Devil's Halo [Digipak]

Performer: Me'Shell Ndegéocello
Engineer: Eric Elterman
Producer: Chris Bruce; Me'Shell NdegeOcello; Keefus Ciancia
Distributor: Fontana Distribution

Notes: Audio Mixer: Bob Power. Photographer: Mark Seliger. On three of her last four recordings, Me'Shell Ndeg�ocello has showcased her aesthetic restlessness, expanding her musical horizons to jazz, hip-hop, and the far-flung reaches of rock as well as funk and soul. On DEVIL'S HALO, she focuses her vision deliberately on a dozen soulish, near-pop, rock tunes. Recorded by S. Husky H�skulds, it's stark compared to her last three albums. Ndeg�ocello plays bass and sings backed by guitarist Chris Bruce, drummer Deantoni Parks, and keyboardist Keith Ciancia, with guest appearances by Oren Bloedow and Lisa Germano. Desire haunts all the songs on DEVIL'S HALO, beginning with "Slaughter," its opening track. Ndeg�ocello sings slowly, softly, deliberately, without a hint of irony: "She said she loved me/I ran away/ Don't say you love me/I'll run away..." "Mass Transit" is funkier, a bit more aggressive from the outset with Bruce's guitar leading the way, though Ndeg�ocello's bassline offers an alternate read on both melody and rhythmic pulse. "White Girl" may be the straightest pop song Ndeg�ocello's ever written, but its bassline is strictly dubwise. The vocals are smoky and elliptical, they create their own chorus in reverb and in the singer's deliberately stretched-out phrase, all around a very simple, hooky melody. The title track is a nearly ambient instrumental, with Ndeg�ocello playing harmonics on her bass in the mix just underneath a snare and kick drum barely outlining the time signature. Ndeg�ocello can always quite literally articulate her musical vision, but she hasn't been so nakedly vulnerable and brazenly honest on record as she is here. She remains musically mercurial and virtually unclassifiable, even if she is at her most accessible on DEVIL'S HALO

Billboard (p.32) - "DEVIL'S HERO neatly straddles a line between challenging and accessible, with some of the tightest and catchiest compositions she's yet brought forth."

Me'Shell NdegeOcello got her start in Washington, D.C.'s famed go-go music scene as a funk bass player extraordinaire. Her melodic, muscular playing lent itself fluidly to the all the pertinent styles of the late 1980s: dance music, hip-hop, smooth jazz, rock. After gigging with many groups, her naturally commanding stage presence took over and she became known more as a front person than a player, releasing her first solo album in 1994 to universal acclaim from both the R&B and rock communities. She continues to write, record, and perform as a solo artist and as a guest player for artists as diverse as Chocolate Genius, the Rolling Stones, and John Mellencamp.

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