How does it compare to the artist's other releases
Not applicable
Value for Money
Excellent
Advantages:
Attractive melodies, odd rhythms, novel lyrics in sophisticated blend of jazz, pop, rock and funk .
Disadvantages:
Very restricted availability of out - of - print album on vinyl and CD .
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Chalk up another treasure lost to the vagaries of the recording industry: Rosie Vela's outstanding 1986 debut album, 'Zazu', recorded on the A&M label, would not be met with a follow-up release. Thanks to Polydor's purchase of A&M, her erstwhile future sophomore release would remain buried in limbo. (Guitarist Rick Derringer, who played on both 'Zazu' and the tentative second album, thinks the latter even outshone 'Zazu'). In a turn of mystifying weirdness, a Polydor producer thought he had the next most brilliant idea in the world and told Ms Vela she should adopt an androgynous persona and create a heavy metal (!) sound. (Geez, shades of Tori Amos' own strange fate before she chucked her own label's equally moronic advice to work instead on that stunner, 'Little Earthquakes' (1991)!)
So today we're left with just one precious collection of nine strong tracks from the creative mind of Ms Vela with help from some fine people (drummer Jim Keltner, bassist Jimmy Haslip, among others, even a pretty well-known duo). The songs hint enticingly at greater musical possibilities from this artist given short shrift by later events.
It might be the fact that Rosie Vela was a model-turned-musician/composer/ recording artist that initially worked against her. Quite a few made that leap in the Eighties, didn't they? - there's that non-singing anomaly called Bananarama, and the actually talented Basia ('Time and Tide', etc), just to name a few. Yet, how could anyone dismiss out of hand the person who would inadvertently spark the first reunion of Donald Fagen and Michael Becker in the recording studio? - whose demos enticed both musicians to guest on 'Zazu'? It speaks volumes of the excellence of Ms Vela's self-penned material and studio sound if the boys (then-formerly known as Steely Dan) had asked to participate in the recording of 'Zazu'. Then working on Ms Vela's 'Zazu', producer Gary Katz would facilitate the convergence of his famous former clients with Ms Vela on the album. Donald Fagen and Walter Becker would ultimately provide steady support on the synthesizer and lead guitar, respectively, on a handful of tracks. Besides the vocals, Ms Vela herself would also man the occasional studio synthesizer.
Two decades later, 'Zazu' continues to please and soothe, with its lovely melodic themes married to attractively odd, syncopated rhythms. Only 'Magic Smile', the most 'regular' track of the lot, received any major airplay on the FM stations. Back home in Manila, FM radio would occasionally feature 'Magic Smile', Ms Vela's low-key, Steely Danesque piece sung just above a whisper, with no guitars in the mix - just springy synthesizers and subtle percussion. 'Magic Smile' would be an instant hit with me, since its attractiveness stemmed from the same place whence came those long cherished songs on the Becker-Fagen (Steely Dan) albums, 'Aja' and 'Gaucho'.
Curiously, most of the songs on 'Zazu' seem to slip unnoticed into one's consciousness from nowhere. Ms Vela's complex compositions eschew the typical pop format of verse-verse-chorus-verse. Instead, they present a more jazz-like, natural sophistication born of intriguing shifts in key and tempo.
Melodically, the songs evoke Joni Mitchell - if Ms Mitchell were to tread a delineated, more jazzy, funky path. The songs offer no real musical hooks, but phrases do stick in one's memory. In fact, entire songs tend to linger in the mind, as one phrase leads to the next, then to the equivalent of a chorus/refrain, thence back to the first phrases, through perhaps another chorus/refrain, with repeats tossed in sans strict structural symmetry. Besides the more reflective 'Zazu', each song exudes an irresistible, gently propulsive energy that reels you in, settles in your midbrain, there to dwell happily until the final fade-out.
