India.Arie
Voyage to India (Motown)
4.0

I must admit: I was skeptical about listening to this album at first, even though India.Arie is certainly the best artist to be spawned by Motown Records since Marvin Gaye. I am such a fan of her first single, “Video” (the opening line, “Sometimes I shave my legs/Sometimes I don’t” should be internationally recognized as The Best Opening Lyric of Mankind), that I wasn’t sure that the Cotton-Clad One could emotionally, creatively and/or commercially support the career making move of a sophomore release. Man, was I ever wrong (and you know I hate saying that). The first track is the premiere episode in a triptych of interludes that are featured on Voyage titled “Growth”, “Healing” and “Gratitude” (virtues that more than a few recording artists should consider looking into). The minute-long song is a surprisingly lo-fi introduction, with only one phrase to offer: “The only thing constant in this world is change/That’s why today I take life as it comes.” In those few words, you understand: music shouldn’t be about better; it should be about different.

And different, Voyage certainly is: a gem waddling in the grime that is modern, commercial R&B. India.Arie doesn’t start beefs; instead of attacking, say, Eminem on misogyny, she simply cuts the pretentious bullshit and writes a beautiful song, “Talk To Her”, telling men to take it easy with their ladies. She’s neutralizing the acid, so to speak.

But like any raw stone, there are a few flaws, even though they do not really taint the jewels general, uncut beauty. There are times when the record is just a little too personal, it would be refreshing if India would just give up on the “intimate” chuckles, playful yelps, laughs, etc on an album that, save a few tracks, was obviously commercially produced and packaged. It creates not an illusion of privacy and camaraderie with listeners, but a virtual sonic realm where, hey, things aren’t that funny or relaxed, yet you feel compelled to laugh and play along, because “they” tell you to. It’s a very disconcerting overall ambiance. It also seems to add an extra length to the album, breeching the #1 universal long-playing record maxim: long album good; short album, better.

But what petty mistakes were made on this LP are rapidly mended by India’s brilliant musicianship (she’s only been playing the guitar for a couple of years, and already sounds like a bona-fide Axe Diva) and even more astonishing songwriting. She is able to take jaded, watered-down themes and rejuvenate them to the point where they sound almost fresh. In “The Truth”, India takes the will-never-cease-to-written-about theme of unconditional love (yawn) and puts her own mark of spiritual approval on it: “It’s almost like I knew this man from another life/Like back then maybe I was his husband and he was my wife.” In “Complicated Melody”, she recomposes the concept of beauty, comparing her lover not to a six-pack of abs, but an intricate song, graceful yet full of mystery and misinterpretation, almost beyond her grasp.

As India.Arie proves through this album, not all is lost for commercial R&B. Motown still has magic, thankfully, and I, for one, cannot wait till India embarks on another leg of her Voyage. Cameron Cook

(Note: I wrote this entire review without mentioning once the expression “neo-soul”. Oh wait. I just did. Dammit.)