Yahzarah: The Ballad of Purple Saint James

SimpleKomplexity

1. Strike Up The Band (intro)
2. Why Dontcha Call Me No More 5/5
3. Cry Over You 4/5
4. All My Days(featuring Darien Brockington) 5/5 my favorite cut
5. Come Back As A Flower 5/5 a beautiful song that YaZarah displays her vocally prowess ...love this song
6. Dedicated To You (interlude)
7. The Lie 4/5
8. Last To Leave 5/5 those of you who are fans Deneice Williams will apperciate this one
9. Have A Heart 5/5 another of my faves
10. Change Your Mind
11. Starship 5/5
12. Shadow 3/5
13. Love, Come Save The Day 4/5

Let me say first of all I am a huge fan of Miss Saint James. I first came across her while she was working with The Foreign Exchange. She's just baaad!! Vocally insane. Much like Janelle Monae, Amel Larrieux, N'Dambi,etc unless you are checking for them, you would be hard pressed to hear them on radio(unless they are doing a collabo with {insert "hot artist of the moment name" here}. But those of us who realize that all of today's music doesn't suck and venture out of the proverbial R&B/Rap genre, have found numerous artists who are creating great music . YaZarah Saint James is one of those artists and The Ballad of Purple Saint James definitely deserves a listen .

Check out the video for"Why Don't You Call Me No More"

http://www.theforeignexchangemusic.com/2010/05/yahzarah---why-dontcha-call-me-no-more-official-music-video.php



Artist Info:
Critically acclaimed R&B vocalist YahZarah returns with her long-awaited album "The Ballad of Purple Saint James," dropping May 4 on The Foreign Exchange Music/Hard Boiled Records. The 13-track set, overseen by Grammy-nominated production duo Nicolay and Phonte of The Foreign Exchange, represents her brightest, most complete work to date. YahZarah, a singer-songwriter who first made her mark as a background singer for Erykah Badu, has spent the past few years touring in support of her albums "Hear Me" (2001), "Blackstar" (2003), and the 2009 Grammy nominated Foreign Exchange album "Leave It All Behind". She worked on "The Ballad..." independently for a number of years before reaching out to Phonte and selecting +FE Music as her label home. "YahZarah is the best singer I personally know, and for years it's been my dream to produce her, "says Phonte. "My goal was to take her vast repertoire of melodic influences, and combine it with material that allowed her voice to really shine." "The Ballad of Purple Saint James" showcases YahZarah's rich soprano voice in a variety of musical settings. The new wave bounce of the first single "Why Dontcha Call Me No More" evokes Pat Benatar, while the throwback synth funk of "Change Your Mind" suggests Solar Records in its heyday. Highlighting YahZarah's classical jazz training is "Shadow," a stunning Zo!-produced piece that features her backed solely by piano and a haunting orchestral arrangement. In addition to production by The Foreign Exchange, "The Ballad..." also includes contributions from TheRealFocus...(Marsha Ambrosius, Raphael Saddiq), Nate Smith (Michael Jackson), Steve McKie (Jill Scott, Bilal), and guest appearances from Jaspects, drummer Lil' John Roberts, and singers Phonte Coleman and Darien Brockington. "Completing `The Ballad...' with Phonte and Nicolay allowed me an opportunity to return back to the joy of making music and to create a project that is sexy, fearless, beautiful and sincere," says YahZarah. "This work is a true reflection of me."