Forecasting for Rain | Meshell Ndegeocello’s 2011 Release Is an Emotionally Evocative and Gently Running Masterpiece
Meshell Ndegeocello’s work is stretched through various genres (funk, R&B, soul, jazz, and rap). Ndegeocello’s expert bass work was originally brought to us in her 1993 hit “If That’s Your Boyfriend (He Wasn’t Last Night).”
Along with a full discography, Meshell has had the opportunity to play bass and perform for artists like Madonna, Alan's Morrisette, Chaka Khan, and the Indigo Girls, to name a few.
One of my favorites in her catalog is the absolutely creamy and satin sound of Weather. At many moments the record captures the petrichor of rain against the sidewalk on a golden afternoon. Its languorous sound is honey to the ears. On the album’s softer sound, Ndegeocello told San Diego’s NBC affiliate:
“I’m on a French label, and people just aren’t spending what they have in the past on records. We just decided to spend the money on the musicians instead of all the days of recording time. And once we got with Joe, he was like, “Well, why don’t we just do it like a jazz record?” So we played everything out, and it was like first or second take as well. There are very few overdubs. Essentially, what you’re hearing is a quartet. In my mind, if there was any planning at all, it was like one of those David Bowie records where he uses so-called traditional instruments but in a very modern way. So I wanted to make this modern music, but with things like just some simple drums, guitar and piano. Joe even had me singing more than I was playing bass. It was a good experience.”
The album opens on the warm and shadowy “Weather.” It’s a soft hum of acoustic guitars, keys, and drums. Mixed with the gentle vocal delivery of Ndegeocello, it completely conjures the imagery of dying rainstorm flooding light into a cozy room.
Meshell takes us through the many ways our day can be ruined through the weather metaphor. Through all these blockades to our plans, she suggests we fall to her as our alternative, “Just when the wind can move tonight/ I know a place where we can hide/ Someone finds out — blame it on the weather/ We can always blame it on the weather.”
Ndegeocello then takes us through the many ways she can quell our ailments all while letting us know that weather can always be our excuse to others. “Objects In Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear” has a beautifully sinuous sound through the low hum of bass and flutter of strings. The verses radiate a shapelessness seeming to mirror her ever tunneling focus on her lost lover.
The title is a play off how Meshell feels around the shattered remains of her ended relationship. She was far more in love with them than they were, which gives much more depth to the title. Through the song, Ndegeocello is haunted by the still lingering depths of her love. This is something she tries to fight off feebly by the end of the song, “I think about you every day/ While I loiter on your doorstep/ To memories, I say, ‘I’ve had enough’/ Oh, I try/ I try/ (Memories, memories).” The song permeates with such beautiful sadness.
“Feeling For the Wall” is a gentle waltz that glows in the soft incidences of a distant lamp. We flood in occasionally with more iridescent sounds, which only adds a painful sense of ache to the emotion Meshell adds. Playing off the themes of longing, Ndegeocello aches to start anew in a clean and pure way. She paints a sense of pain in her hopes, “I wanna take you just like laughter/ Breaks apart like bread/ Scatter ’em out here after/ And follow you like a threat.”
All these similes have a stinging air of unfulfilled longing. By the end of the song, we see Meshell hopes to one day see herself and express herself in the way her partner/friend/family does.
“Chance” gives us a bit of a brighter sound compared to the first few tracks. The percussion, guitars, and key work gives the song a decent walking pace to move by. The song is a challenge to take a chance on something regardless of the outcomes, “Take a chance/ If not for love then I have to refuse it/ Take a chance/ No way to win if there’s no way to lose it.” The verses take us into her mind as she tries to gather together the concept she wants to speak on and finally how she wants to deliver this thought to the world.
The ballad on the album is the piano-based “Oysters.” Each of the three opening verses discusses the fleeting nature of wishes (be they on shooting stars, in wishing wells, or on changing the world). Through these lines, we get the ever-growing sensual nature of her view point of this person, “Wishing well is gonna run dry/ But I ain’t gonna leave you tonight…/ Everybody talking about changing the world/ World ain’t ever gonna change/ But you can always change in front of me.”
By the end of the song, Meshell says some things you have to test the waters on your own to hone your skills on catching the one you’re after.
“Rapid Fire” is the most poetic song on the album. Ndegeocello gives the song a bit of a funk and psychedelic sound. The whole song grooves. Meshell struggles against the many forces of the world that seek to work against her.
Through this confusion and frustration, she seeks to find meaning and lucidity, “Music whispered out of comas incomplete/ The notes are all fractured, the bars are decayed/ Carve that serenade to a lover’s leap/ May a smile convert your figure to a flow.” Through this struggle to find meaning, be it through song or some personal form, she ends the song with the notion to keep moving forward as it is the only way.
