Nicki Richards
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Nicki Richards

New York City, New York, United States

New York City, New York, United States
Band R&B Soul

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"Soulchoonz Y2K Album Reviews"

Thursday, 12 February 2009
Nicki Richards - Nicki - 2008 - Nicki Richards Productions
This follow-up release has taken an amazing 18 years to materialise. Isn't that terrifying?! Buying “Naked (To The World)� back in the spring of 1991 seems but yesterday. Well, in this time Nicki has grown, developed and come back at us with a very impressive set which has been lavishly produced, recorded and performed. Nicki is even more stunningly beautiful than before and her vocal maturity is amazing. This set is very much what Nicki wants to do and she has the best of company in doing so too. The album is co-produced by legendary drummer, Lenny White, and features the guitar skills of Marcus Miller, Will Lee on Bass as well as Victor Bailey, Joe Sample on piano, JK's Dinky Bingham on organ and backing vocals from Lisa Fischer, Cindy Mizelle, John James and Chris Williams! Oh yes, AND the Tower Of Power Horns! Blimey, what a line up! LOL. What of the music though? Well, Lenny White has added a harder edge and his drumming skills crash through in a strident and forthright fashion, allowing the likes of Marcus Miller to simply shine. The album will appeal to many people and the style is very mature, adult and is definitely NOT for your 15 year old “R&B� fan!

The opening song is possibly the most radio friendly, that being “Let's Dance�, a ditty which is written by Nicki along with Dinky Binghasm and Joel “JK� Kipnis. Don't fret about the rap at the start by 'LAW', this doesn't feature much so begs the question what was the point? Still, the groove is funky and would not be out of place on a Family Stand album. There's a serious groove here, and woe betide any Ne-Yo fans who cross it's path! The following cut, “Why You Wanna Hurt Me So Bad?�, is another tasty effort – the music here is programmed by Nicki herself, but the style more akin to what she was doing back on Atlantic in '91. Excellent stuff! Fans of TOP will revel in the blinding funk groove of “Check Yourself�. The horns sound as good as ever and Nicki has a whale of a time! I have to pick out “Bring The Love� for being different – this is something that we could have heard in the early 90s and the groove is reminisce of what Randy Muller was doing with Skyy and Robyn Springer. I could even include CeCe Peniston too, actually. Think “Crazy Love� or “Keep On Walking�. Good, eh? For me, though, the scene-stealer is the beautiful, beautiful “Parallel Universe� which reminds me slightly of Janita's “I Only Want You�. This is haunting and gorgeous in the extreme. What a great track and worth the price of the CD alone! Lenny White, Joe Sample and Marcus Miller sound great. The seductive and sexy “In Bed� follows but is woefully short, but is made up by the lovely “Say The Words�, complete with acoustic guitar and birdsong. “Alpha Centauri� is an odd, astronomical, title but fans of Lalah Hathaway's recent work will love this. So, a welcome return and an essential purchase.

Barry Towler
The Vibe Scribe - Soulchoonz UK


"Best Albums of 2008"

Nicki Richards
Nicki
(self-released)

I haven't even reviewed this album yet, but you'll be reading more about it in months to come. In short, Nicki has built herself quite a reputation as a behind the scenes vocal pro post the release of her outstanding 1991 Atlantic Records debut, Naked (To The World). She is currently touring the world with Madonna as a backup singer (and making boo-ya bank)! More important, she called up the confidence and spirit to finally make a follow-up to Naked that she calls Nicki – self releasing it for now via CD Baby and DigStation. As someone who has been anxiously instigating Nicki's return, I am often at a loss to express how amazing this album is - whether I have my subjective fan's cap on or my cold hard critics brim on. This is a thoroughly inspired album in which Nicki has harnessed all of the vast influences she's gleaned from R&B, Jazz, Pop, Rock and Gospel, then channeled them into a program that moves from spiritual to soul-baring to sensual to shock-a-lock-a boogie down with effortless ease. And because she can call masters like Lenny White, Marcus Miller, the Tower of Power Horns, Victor Bailey and Joe Sample among her friends, PLUS tap the natural vocal resources of her mother, grandmother and brother, Nicki's album literally vibrates with top-flight musicality. However, it's truly all about Nicki - the singer, the songwriter, the arranger, the producer and the emboldened visionary who has chosen to do the true artist thing and sing in depth about her life, her loves, world issues and more with revealing candor, sass and jazz. I love this album – 17 songs for the 17 years she's been away as an artist. I will be championing it HARD all next year, so get ready. Since I've been living with it for over two months now and it is available on-line, Nicki Richards' Nicki is my favorite album of the year.

