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Goapele - Even Closer (2002)

Even Closer is a reworked version of Goapele's limited release debut, Closer, with five additional songs: "Ease Your Mind" (featuring Pep Love), "Got It," "The Daze" (featuring Zion I and Casual), "Back to You," and "Red, White & Blues" (an anti-war song featuring a blistering guitar solo by Errol Cooney). It showcases Goapele's sultry, cascading voice with relatively sparse vocal arrangements and the contributions of producers such as Amp Live, Jeff Bhasker, Eric Krasno, and Mike Tiger, who help create a smooth, tasty mixture of soul, hip-hop, jazz, and occasional touches of other styles. Goapele navigates this potpourri quite adeptly, although the album does tread a thin line between appealingly eclectic and insufficiently cohesive; fortunately, she has enough talent, including a sufficiently distinctive vocal personality, to pull it off. The words tend toward lyrical and enigmatic, but occasionally they are effectively straightforward and to the point (e.g., "'Cause you're so f**k'n romantic/I can't stand it" from "Romantic"); Goapele also manages to tackle social/political issues without getting too preachy. However, some may wish her social protest lyrics were less vague and more incisive; also, the album isn't replete with clever wordplay and the rhymes tend to be conventional combinations such as "friend"/"end" and "same"/"blame." Nonetheless, this album is worth a listen if you enjoy contemporary soul.


Closer
Got It
Romantic
Too Much the Same
Catch 22
Thing's Don't Exist
Childhood Drama
Salvation
Back to You
Butterflykisses
It Takes More
Red White & Blues
Catch 22 Remix
Childhood Drama (ext rmx)
Closer to my Dreams (ext)

Even Closer

Goapele - Even Closer (Favs) 2004

Made For Me

Behind Bars

Sittin' In My Car (feat. Doug E. Fresh)

The Great Adventures Of Slick Rick

Children's Story

Mona Lisa

War & Peace Vol. 2 (The Peace Disc)

You Can Do It (feat. Mack 10 & Ms. Toi)

Best Of Master P

Make 'Em Say Uhh (Edit) [feat. Fiend, Silkk The Shocker, Mia x & Mystikal]

Preppie (Expanded Edition)

Encore

Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) [Expanded Edition]

Protect Ya Neck

Cheryl Lynn (Expanded Edition)

Got to Be Real

Don't Sweat The Technique

100% Ginuwine

So Anxious

No More Drama

Family Affair

Reflections - A Retrospective

You Make Me Wanna...

Miss Thang

Before You Walk Out of My Life

My Way

Don't Take It Personal (Just One of Dem Days)

Why I Love You So Much

Vol. 3... Life And Times Of S. Carter

Big Pimpin' (feat. UGK)

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Brandon Johndon