away...

great stuff
[Edited 5/12/05 4:45am]

Why is it only released in France?
/peace Manki

initially no american labels had the guts to release a jazz record by meshell...

after universal france released it over there to rave reviews, THEN the US labels decided they wanted a chance to release it stateside after turning it down the first time...

spinelesss wusses without a musical drop of blood in them plain and simple...

but it will be released in the USA June 21 i believe...

justhemusic said:

so the american lables was afraid it would not hit the charts ,non?
.....quelle scandale!
/peace Manki

manki said:

...who knows what they thought, they usually don't think too much at all when it comes to genuinely great music after all...


i'm only speculating on why, but it probably has to do with 'genre's and music categories and marketing...in my mind Meshell is much more popular overseas outside of the USA as a complete musical ARTIST period, regardless of what type of music she happens to be doing at the time...foreign music listeners & radio are just more open to her type of 'genre-less' body of work. Unfortunately here in the USA mass radio is virtually COMPLETELY margionalized and segregated into strict genre's with strict defenitions of each and strict pre-programmed playlists that exclude artists of Meshells caliber...thus most US radio listeners are deprived of virtually all of Meshells astonishing work...a fact that pisses me off, makes me sad and makes me embarrased that we let our US radio/music situation get this bad in the first place...pitiful...

The record labels here seem to worry too much about how they are going 'market' artists who don't fit neatly into one of those predefined 'genre's i spoke of...so they avoid it if they can...and when at artist can legitimately go from hip-hop, funk, rock, soul, reggae, pop, to straight-up Jazz, well, the companies just seem to get scared...

Thank goodness that Universal France heard the music for what it was...GREAT...and put it out there...otherwise this thing could be still sitting in the vault somewhere which would've been an unforgivable shame...
[Edited 5/14/05 2:21am]

i've stopped myself several times from ordering this overseas. i'll be patient since its dropping here in June. i don't want to pay that import price, i would if i had to, but looks like i won't. Really i'm not a cheap bastid, but.....

Has anyone heard news on another Meshell album that's supposedly being released this month?

sinisterpentatonic said:

Another album??
/peace Manki

manki said:

yeah, another orger here, personally talked to Meshell after a show and she told him she had another album coming out other than DOTI that was dropping this month. Keep in mind i read it here, so.....but i believe him. he started a really cool thread about the show where he mentions the album,, i'll try to find it.

TheResistor said:

>This is the type of Jazz album Prince wishes he could do

Oh Gawd. We've all heard this before when some reviewer said that Cookie was the album "Prince wishes he could do."

Prince and Meshell are completely different artists, but both extremely talented. They each create what they want to create. Do you actually think that Prince sits in the studio wishing that he could create something that another has created? Yeah right. That's the reason why he's been known all of these years to come up with the most unique sounds in music that no one has ever dared try or come up with.

The only reason why people put down Prince's jazz-fusion album N.E.W.S, is because they aren't used to hearing that type of "jazz". Prince enjoys experimenting with sounds and creating original work, and that is what you get in something like N.E.W.S. It is sad that more people in this world don't have an open mind when it comes to music, and are so quick to compare one artist's work to another's, especially when each artist is usually completely different.

Me'shell makes music 'outa da box'. I saw her last performance promoting this album and it blew my mind. Amazing.

I am supposed to get a live recording of that performance... I can't wait to see if the recording holds up as well as I remember it.

I am sure that when people say 'this is the album Prince wishes he could do' just means a prop to Me'shell, not a diss to Prince. Prince is a COPIER of music and does his 'own' thing with it. I think Bernie Worrell said something to that extent too not so long ago.

Meshell on the other hand is not afraid to become part of the music, where Prince makes the music his own. Seeing Me'shell and her Spirit Music Jamia group was another experience. They channeled the spirit of Miles Davis during his time with John Coltrane... it was SUCH a joy to stand there, close my eyes and let Me'shell put that bass boom in my tummy and that smile on my face...

HamsterHuey said:

Huey, didn't abierman say Meshell was dropping an album other than this, soon? i think it was on that thread where one of you reviewed the show you where just referring to.

sinisterpentatonic said:

True. She said she would have another album out in May.

HamsterHuey said:

hey ya'll, not sure but she may have been talking about Ron Blakes new album due out May 24th. Ron plays with her in her band Spirit Music Jamia, and i believe Meshell produced his entire record (its titled "Sonic Tonic" i think )...and I'm guessing she also played at least some bass on it as well.

by the way, which concert did you guys go to that you think you might get to hear a recording of? It wouldn't have happened to be the Amsterdam show would it? I heard that one was on another level completely...a mindblower...


[Edited 5/14/05 17:27pm]
[Edited 5/14/05 17:31pm]

justhemusic said:

Well, it was Abierman who spoke to her, so check with him, but I remember him saying SHE would have an album out.

And yes, it was Amsterdam. Amazing concert.

