Ledisi: Pieces of Me

Posted April 21, 2011 by J Matthew Cobb in Reviews 1.0

Sweet soul singer returns with new single, returns to safe familiarity

Oakland singer Ledisi probably has more soul in her pipes than Jennifer Hudson and Fantasia combined, so why is it the singer hasn’t earned the right of passage to a hit single since her 2007 single, “Alright?” Usually the blame falls somewhere between mediocre ballads and slouchy radio promotion. “Pieces of Me,” produced by Chuck Harmony (Fantasia), puts an optical zoom on a much more transparent Ledisi. She opens up her puzzle box of fragility with slight hesitation (“People just don’t know what I’m about/They haven’t seen what’s there behind my smile/There’s so much more of me, I’m showing out”). As the song dances forward on the backs of Keyshia Cole balladry, Ledisi covers up her baggage with the “every woman’s got it” letterhead (“Like every woman I know/I’m complicated fo sho’”). Although she doesn’t wear all her feelings and thoughts on her sleeve like Aretha would, Ledisi makes up for it with her vocals. She struts her vocals like a glowing peacock does her feathers and spices up the accompaniment with Karen Clark-Sheard phrasing. Good singing aside: Ledisi’s new single still leaves us searching for more transparency from her and a stronger set of lyrics to match the big pipes. So far, she’s safer than cod liver oil.

J MATTHEW COBB