Meshell provides her own take on Leonard Cohen’s “Chelsea Hotel.” Under her thumb, the song glows with warm light. Her point of view in the song gives an interesting twist on the two lovers, “You told me again you preferred beautiful men/ But for me you would make an exception.” Her take on the song keeps the poignance of the original while giving it a whole new life.
“Dirty World” brings in some of Meshell’s funky bass work. This is probably the most funkiest on the album. Keeping cohesive with the other songs, we bloom into a creamy softness by the track's chorus. We take on a more jaded view of the world. Ndegeocello calls out how our pursuit of happiness has caused more heartache than joy to those around us.
She needles those in power who have placed a thick glass ceiling above us, “The smell of rubbish/ Regret and pain/ Hear them sell us/ A beautiful fraud.” It’s this cut throat dirty world that she wishes to burn down to start fresh from.
My favorite on the entire album is “A Bitter Mule.” The stretched guitar, and piano melodies bring to mind the sweeping purple-gray of a late afternoon rainy car ride. This languorous tone adds so much pain to Meshell’s words. The opening delivery comes off so broken through Ndegeocello’s cadence, “If it’s so important to be there by dinner/ Take a plane/ Over twenty hours by car or train.” The desperation in her pleas to have her partner stay rips through you, “I’m sorry you suffered so long/ Am I really as bad as you say?/ I wish you would stay, I wish I could change/ Your mind.” By the song's end, it’s a call and response between wishing them well as they leave and begging them to stay.
“Crazy and Wild” is a jazzier number. Benji Hughes's rich deep vocals give a welcomed depth against Meshell’s softer, higher register. Ndegeocello continues the threads of heartbreak as she is still transfixed over seeing this person. Be it an ex that she still has deep feelings for or just a person with whom she’s enamored, Meshell can’t shake the hold they have over her. It’s grabbed her entire being, “I’m crazy and wild/ Crazy and wild about you/ I go crazy and wild,” and she doesn’t know how to break this spell over her.
“Petite Mort” is a coy play off of orgasm. We get flickers of funkiness in the bass and guitar melodies, echoing the soft sexuality of the song. We get moments of neon-like glows when the piano and strings chime in, adding to the intimacy. Ndegeocello is at her most sensual. It’s a plea for release. She purrs the lines, “I was crowned much too early/ Hark, are you foe or friend?/ Baby arch your back/ And tell me the truth,” setting to mind an intimate need for her partner to let her “die this little death.” The chorus, “Who’s your daddy?/ (You are, you are),” has a duality under Meshell’s pen. She could either be responding to a lover or asking a lover.
“Dead End” takes a look at control. Compared to the other tracks, the acoustic guitar work almost gives the song a western vibe. I appreciate the driving beat that carries us forward on a sandy-colored soundscape. Meshell waxes on whether or not, behind closed doors, if her partner would seek to control her, “Would you conquer me/ If there’s only you and I?” The song seeks to push past the need for violence. The second verse, “Young men fighting war/ For old men who tell lies/ Leave me in your field/ The poppies soothe my mind,” alludes to the use of opiates instead of waging war (be it on the battlefield or in the streets). The chorus seems to say if you must go to be a part of this go, but know that it’s not something she feels the need to do.
We end the album with a gentle cover of The Soul Children's “Don’t Take My Kindness For Weakness.” Compared to the disco/soul original, Ndegeocello’s take opts to dress down the song. The piano and guitar melodies give a much more conversational take on a song that asks for the listener to understand their strength isn’t dictated by the kindness they provide to others. Through this lens, Meshell’s vocals act more like a warning to those that seek to mistreat her charity.
This album is a shining beacon in her catalog. I love the warmth and softness that Meshell and collaborators bring to each song on the album. I find softer albums like these to sometimes be rather dull by the end, but she manages to keep each track sounding fresh and interesting.
I love the Leonard Cohen and The Soul Children covers. Each gives a different yet unique look at the stories being told. Listening to this album all the way through has given me an entirely different respect for it.
It has also sparked my interest in listening to all her prior and post-works since this record. This is yet another album I find quite hard to find skippable tracks on. Each is worthy of independent and collective listening. Guess she has me blaming it on the weather.
My favorites:
- “Weather”
- “Object in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear”
- “Feeling for the Wall”
- “A Bitter Mule”
- “Dead End”
- “Don’t Mistake My Kindness for Weakness”
My overall rating: 9.0 out of 10.
