No subtlety here, Nelly Furtado pretty much gives it away in the album title that she's a highly ambitious and precocious singer-songwriter who delights in confounding expectations. Just look at the first single, the string-tinged, R&B/soul-pop "I'm Like a Bird", which frenetically packs so many genres in just four minutes it's almost as awe-inspiring as the song itself, an ode to self-discovery. Artists like this who make music as willfully weird as songs like "I'm Like a Bird" are a rarity in 2000, especially when coming from such a young, unrefined talent. Unrefined, in this case, meaning unscrubbed and raw, letting the melodies and words unfold while Nelly deliriously weaves her way through world-beat pop and exploring how many ways you can scat and indulge in melisma. Indeed, "Whoa, Nelly!" is an exciting and winding debut, albeit one that suffers from the same thing it strives on. Ambition is the key term here, as it leads Nelly to restlessly vocalize every emotion, every thought that could possibly have crossed her mind during recording. Her idiosyncratic lyrics are only further complicated by her usually nasally vocal attack, which is disarming at first but can grow on repeated listens. All of these eccentricities aren't just derived from Nelly's words, either, her grand ambitions are literally part of the multi-culti tapestry that is her music. Sometimes she adheres to modern American trends, such as "Shit on the Radio (Remember the Days)", where she sings a fairly common subject over a refreshed yet familiar urban groove. Other times she slides into a big, bossa nova number, which make up this record's second half. Chief among them is "Party", a giddy slice of jazz-pop that certainly recalls Fiona Apple. And that could actually be said for "Whoa, Nelly!" as a whole, because just like Fiona, Nelly is young yet wise, her music is eclectic yet palatable enough to be understood (among repeated listens, of course). This is also proven with the set up of "Whoa, Nelly!" itself, as it begins with a fast, orchestral prelude in "Hey, Man!", but over the course of its twelve tracks, the tempo continues to drop and the sounds get further integrated. This leads to the six-minute closer "Scared of You", a gentle cabaret-pop that leaves the listener wanting more. But that's exactly the plan, to entice the consumer back for another listen over and over again, and while this ploy is blatantly obvious, it also works. Nelly Furtado may be young but she certainly isn't green (ironic when you consider the album cover in which she lies in a grassy field); she knows which sounds to accept and which ones she should ignore, which lyrics will pique her audience's interest and what she be left unsaid. It also helps that throughout this entire record, she heavily relies on strong hooks, no matter how difficult they may be to dig out. It's unfortunate that she couldn't maintain her youthful approach throughout all of the songs here, but that's hardly enough to dismiss this compelling and gleefully restless album.
Recommended Tracks in Bold:
1. Hey, Man! 2. Shit on the Radio 3. Baby Girl
4. Legend 5. I’m Like a Bird 6.
Turn Off the Light
10. My
Love Grows Deeper 11. I Will Make U Cry12. Scared of You
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