New Amerykah Part Two＜Opaque Violet Vinyl＞

2008年作品"Part One"に続く4作目となるアルバム。ポリティカルなメッセージを打ち出した前作とは対照的に、よりポップでキャッチーな仕上がり。ブラック・カルチャーの背景を活かしつつ、エモーショナルなR&Bを確立させた意欲作がパープル不透明色ヴァイナル2枚組で登場。

Return of the Ankh was supposed to be issued earlier than March 2010. It's just as well: 2008's stupefying 4th World War provided such a dense concentration of charged lyrics over ceaselessly vein-melting production work that Erykah Badu could have been forgiven for letting five years pass prior to unveiling something else to soak up. Return of the Ankh is a relief in that Badu does not attempt to trump herself with a set that is even more intense and powerful than its predecessor. Thematically, it's aligned with 4th World War's relatively lighter songs, "Me" and "Honey," more personal than planetary, less challenging sonically and lyrically. Most of it was actually recorded at the same time as 4th World War. The list of collaborators, featuring Georgia Anne Muldrow, Madlib, Shafiq Husayn, Dilla, James Poyser, Ahmir Thompson, and Karriem Riggins, is similar, yet the makeup is drastically different, designed for instant kicked-back enjoyment. A pause, deep breath, and a "Here we go" is not required prior to putting it on. Instead, we get Badu playing around, in the best possible way, with sample-rooted songs like "Turn Me Away (Get Munny)" (a twist on Sylvia Striplin's "You Can't Turn Me Away" and the 1995 hip-hop anthem that sampled it, Junior M.A.F.I.A.'s "Get Money"), "Gone Baby, Don't Be Long" (a slightly silly new-love song that reworks Paul McCartney's "Arrow Through Me"), and "Umm Hmm" (its optimism reflected in that of its backbone, Ndugu & the Chocolate Jam Company's Earth, Wind & Fire-like "Take Some Time"). Though the album is so rich with sample-reliant songs that it sometimes resembles a glorified mixtape, a couple standouts were made from scratch. "Window Seat" should appeal to those who have wanted Badu to revisit that lissome sound of Baduizm songs like "On & On" and "Otherside of the Game," and it packs stunning stomp-and-clap breakdowns that sync up with Badu's most halting lines: "I need you to want me/I need you to miss me/I need your attention/I need you next to me." "Out My Mind, Just in Time" is a ten-minute finale that traces a trajectory of heartache across three movements, beginning innocently enough with a devotional (if pained and humorous) piano ballad that shifts into Muldrow's psychedelic, slow-motion soul-jazz as Badu gets increasingly fragmentary and tripped-out. By the end, she is renewed: "Finally I got a leading role/Introducing Super Dope/Starring in her episode/Hello new world/Out my mind." Actual next level, as always. ~ Andy Kellman

ライヴ盤を含めて通算6作目。今作についてエリカ自身は＜『Baduizm』の時期を思い出したわ＞と発言しているが、これは初期のような演出過多に戻るのではなく、ありのままの自分の心情に＜リターン＞したという意味。ポリティカルな＜Part One＞から一転してメロウでロマンティックな内面を表したのは、あの“Honey”を歌うきっかけとなったジェイ・エレクトロニカとの蜜月～出産という出来事の影響もあるのだろう。クェストラヴがドラムを叩く“Window Seat”、大ネタ使いが連続する中盤、J・ディラのビート上で言葉をゆらゆらと紡ぐ“Love”、ジョージア・アン・マルドロウ作のコズミック・ジャズ“Out Of Mind, Just In Time”などエリカのメロウ・サイドが充満する快作だ。こういう彼女が聴きたかった！
bounce (C)池谷昌之