The album drops on January 15th.....listen to a clip of the title track.......

https://soundcloud.com/umesongs/beautiful?in=umesongs/sets/teena-maried-beautiful-clips

[Edited 1/14/13 11:05am]

Before her untimely death at the age of 54, Teena Marie, known as the Ivory Queen of Soul or simply Lady Tee and as one of the only white artists ever signed to Motown Records, was working on her 14th and latest album, Beautiful. Recorded at her home studio and finished except for final mixes, Beautiful was seen through to its conclusion by Teena's 20-year-old daughter Alia Rose, who sings with her Mom on two tracks, a cover of Curtis Mayfield's "Give Me Your Love" and "Rare Breed," which she co-wrote (Alia co-wrote two more songs on the album, "Sweet Tooth" and the title song). The first single, "Luv Letter," is an homage to Teena's Motown roots, with nods to Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours," and a dedication to Alia's father, who just happened to be a postman, like in the Marvelettes' song of the same name.

Beautiful is a mother's gift to her daughter, who returns the gesture the only way she knows how, by completing it. The end result is a true labor of love.

You can listen to soundclips of the entire album on Amazon.

I'm gonna be at Best Buy next Tuesday!

kitbradley said:

I'm gonna be at Best Buy next Tuesday!

Me too!

I'm loving what I'm hearing!

SoulAlive said:

Song Title Time Price 6. Maria Bonita 5:15 Not Available 11. Wild Horses 5:17 Not Available

Love these trax...R.I.P. Teena it was nice meeting U...Love these trax...R.I.P. TEE it was really nice meeting u...

Tracklist:

01. Luv Letter 4:37
02. Sweet Tooth 5:36
03. Rare Breed (Feat. Alia Rose & Ty James) 4:37
04. Love Starved 4:44
05. Definition Of Down 4:49
06. Maria Bonita (For My Mother) 5:15
07. Beautiful (For Alia) 5:44
08. The Long Play 6:30
09. Carte Blanche 5:18
10. Give Me Your Love (Feat. Alia Rose) 4:56
11. Wild Horses 5:18
12. The Perfect Feeling 5:48

leaked

kitbradley said:

I'm gonna be at Best Buy next Tuesday!

I've recently seen her mural. It was nice coming down the street, and then a big image of Lady T appears. A sweet tribute.

Ive heard the full album and trust me when i say its slammin to the fullest. Lady T's voice sounds amazing and the music is soulful and funky. I almost cried when i heard Love Starved. Man, such a loss.

I could have lived with about 10 more minutes of this.

https://soundcloud.com/john-morales/teena-marie-i-need-your

Love Letter is my cut!!!

I had asked her for some funk on Twitter before she passed and she said she was gon' have some. BLESS HER HEART.

paisleypark4 said:

Love Letter is my cut!!!

I had asked her for some funk on Twitter before she passed and she said she was gon' have some. BLESS HER HEART.

I had a brief convo with her also on Twitter about a week and a half before she passed. Which I'm going to keep to myself. She really loved her fans & was personable with them....

JoeyC said:

Ive heard the full album and trust me when i say its slammin to the fullest. Lady T's voice sounds amazing and the music is soulful and funky. I almost cried when i heard Love Starved. Man, such a loss.

can't wait to hear it!

I'll be picking this up sometimes this week if not Tuesday.

Love the album cover. Like what i've heard this far.

SoulAlive said:

JoeyC said:

Ive heard the full album and trust me when i say its slammin to the fullest. Lady T's voice sounds amazing and the music is soulful and funky. I almost cried when i heard Love Starved. Man, such a loss.

can't wait to hear it!

What got me about the albums is Teena's singing. Shes sings with such conviction and emotion. It's like she sung every word like it was going to be the last thing she sung...Seriously.

the first single "Luv Letter"

What amazing news

JoeyC said:

SoulAlive said:

can't wait to hear it!

What got me about the albums is Teena's singing. She sings with such conviction and emotion.It's like she sung every word like it was going to be the last thing she sung...Seriously.

I heard a few tracks and I have to agree.

Just listening to the snippets on itunes. I hate to say that most felt middle ground (for Teena), but am hopeful listening to the album in full will change that.

Interesting to see already-released "Wild Horses" from "Passion Play" (one of my faves!) in the mix.

Still buying it of course. Teena was a QUEEN and amazing talent. Even if this album turns out not a favorite it's sure to be well above what most artists put out anyway.

The album is just 'ok' at best. the best tracks (by far) are "Luv Letter" and "Rare Breed".

"Love Starved"

"Luv Letter"

"Maria Bonita"

"Beautiful (Aria)"

"The Perfect Feeling" - are executed wonderfully. Her voice an instrument of agonizing beauty.

The other tracks are a mixed bag of passable balladry and mid-tempo nonstarters. That said, I have no regrets about my decision to buy it.

For some reason, I feel that this posthumous project is akin to Rick James' 2007 posthumous project, Deeper Still.

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

silverchild said:

For some reason, I feel that this posthumous project is akin to Rick James' 2007 posthumous project, Deeper Still.

No it's not that bad.

I have the CD but haven't had a chance to listen to it yet. I'm sure I will dig it. I'm always grateful for posthumous releases. For me, it represents a finalization and closure. It helps me accept that the artist is really gone.

Did anyone get the limited edition FLEXIDISC? Apparently there is a special multi-track re-mix of "I Need Your Lovin'" that you can only get in (American) bricks-and-mortar stores, with purchase of the CD.

I was unaware of the Flexi disc version. The Best Buy exclusive includes two bonus tracks, "Count The Ways" and "When Smokey Sings (For Smokey)."

Got mine today. I will listen tonight.

Cinny said:

Did anyone get the limited edition FLEXIDISC? Apparently there is a special multi-track re-mix of "I Need Your Lovin'" that you can only get in (American) bricks-and-mortar stores, with purchase of the CD.

http://soundcloud.com/joh...eed%2Dyour John Morales remix. A Mazing. Wish it were longer.