The musical arrangements are unfussy and precisely executed. Vocals are cool and easy, perhaps unexceptional in their power, ranging from low warbles to mid-pitch crooning. Occasionally, there's a playful mangling of the words ('beh-beh' for 'baby'). Of note are the lyrics themselves, which can match those of Steely Dan in sheer opacity of meaning. Witness 'Zazu': ' They said you meant to Discarbonate the Diamond Rip-Off. Without your one best friend, now. Oh. Oh, didn't you know. Imagination's my Business High.'*
At times, the sounds are even made up from whole cloth, as in 'Fool's Paradise': ' In a Fool's Paradise. A can na vee can a bot a set you zee a de dy cu no zy su no. A can a vee a said. Nothin' can free me now. Fool's Paradise. A do na don da on day.'*
And in 'Sunday': ' How could I backtrack in time Muk an a say. Do da ba. I sent you my Head On. Ka vin you co da vin. An in a.
Sideshowed a bad CHAT. A muk an a say. Do da ba a Zen. Jive coulda Calvin you wussie.'*
It's no wonder those unintelligible 'words' to the songs had always escaped me before.
The album opens with rousing electric guitar work on 'Fool's Paradise', which has an attractive urgency to its up-tempo beat. Then, the delicate 'Magic Smile' breezes in on Mr Fagen's and Ms Vela's synthesizers, and little else other than soft percussion. Its radio-readiness is apparent, even if it's light-years ahead in elegance of most soggy Top 40ers.
It's no surprise that the engaging 'Interlude' hews most closely to the Steely Dan sound. Both Mr Fagen and Mr Becker separately gave fulsome praise to this track on first hearing. Hints of 'Aja' and 'Glamour Profession' crop up, but with more abrupt shifts in the key and loosely structured tempo.
'Tonto' 's distressingly choppy beat suggests a dis-ease, an immediacy to the concerns of the song's subject. With a speech-like cadence, the song might bemoan the fate of the rarely appreciated sidekick who's left out of the main action in this Tonto-like love relationship (not unlike the Lone Ranger's Indian friend).
On the face of it, the suavely rendered 'Sunday' seems to wander off in various unmapped directions. The cut remains an enjoyable trip to nowhere much, with just enough time and key signature jumps to keep the voyage interesting. Similar in its deceptive lightness of being is 'Taxi', with a more enigmatic subject whom the singer describes as walking on water and performing miracles…one major historical figure comes to mind, but whom she really refers to remains a mystery.
Underscored by a driving double rhythm, ' 2nd Emotion' takes a humourous look at falling madly in love with someone, with wacky and even nonsensical words: ' Ah. Ki me kin no von zin zorry. Ah. Ki me kin no von zin zorry now. I'll never come back. I'm in pieces. I can't decide about ya.'*
With a refreshing novelty to its metaphors and mildly bittersweet and catchy tune, 'Boxs' has a heartsick lover singing, 'One night you may find me. Standin' in the wings outside of your heart. I need your love decision. Bangin' on Boxes in the middle of your street. Bang Bang on Boxes so my heart can feel the beat. Is it any wonder? I want to know.'*
Finally, the album closes with 'Zazu', a quietly deliberate song that's as close to a ballad that one gets here. Ms Vela could be singing with regret about an alien lover from outer space. Or not. Who really knows?
'Zazu''s music bears no identifying marks specific to any post-Seventies decade, and its overall style resists boxy, categorical norms. And therein lies the rub. Like the music of Kate Bush and other similarly convention-defying musicians, the unusual works of Ms Vela might have harmed her marketability. Her good looks and modelling pedigree would prove to be another obstacle to being regarded with seriousness for her creative gifts. Initial legitimacy would be conferred by the hallowed participation of Donald Fagen and Michael Becker, and thank goodness for the guys of Steely Dan.
So, if you happen to really like the music of the Dan, it would behoove you to keep an ear out for this unique album - that is, if you're lucky enough to know someone who owns a copy. Alas, 'Zazu' has been out of print for ages, although wholly serviceable used vinyl and CD copies can still be had for a few bucks on eBay (brand new import CDs remain outrageously priced!). Final rating is four-and-a-half magical stars.
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