YEAR END REVIEW 2008
Best Albums of 2008
by A. Scott Galloway - Music Editor - Urban Network - Urban Network


Discography

Naked (To The World)
Nicki

Photos

Bio

Nicki Richards is the real deal - a world class singer, songwriter, producer, arranger and performer who brings the sizzle and the thrill back to that rarified realm known as "music beyond category." Born into a household rich in jazz and the gospel of the Primitive Baptist Church, yet raised on the radio of the `70s and `80s - when airwaves overflowed with amazing R&B, rock, pop and dance music - diva Richards delivers a dizzyingly eclectic musical palette to your eardrums. Every composition is hers and she arranged them all in her living room laboratory of beat banks, keyboards, computers and microphones.

Nicki Richards' long-awaited new album is simply titled, Nicki - 17 songs for the 17 years she's been away since her 1991 debut Naked (To the World). It's 76 mind-blowing minutes of the hippest trip in the galaxies aboard Starship Nicki, with guest stars bassists Marcus Miller, Will Lee and Victor Bailey, pianist Joe Sample, the legendary Tower of Power Horns, gargantuan drummer Dennis Chambers, harmonica maverick Gregoire Maret, guitarists Ciro, Sherrod Barnes and Monte Pittman, a sprawling A-list of singers that includes Lisa Fischer, Cindy Mizelle and Nicki's mom Donna Blackmon, and Nicki's rock steady co-producer, mentor and drummer, Mr. Lenny White (of Return to Forever and Twennynine fame). "SHOCK-A-LOCK-A!"

Her sophomore CD reflects not only the sounds of her most lasting influences, but how their timeless masterpieces assisted Nicki in sculpting signature statements all her own. To listen to "I Have Loved You Always" is to imagine Stevie Wonder reconstructing Joni Mitchell's "Two Grey Rooms" while ensconced somewhere deep in the Spanish countryside. Listening to "That Ain't Right" puts you in the mind of Prince teasing, "Dig if you will the picture of Sly Stone having his way with Percy Mayfield's 'Please Send Me Someone to Love.'" The ego strokin� �Say What� finds Nicki recalling nightclub glory days over the beat of Taana Gardner�s bedrock �Heartbeat� groove with a mid-song break straight out of Miles Davis� �So What.� And if you fantasized about what Nicki's CD opener "Let's Dance" might taste like, it would be Tom Browne's "Funkin' for Jamaica" and George Duke's "Reach For It" blended over Krush Groove'd ice with an extract of the GAP Band's supremely chocolaty "Shake." Sip at your own New York funk-fortified risk!

The answer to the obvious first question of why has it been so long since we've heard from �Darling Nicki� is an involved one. Though her debut album was miles ahead of almost every "R&B" CD out at the time, record company turmoil took an unfortunate toll on Nicki the artist, yet freed her up to make an outstanding living as an in-demand A-list session and touring singer for the likes of Tina Turner, Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger, Celine Dion, Mary J. Blige, Lenny Kravitz, Frankie Knuckles, LL Cool J, Anastacia and the Reverend Al Green, to name just a few heavyweights. She married and divorced, saw the world, and lived and loved enough for two lifetimes - memories that fuel her heavily autobiographical Nicki CD...because the artist within her never slept.

"I was living life and figuring out how to make and enjoy music again without someone having the authority to tell me, 'No, you can't do that,'" Nicki shares. "I wanted to express and create music - my own or anyone else's - in a way that was powerful, positive and productive. I was still writing and selling songs to publishers, but as far as me putting it out there, things had just changed."

It was while on the road with Madonna - singing backup with Donna Delory - that Nicki realized she missed the frontline more than she dared admit. "Donna had recorded a CD and was supporting it with gigs while we were on the road. I thought, 'I used to do that...' I'd gotten so caught up in studio work and supporting other artists. It was time for me to turn that focus back on myself. It took me another year before I could pull it together - really carve out the time. Honestly, I also had a little fear. The industry has changed so much... But what I realize now is that it has actually opened up for the better. Artists have less to lose now. So I decided to just go for it!"

That meant holing up in her home studio, sacrificing bright sunny days for a sometimes painful but ultimately cathartic stretch of soul searching and soul-baring. Out poured songs about longing for that one supreme love for the ages, cleansing paeans for clarity and understanding, and anthem-like prayers for humanity following both 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. Most important were the songs that found her turning a personal corner to manifest change within herself. "I was ready to take the bull by the horns on all fronts," Nicki says, "and pull my life in a different direction. At first I was going to title the album Things Are Different Now, but it was too much of a mouthful."

Highlights abound on the lady�s new Nicki collect