The arrival of a new Jill Scott album to the the shelves is always something of an event for the Neo-Soul community; she is pretty much the Queen of the genre. Along with Erykah Badu, she is certainly the best known and most in-demand vocalist in the scene. I have to confess myself a little dissapointed with this album- the fault is certainly not in the songwriting, but the production is not equal to the last 2 LPs. The killer tracks are as good as ever, but the fillers fall short more than in 'Words & Sounds 1' and 'Beautifully Human'. This is partially personal taste though; tracks like 'Hate On Me' and 'The Real Thing' are a little too "R&B" for my pallette.
'Let It Be' is a strong start, in classic Jill Scott vein- phat funky drummer loop with the philosophy of musical diversity expounded.
'The Real Thing' is not my cup of tea really- the guitar sound is a little too rock & roll for a Neo Soul purist, but Jill's poetic lyrical style is as good as ever.
'Hate On Me' is a big R&B cut; again not to my liking. The chromatic synth descent lacks all the warmth of harmony that I have come to expect from a Jill Scott track.
'Come See About Me' is perhaps the first cut that sounds like classically Jill. Beautiful gospel chord sequence with tweaks of moog-style synth, organ and nice horn riffs over a gently rolling shaker/rimshot groove.
'Crown Royal' is typical Jill Scott interlude (enough bump to make you wish it was a full track!)- notably the movement of the pad is really nice.
'Epiphany' sounds a little like an old Nehneh Cherry track- spoken word over muted riding guitar picks.
'My Love' is the best on the LP by far- the string arrangements are incredible: deep bass & rhodes over a sparce sluggish finger-click beat.
'Insommnia' is also on more familiar Jill terrain. Harmonically, the pre-chorus has something of an Anita Baker chord sequence, but the vocal phrasing is unmistakably Scott's style.
'How It Makes You Feel' is a plea to the male black community not to ignore their sisters. The lyrics are powerfully written, flowing over textures of guitar & bass booming kick.
'Only You' is musically weak- the chord sequence of paralell minor 7th chords is bland, and aside of the linear break and sub line, the track has no other musical content. Jill's voice sounds fine but then it always does- I expect more than this!!
Whenever You're Around' is back on course- absolutely devine string-heavy track. (Incidently the melody and chord sequence partially quote the Jazz Standard 'My Funny Valentine') But with its Nu-Soul bump, and fantastic Herbie Hancock-esqe Arp-Odysee lead solo, this track is one of the strongest on the album.
'Celibacy Blues' is proper old school Ray Charles type accoustic blues- Jill Scott shows here that she is totally comfortable in a more traditional genre. Superb!
'All I' is delicately sung, it almost has the breathy breezy quality of Amel Larrieux at times. The choice of bass instrument (sliding R&B sine) seems innappropriate to me for a slow swing-beat cut of this sort, but this is a minor critisism of an otherwise pleasant track.
'Wanna Be Loved' is similar, but has a bit more of the old Jill feel to it. I particularly like the combined sung/spoken vocals on this.
'Breathe' is a funky end to the album- mystical vocals give way to a tasty groove of potent hip-hop soul.
Overall, 'Words & Sounds Vol. 3' is a good album, but I feel that it has been let down by some mediocre production. The high points are sky high but the lows are lower than I have previously heard from her. The vocals seem more polished, both in delivery and mixdown than certainly 'Words & Sounds 1', and as ever the natural poetry of her song writing is superb.