Ventriloquism

"As reworkings go, these are bold offerings - creative, unpredictable and rich with Ndegeocello's sensual contralto. There is intention here, a subtle, transformative magic. And whether you concur or disagree with Ndegeocello regarding the state of modern soul, with its "karaoke" singers, there's no denying the originality on offer here, from this rightly revered music game outlier".

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"Meshell Ndegeocello has never been an artist to stay in anyone else's box, and on Ventriloquism, she shows that she can play any song and stay true to herself. Her musical sensibilities are about as close to flawless as it gets, her instincts finely honed and her style refreshingly indescribable. No matter how you feel about cover albums, Ndegeocello's is worth hearing, not just because she's chosen such classic songs, but because of who she is and what she continues, album after album, to bring to the soundscape at large: something different, something of her own".

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"Tackling a range of R&B radio hits from the 1980s and 1990s, Meshell Ndegeocello treats the practice of covering another's songs as an act of intimacy and empathy ... Throughout the length of Ventriloquism, in Ndegeocello's hands, no cover is ever mere lip service. A cover is an act of scholarship, an act of criticism, an act of intimacy. An act of love".

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"For this creative all-covers set bearing an incompatible title, Ndegeocello concentrates on the era that birthed the Ready for the World and Whodini tracks - the mid- to late '80s, primarily her late-teenage years - with wistfulness applied only when the material calls for it".

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