So, it’s official. Az Yet have become the group I‘ve blogged about the most. So far. I wasn’t really planning on writing about them again, but their new album, “She’s Magic”, really surprised me. With line-up changes and changes of social media accounts, right before the release of the album, I really didn’t know what to expect nor think anymore. One thing’s for sure: This comeback still doesn’t feel like the old or original Az Yet (the Az Yet from their breakthrough days), but the album does remind me a of it to a certain extend.
It’s noticeable that Shawn Rivera is no longer part of the album. With Kenny, Dion and Claude all having a somewhat similar vocal sound, I miss the variation in lead vocals the way their debut album showcased. I think Shawn’s vocals would’ve been a great addition. However, with Marc also singing on the album, it does provide the flashback to the old days that every fan is looking for.
There are two real down sides to the album, so I’m going to get them out of the way right away. For whatever reason, the label thought it was necessary that the group would redo their hit, “Last Night”, for the album. But this album track is most definitely something you should skip. It’s horrible. Both the vocals (in particular the harmonies), as well as the music, sound so much weaker than the original version.
The music of the new version hasn’t been updated to anything really new, so this track adds no value whatsoever and the use of a vocal effect that’s kicking off the second verse is so wasted on a group with the vocal abilities of Az Yet. I don’t think Az Yet are to blame for this version themselves though. I think it all was just mixed horribly. Bad choices were made there.
“Young Girl” probably also escaped the attention of a PR person at the label and otherwise the crew involved on this project was all male.
The song is about a grown middle aged man wanting to take the virginity of a young girl. The thing is, Az Yet have fans that grew up with them, so I think it’s safe to assume their female audience is probably in their very late 30s or 40s, like the members. So far, these women have been wooed by lyrics targeting them directly. This song targets their daughters and, I don’t know, but the idea of a man of your age wanting to do those things to someone at the age of your daughter, is something that might not go down too well with the female fans. I don’t even have a daughter and felt offended by this song. But Az Yet also have male fans, and this song is about another conquest. For me, it’s a definite skipper, but that’s only due to the topic and angle chosen. There’s nothing to fault in composition.
Moving into the positives: The album contains two a cappella tracks, “One Last Cry” and the cover “A Kiss From A Rose”, originally by Seal. It’s the first time ever that I managed to figure out what “A Kiss From A Rose” is about. I never knew what Seal was singing and literally used to just make up words whenever I sang along. Still, “One Last Cry” wins the battle between the a cappella tracks.
On both tracks, Az Yet show that they are still able of adding great harmonies to any song, even when you cut out the music. But with music, the group also sounds silky smooth with an interesting step into a little bit of blues on “Feel Good Blues”. Other good moments of the album can be found in tracks such as “Love Her Mind”, “She’s Magic” and “Tell Her How I Feel”.
Altogether, you could say that track 1 to 5 is the silky smooth produced side of the album and, after the little break, track 8 to 10 is the more adventurous side. It also sounds a little rougher and less full in production.
The cool thing about this album, is that it looks like everyone got to write for it. Most of the album is penned by Az Yet members. Because I know some of the members personally, I’ve avoided looking at the credits in order to give you this honest opinion and will look at it tomorrow, so that I know who I should perhaps apologize to. (Yikes!)
