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The best kept secret in music
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Come On Through My Door .
Get Real - Giving Up - My Guy - Little Sister - Round And Round - Come On Through My Door - I Wish You All The Best - I'm Sorry For Leaving You
Ronee Martin is an undiscovered treasure for most, I would imagine. Her first album was released in 1987, and we then had a decade's silence until Ronee resurfaced on MoJazz with her superb vocal cut"As Long As I'm Loving You", on "People Make The World Go Round". Her Mojazz debut CD, "Soul Of My Heart", was to be released in April 1997 but the transition at Motown at that time did not favour adult orientated music, and so that was the last that I heard from this lovely Lady. Until now that is. She bounces back on the scene with a very satisfying album called "Come On Through My Door".
There are only 8 tracks on offer but I think everyone will agree that there is definately something on it for their ears. This is very well crafted and profusely directed. The instrumentation is all real and the overall feeling is that older and more sophisticated ears will appreciate it more. Some may see this set as mainly MOR but I have no real problem with that if that is the case. I would liken most tracks musically to the high standards that Gladys Knight would employ. Think "Where Would I Be" from 1991's "Good Woman" CD and you're roughly in the zone I am trying to get across to you. In fact Ann Nesby also comes to mind and some of her more sophisticated, mellower moments spring to mind. Musically and vocally we are talking classy, sophisticated and adult.
As for me, I really did hit on the opening track which is simply brilliant. "Get Real" is a fantastic piece of quality soul co-written with the superb Valerie Pinkston from Chapter 8. Produced by Marquis "Hami" Dair the vibes and Rhodes all merge to make a heavenly track for a laid back summer's day. Echoes of Rhonda Thomas spring to me - "Passion Plea" is an apt comparison. Herman Jackson produces the gentle and very Ann Nesby / Gladys Knight orientated "Giving Up". I can also hear Patti LaBelle making good on this sort of song, too.
The only low point for me is the reworking of The Temptations' "My Girl" into "My Guy". I don't feel this working, and it definitely does not work well within the confines of the material on this CD. I do feel that some more mid-uptempo material would be welcome, and I know that Ronee definitely can deliver on this.
The quality returns on the strong and positive "Little Sister" which is better than anything you will hear on any CD by these so-called and erroneous modern day Divas. "Round And Round", "Come On Through My Door", "I Wish You All The Best" and "I'm Sorry For Leaving You" are classy numbers - not exactly to my taste, but I know a lot of people who will love this material as Ronee's vocals are elegant, regal and perfectly matched to this material.
Again, Motown lost a great deal of talent when the "homeboy hike" occurred with the coming of André Harrell - Ronee was one of the talents. Please check this CD out at CD Baby. I highly recommend it for track one alone! Do not overlook. - Barry Towler, SoulExpress
I remember reading a review of an album called Soul Of My Heart in the late 90s in Vibe magazine. Soul Of My Heart was announced as a release on Motown’s MoJazz sublabel and the artist in question was Ronee Martin. Well, I’ve tried to track down this album over here in Germany because the review made me curious and I thought this may be a rewarding album for me. Unfortunately I’ve never got hold of a copy and haven’t read in any other magazine about it then. I guess Ronee’s album suffered the same fate like Trina Broussard’s debut album for Sony, i.e. that it was never really released except for some promotional copies. So imagine my surprise when I saw the same Ronee Martin recently with an album release on cdbaby.com. It’s good to see that such a gifted singer hasn’t given up and finally has released an album that’s widely available and you don’t have to pay silly prices as for her Sensation release from 1987. The album Come Through My Door has written class all over it. Actually this could easily be a major label release judging from the design and sound. I know I sometimes have my reservations about major labels but with Ronee being the executive producer (which usally means the one who gave the money) and co-writing most of the songs things are a little bit different here. Although Ronee’s sound can be a little bit too MOR-soul at times (Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight or Ann Nesby spring to mind) it’s the music she really feels and wants to do. If you listen to soul music for a long time you may recognize some of the musicians Ronee has worked with on this album. For example the wonderful midtempo soul groover Get Real was written by Ronee and Valerie Pinkston (also known as Valerie Pinkston-Mayo and a famous session singer) and produced by Marquis “Hami” Dair. Hami was also the producer of the obscure soul duo 10 dB whose album Steppin’ Out was released in 1989 by Crush Music/Dominion/K-Tel, a company that’s notorious for bad compilations. Get Real is a future classic that marries old school soul with neo soul and would be worth the album’s prize alone. But Ronee has more gems to offer like the album’s title track Come On Through My Door. This is an amazing intimate ballad with Ronee singing her heart out over Marquis Dair’s acoustic guitar play. The show-stopping ballad I Wish You All The Best gives every so called soul diva a run for their money with Ronee’s heartfelt performance only accompanied by producer Byron J. Smith on piano. Ronee’s self-written Giving Up is a pleasant mid-tempo song about a lost love with a slightly southern soul feeling. The southern soul feeling gets picked up by the beautiful Little Sister, an encouraging downtempo song about friendship with inspiring vocal input by Ronee on lead and background vocals. Even the more MOR orientated songs like Round And Round (co-written by Frank McComb) or the gospel inspired I’m Sorry For Leaving You work very well. The only song that fails to impress me is Ronee’s cover of the Temptations’ My Girl here renamed My Guy. Her version isn’t bad but somehow she can’t win over the programmed beats by producer Daryl Smith. Come On Through My Door is a very good album that offers something for fans of old school and new soul music alike and it’s a welcome return for Ronee Martin into the spotlight. - Jazz Not Jazz
”A remarkable talent, outstanding performance, a class act by herself, worth the wait, just what we’ve been waiting for, seductive, sassy, sultry, “My Guy” (remake of “My Girl”)…a standard with a twist, it’s like capturing lightning in a bottle, fresh needed breath…enjoy”. - Jim Tripp, Producer of the “Eve” show
”...a gifted songwriter whose voice exudes a spine-chilling soulfulness that makes you testify out loud, eyes brimming with tears. One listen and you'll understand why so many music legends have requested her talents." - Keith Johnson, Dir., Creative Affairs, ASCAP/NY
Discography
Current release on BLTN Records
"Come On Through My Door" CD Project.
