Concrete Rose - Ashanti

...then!

Concrete Rose was released on 13th December 2004 in the UK and is her 3rd album (previous releases include Ashanti 2002 and Chapter II 2003). She was born in 1980 in New York City and is typical of most of the American music scene – featuring on shows such as The Disney Show as a child. She first blasted to fame thanks to her duet with Ja Rule “It’s About Time” as well as multiple other duets with artists such as Fat Joe and ...
...notched up a fair number of hits under her belt at the tender age of 24! And so onto her latest release…

It seems increasingly common for artists to do an "Introduction" on their albums these days, a fairly new fangled idea I think? And of course, keeping in true style, Ashanti also has her own offering of an Introduction which consists of a rather sultry backing music and talk between Ashanti and an unidentified male... ... more

Over Christmas while relaxing in the luxuries home brings (including hot running water at all tips, a constantly filled fridge and a lack of empty pizza boxes cluttered over the furniture) I began to update and improve my CD collection and downloaded quite a few new albums – naughty I know! Ashanti’s new release “Concrete Rose” has fast become one of the most played albums in my rather battered CD player since then!

Concrete Rose was released on 13th December 2004 in the UK and is her 3rd album (previous releases include Ashanti 2002 and Chapter II 2003). She was born in 1980 in New York City and is typical of most of the American music scene – featuring on shows such as The Disney Show as a child. She first blasted to fame thanks to her duet with Ja Rule “It’s About Time” as well as multiple other duets with artists such as Fat Joe and B.I.G. Since then her success has been unstoppable and she’s notched up a fair number of hits under her belt at the tender age of 24! And so onto her latest release…

It seems increasingly common for artists to do an "Introduction" on their albums these days, a fairly new fangled idea I think? And of course, keeping in true style, Ashanti also has her own offering of an Introduction which consists of a rather sultry backing music and talk between Ashanti and an unidentified male... adds a few more seconds to the album length but won't have you dancing on the tables!

Following this rather odd start comes her first track "Still Down" which is a duet with T.I. a rap artist from America. It's a catchy song, good lyrics and great singing but it just feels like there's something missing! It flows well and there is a sense of progression but it's more of a relaxing tune than an upbeat one. Following this is Ashanti's "Message to the Fans" which is accompanied by the opening music to "Only U" whereby she confesses her love for us (her fans) and thanks us - a nice touch really I feel!

And at last with track 4 we get to one of the best tracks on the album, "Only U." It's a fantastic, raunchy, sexy song which will have you up there and dancing away, gyrating those hips and all! "Boy you got me doing things I never thought I'd do.... but only you can make me feel and only you can take me there." It didn't really have the desired results in the USA (it only reached place 5 for a week) which is a shame as it's a great song, definitely worth checking out if you've not heard it before now. The music is reminiscent from the Sugababes "Freak Me" giving that underground, almost dirty and echoey beat. This is followed by the equally upbeat "Focus" which is a little more staccato and rapid in contrast to the previous song. There's a hard, firm beat which plays throughout and Ashanti's light, sexy voice contrasts well against this. The lyrics in this song are great, it talks of getting over someone, presumably a past relationship, and "focussing" more on the future and moving on - surely something we can all relate to!

The mood of the album changes somewhat now with "Don't Let Them," the music is much slower yet still retains its sultry feel. Ashanti's voice is brilliant in this; it's sweet yet can still maintain it's oppressive, sexy feel. It's not a dance song nor is it particularly R n B orientated either, more of a ballad this time for Ashanti. This is followed by "Love Again" which begins with Ashanti speaking and then progressing to singing, it's almost as if she's whispering and sounds rather tentative to fit the mood of "You almost made me fall in love again." It's another laidback song for Ashanti but she actually carries them off surprisingly well proving that perhaps the girl can do both upbeat and raunchy dance tracks as well as sultry and slow ballads.

A duet brings a refreshing change to this album with Ashanti singing alongside the rather new R n B star Lloyd in America. It's a brilliant song, one of my favourites on the album - it's smooth, catchy and has a great beat. If you've heard Lloyd's "Southside" track that featured Ashanti so this is actually the second time they've been there! "Cos I only want you my baby... you're all I need all I want." The great thing about this track is that Lloyd's voice is so versatile, he sings much more than he actually raps which is a great alternative to the normal R n B duets. This is followed by "U" which once again is a catchy, upbeat track and shows that she's capable of singing many different rhythms and without a lot of musical accompaniment too! "Every Lil' Thing" follows this as track 10 which again is rather catchy yet it just feels as though it’s lacking something, the beat is fairly static throughout as is the tone and volume of singing which makes it feel as if it’s a little monotone and lacks progression.

“Turn It Up” is your classic “party song,” you know the type, every album has it and it’s distinguished from other songs by making multiple references to partying? Well this album is no different and the lyrics of this song show that, “We’re gonna party through the night, don’t you wanna drink and dance tonight?” It’s a duet with Ja Rule who is a great artist and adds a bit of “hardcore” R n B to an album that’s almost verging on the pop genre. It’s a good song, nothing special, but worth listening to. This is followed by “Buck 300 Skit” which involves an answer phone message, a little obscure and totally unncecessary. It’s followed by “So Hot” which is a song that is almost reminiscent of someone like Faith Hill with long, soaring lyrics and all at once you’d think you were watching Pearl Harbour almost! The mood of the album is almost lost and the title does not reflect the song at all – “So Hot” suggests a sexy number to me, not a soaring emotive type!

“Don’t Leave Me Alone” rectifies the disappointment of the past three songs and I really hope this is a future single release for Ashanti. It’s brilliant, sexy and sultry – a little slower than “Only U” but it’s from the same genre of songs. It features 7 Aurelis although their input into the song is quite small. “Sister Stories Skit” is similar to the one they did on Chapter II (her previous album), it’s a tune with no backing music, and it’s good if a little short. “Freedom” is the final song on her normal album (although we lucky Brits get a couple of bonus tracks!) and it’s quite catchy and quick. “So I’m gonna close my eyes…. Despite what you think I’m gonna be free coz I’m gonna be me,” which is something we could all take in and digest!

The two bonus tracks are firstly her “Wonderful” duet with R Kelly and Ja Rule which is brilliant and is a former number 1. And lastly “Touch My Body” from the film Bride & Prejudice, it’s from that sort of music genre with reggae and Indian influences in the backing music.

** My Opinion **

Without a doubt this is Ashanti’s best album yet, there’s a great mixture of songs with only 2 or 3 weak links which is pretty good for an album with 18 tracks on it! She’s typically an R n B artist although this album proves she’s capable of singing ballads and more dance orientated tunes as well such as the sure fire hit “Only U.” If you’re an Ashanti album or are a big fan of Jamelia, Brandy, Lloyd, etc. then this album will suit you down to the ground!

It’s priced at £8.99 on play.com with free postage or £9.99 in HMV and Tesco.

Thanks for reading! Lucie xxx
 

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