Etana ADD

Review

Album Review: Etana - Better Tomorrow

02/26/2013

by Justine Amadori Ketola

Shauna "Etana" McKenzie came on the scene in 2007 with her incredible Wrong Address single, a ballad of a person from a disadvantaged community attempting to apply for a job but being denied employment based on their address. One of the great strengths of this singer and songwriter is her authenticity and her will to stay that way throughout the various changes in music trends. As we consider her latest album, Better Tomorrow we can see an artist who knows herself, and reveals a great deal of this knowledge through her lyrical expression, and one who also has a clear vision of how the music should be presented at this point in reggae's history. Recorded at Kingston’s legendary Tuff Gong Studios, Etana explains her vision, “I wanted this album to feel like a concert performance and have everything go together, like chapters in a book, with all of the tracks played live by musicians (not digitally generated)”.

As the release opens with Spoken Soul she tackles the spoken word genre by delivering an honest 4.5+ minute monologue, punctuated with soulful vocal runs and opening with the lines: "Moving ahead from my struggles of yesterday, on a musical journey that uplifts the mind, body, and the raw soul, my inspiration, my joy, my thoughts, my art, from the young mind, to an old heart." She takes on the current climate in Jamaica, reminding us of a simpler past, pointing out that, "In these selfish, sexual and demonic days, young minds find it hard to concentrate, cyan meditate, confused, drowning in electro waves and symbols, them dismal…"

She moves into Queen like a "lion on the scene" with a fierce meditation. With a truthful testimony, her vocals shine like vintage soul in a sultry one-drop rich with the trademark deep production vibes of Shane Brown and Jukeboxx Productions. Moody guitars, delay effects, in your face drum tracks and background vocals push the message that Etana is in the zone, she is making her moves despite the odds.

Next up is the anthemic Reggae which was released as a single, and part of her recent digital-only EP entitled Reggae that released in 2012. It is her love letter to the beloved Jamaican-born genre. It exemplifies her ability to both write and sing a hook that touches the heart. The song, at nearly six minutes in length has become so popular since it was first performed at Rototom 2012 that she now closes all of her shows with it. Speaking of popular, this artist has also enlisted the services of a key producer in popular music, Stanley “Rellee” Hayden of New York’s A Team Music who has produced and written hits for a wide range of artists like, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, and Mr. Vegas ("Must Come A Road").

On Beautiful Day she again delights us with supreme instrumentation, soprano sax lines and bright percussion over a high-vibes one drop driven by her intense vibrato and range that encourages us to play "hooky" and take the time off to enjoy the sunny day. A seamless transition to the next tune or chapter, All I Need, another carefree idea that keeps the vibes high, with dreams of Jamaica, written while she was on tour in Europe and missing home. With a wonderful guitar skank she leads into "it's just one of those days, where I kick up my feet, leave my worries behind, where I'm gonna be free, I'm in total control of where I want to be, I close my eyes and that's where I'll be, living my fantasy. All I need is a dose of Bob Marley, with a shade of the I-Threes, with some marijuana breeze, and I'll be sipping on some water jelly, swimming on a beach, time wont worry me." 

With Whole New World she continues to face reality with a positive outlook and the song feels delightfully influenced by Jill Scott, an artist Etana has been compared to by media outlets such as the American National Public Radio. There is a wonderful Jazz influence to the one-drop with an intriguing intro, a great bass solo and intricate support vocals, keeping in line with her vision to present what feels like a live show. The lyrics address a new love and energy, perhaps influenced by her recent marriage to Andre Morris. Such themes segue to 4 Play 2 Love (Start Over) where the lyrics take a love interest to task when a new man comes into the picture. Moving further into the romantic theme, one of the great R&B ballads of the early 1980's Silly by Deniece Williams is covered, it works perfectly with Etana's fantastic vocal range when set to a sharp one-drop that breaks down to a spacey dub using the classic keyboard line in the original melody.

Etana found out she was pregnant with her second child, a girl, one month into the production of the album, and this energy fortified the production of the album and ultimately its birth. The song Till You Get Old (Life's Gift) is her "supermom" pledge, asking her youth to rely on Mama for support and strength in all that the world will present to her. The tempo is slowed down to a ballad and incorporates emotive guitar delay effects and ultimately the sounds of a baby's cry woven with dreamy harmonies.

There is a reason that Etana is known as "The Strong One", this strength is exhibited on The Prayer, a semi-acoustic, gospel-tinged tune. As Etana sings, "When the water's deep and the tide is high, I know for sure, because 24/7 Jah will be there. I've got assurance, he's always there," the guitar skank drives the percussive-based track with rich piano and choral harmonies carrying the message, that "without Jah, I'm nothing at all". As the release moves with this theme Strongest sings with inspiration, "Pick yourself up from off the ground, I just hate to see you lying around all day, no freedom train is gonna come around, so lose those shackles don't you be a slave, you've got life, so forget your brave, and if you wanna win, you got to put up a fight". This tune has one of the most inventive vocal choruses on the release that sings, "You can't run inna the Gideon with no fire in your eyes….if you want to get to Zion, you need a will, you need a drive". The tune moves into an excellent breakdown, a relaxed improvisation toward the end, a sweet transition to the crucial interlude, Be Alright (Interlude), a 2-minute segment that uses audio comments from everyday people and their personal concerns.

Lightening up the final stages of the "set", Smile makes a case for staying positive singing, "We've been knocked down but we always get up…" a reminder that although we may be searching for a better way, once we find our way out of difficult situations, there will then be "nothing left to do but smile." The tune is recorded in an uptempo groove with smooth harmonies and uplifting bell percussion, another sensory feast from the production team and musicians, making use of a wondrous song idea.

The album's title track, Better Tomorrow is actually not a traditional reggae one-drop, but an uptempo groove that challenges the spirit to envision a time when there will there will be "no more hungry children". Inspired to sing, "No more religious division, only love and compassion to heal the nation" in a what is perhaps a nod to Jamaica's often divergent Christian and Rasta views, the song's origins were a result of Etana viewing a National Geographic TV special documenting a little boy’s daily search at the dump for plastic bottles, which he would trade in for food. As she explains, “Whatever he found that day would be his family’s meals. I started imagining living without water, food, shelter, and my wish was that everybody struggling could have Better Tomorrow”. The support vocals are delivered in complex African-style harmonic expression that crescendo over a percussive bed and solo. The result is a very inventive theme song representing her vision to develop the music for the album as if it were a live show, well done Strong One!  This release is evidence that there is indeed a "reggae revival" in session, and the work that has been put in by all involved is to be commended.

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