Featured vocalist on Tom Scott’s “One Day/One Night” album.
Solo Project “Sensation,” on Soundwings Records, a compilation album hosting the talents of Joe Sample, Tom Scott, Hubert Laws and other musical greats, produced by composer/arranger Patrick Williams.
Vocalist on Wynton Marsalis' "Rosewood" soundtrack.
Motown/Mojazz Christman CD's, "Santa Baby" and "Silent Night".
Motown Compilation CD "As Long As I'm Loving You" single.
Featured vocalist on "Grapevine" -- Pharez Whitted's CD project.
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
BLTN Records Artist Ronee Martin's new CD entitled “COME ON THROUGH MY DOOR” is a musical blend of yesterday and today. This must-have CD, on BLTN Records, includes eight addictive songs, mostly written and co-written by the artist herself during her long and intense love affair with music.
This delicious, eclectic, all grown-up jazzy-soul-pop collection includes, “Get Real” co-written with Valerie Pinkston, “Giving Up” written by Ronee, “My Guy”, a fantastic re-make of The Temptations “My Girl”, “Little Sister” co-written with Nick Mundy, “Round and Round” co-written with Frank McComb and Herman Jackson, the title cut “Come On Through My Door” co-written with Howard Covington, “I Wish You All The Best” co-written with Tim Carmon and “I’m Sorry For Leaving You” written by Charlyn Bernal and Ray Pyle.
“Come on Through my Door” is further enriched by the creative contributions of an impressive array of multi-talented musicians, producers, writers, engineers and vocalists including Herman Jackson, Del Akins, Marcus “Hami” Dair, Keith Eaddy, Daryl Smith, Darlene Moreno, Land Richards, Ricky Lawson, Greg Moore, Byron J. Smith, Brandon Coleman, Michael Blum, Michael Dukoff, Mike Fennel, Curtis Williams and background vocalists Marilyn Gabriel, Linda Naney, Aaron Parry, Dr. Noise, Linda St. George and Jonathan Web.
As we look back on many of Martin’s stand out accomplishments, we realize that she is no stranger to singing or to songwriting success. “This is Love” co-written by Ronee was recorded by her childhood idol, the legendary Gladys Knight on her “Good Woman” CD. “This was a huge moment in my life,” Ronee recalls, “I would have never thought in a million years I would have my hand on something that Gladys Knight would record.”
Martin’s talent is further underscored by the “A” list of songwriters and producers that have worked with her: Names like Burt Bacharach and Carol Bayer Sager, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Alan Rich, Judd Friedman, Gerry Stober, Howie Rice, Marty Sharon and Patrick Williams!
Of note, Martin was a featured vocalist on Tom Scott’s “One Day/One Night” album, and on the CD project “Sensation,” a compilation album hosting the talents of Joe Sample, Tom Scott, Hubert Laws and other musical greats, produced by composer/arranger Patrick Williams. She has also recorded background vocals for Wynton Marsalis, Patti Labelle and numerous performers over the years.
Keith Crouch, Kenneth Crouch and Derrick Edmonson produced her solo album project, “Soul of My Heart” on Motown/Mojazz label. During that same period, Ronee recorded two covers that brought radio and public applause—“Santa Baby” and “Silent Night” – both produced by Kenneth Crouch for Motown/MoJazz Christmas CDs, Volume I and II.
To add some interesting twists to her credits, Ronee co-wrote and performed, along with Byron Smith, the musical contents of Time-Warner’s audio book “When Death Comes Stealing” narrated by Angela Bassett, and did voice-overs for a “Seinfeld” commercial at the invitation of producer, Matthew MacCauley. “ Doing voice-overs,” Ronee remembers, “was an amazing experience, another unforgettable high!”
Back in her childhood days, after the Virginia native would finish her chores of feeding the pigs and the chickens, drawing well water, bringing in wood and occasionally milking the cow, she would head inside and sing along, in privacy, to the sounds of Brother Joe May, Mahalia Jackson and other gospel favorites of her grandmother’s. By age 10, Ronee was serving up her first big solo to a small congregation of neighborhood families and friends at the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Columbia, Virginia. And when the radio waves of R&B music from the big city finally hit her small town, she fell head over heels for the voices of soul royals, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight and Dionne Warwick. This inspired Ronee to take a giant leap forward towards the secular music world. She relocated to Washington, D.C., and then to Los Angeles where she continued to chisel away at her musical dream.
After many years of doing what was the latest trend in music, Ronee felt it was time to be true to her self: to sing from a real place…about real things…that really mattered. We feel at home in the world of Ronee Martin’s songs because they take us to places we’ve all been to before. “Come on Through My Door” is filled with songs that will touch your heart and soul and make you want more. Find out from her heart on this CD, just who Ronee Martin is…
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