HamsterHuey said:

whooaa...uh..if you DO end up getting a recording of that Amsterdam show ...PLEASE let me know what you'd be willing to trade for a copy of it. (I have several Meshell gigs that i'd haippily trade copies of for a copy of that one. I didn't experience the Amsterdam show myself (i live in the USA), but i've seen a few reviews of it and they are ALL just glowing...one of the reviewers had seen other Spirit Music european gigs but said that there was something very special about this Amsterdam one...i'd love to hear it if i'm lucky enough...so if you get it PLEASE do contact me if you can...

thanks in advance!

HamsterHuey said:

I talked to her briefly at the aftershow-party that night and asked her about a new record, she told me it was May.....Right now, I am not quite sure whether she might have referred to Dance Of The Infedels.....I'm hoping she did not!

That was an amazing night! What a true performer with an amazing band.....Prince, eat your heart out!

justhemusic said:

somebody better get me a recording of that night!!! Anyone?

HamsterHuey said:

-----
What drugs are you taking. You don't think Prince is not a part of him music??

I am sorry I don't think Me'shell has done anything good since "Plantation Lullibies. I am amazed at the pass that she gets from people on this board.

cinnamongirl24 said:

-----
Co-Sign.

laurarichardson said:

You are entitled to your opinion. You don't see me throw around drug references, though. Thanks alot.

And I am sure Prince is very committed to his own music, but he always has to make a certain style his own, doesn't he? He 'Prince-efies' other music styles and other people's songs, like cutting off two beautiful verses of A Case Of You and even messing with the title so it fits his own symbology.

When Prince plays 'jazz', he does his own thing with it. With Madhouse he funkafied it, using jazz-fusion and with Xpectation he mellowed it. N.E.W.S is an album I love extremely, but I would never call it jazz. It's an instrumental outing in which he uses many different musical styles.

Me'shell. If you think she has done nothing right after Plantation Lullabies, then I guess it is no use combatting that; to me, she only has become better and better.

When Prince plays his version of jazz, he is still Prince. Good for him. But Me'shell just does her own thing and revokes other names while doing it. Good for her too.

I have seen Miles Davis in concert just ONCE and it wasn't Prince who reminded me of him, even though I know he loved Prince's work. It was Me'shell's band that reminded me of mr Davis' band.

HamsterHuey said:

I 100% agree with Huey, and I've seen Miles also only once! I do not all of his recordings, during Me'Shell's show Huey made a reference to Miles' 'A Tribute To Jack Johnson', I have finally gotten my hands on it and, yes, Me'Shell & her new band come damn close!

HamsterHuey said:

I'm with ya Huey...
I'm a fan of Prince too of course. Since the beginning of his career. And he was ideed my favorite artist for a loooong time too. Meshell IS my favorite artist now though. and has been so from the beginning of HER career. Doesn't mean i have to stop liking eveything P does. Some of it is still good some of it not so good. As Huey said, He and Meshell go about things a little differently...in the studio and from my own experiences in most cases live on stage as well...

where Princes shows are mostly more polished 'performances' (those rare and scattered aftershow jams notwithstnding)...Meshells shows are ALWAYS more collaborative and improvisational in the truest sense of the word...she really does let go and just let the MUSIC take her and the band wherever IT decides to go that night...you just never know what you are going to get. I'm not saying Prince CAN'T do that (we obviously know that he can, via those rare aftershow jams)...but at most of his OFFICIAL shows, for his own reasons he chooses not to. And look, theres nothing wrong with polished shows...its just a matter of preference...and i just always prefer his aftershow type of music much better than the staged shows. And with Meshell the stage shows ARE the aftershows, thats one reason why i'm such a fan of her work.

as for the records...

wow laurarichardson...if you think she hasn't done anything good since Plantation Lullabies...well then i won't even begin to debate that issue. We'll simply have to agree to disagree and leave it at that because i couldn't disagree with you any more strongly about that. Like huey i think she has STEADILY IMPROVED and raised the bar every time WITHOUT question (and thats saying a lot considering how good that first record was).

But as i said we can agree to disagree..we probably just have different tastes when it comes to what moves us musically, and i'm cool with that, not gonna try to change your tastebuds.

HamsterHuey said:

-----
Gee, I kind of thought the Minn sound was the sound the Prince invented. Therefore, I not sure this guy has made his entire music careear out of 'making a certain style his own"

I also know I am not the only one who thinks Me'shell last good CD was Plantation Lullabies. I think most of the CD buying public agrees with me.

I'll wait to see what her jazz project is like before I past judgement on it but, I think she is finished as far as being a mainstream artist.

laurarichardson said:

With all the respect, based on what? What is great about Me'Shell is that each and every cd she made is completely different from the other, it is hard to pigeon-hole her. Personally, I think she's has gotten better with everyone of them, not wanting to say she was ever not not good! You can simply not compare 'PL' to 'Bitter', or 'Peace Beyond Passion' to 'Cookie...', etc. The best is that she does not give a fuck of what you or I think, and keeps evolving! If you dig that and you're open for it, she'll take you on a trip!

I got the "Dance of the Infidel" cd in my
mail yesterday.It's great!!
I wish that Meshell would produce a whole album 4
Lalah Hathaway.
/peace Manki