Search - Narada Michael Walden :: Nature of Things

Wrap Your Angel Wings

Andre S. Grindle | Brewer Maine | 01/08/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's interesting that this album was one of the very first I ever had-a scratchy vinyl copy from a free radio station record giveaway in 1994. That copy skipped and was very poppy so I never really got a chance to enjoy it until I purchased the CD version. Anyway on to my review.In 1985 Narada was hitting his peak as a producer,striking gold with Aretha and Whitney Houston's debut recordings. On 'The Nature Of Things' Narada uses a similar musical approch but there are heavy elements of his own jazzier musical elan added into the mix. Many of these songs are message oriented and have a highly mystical bent.The brooding dance song "That's The Way It Is" (NOT the Bruce Hornsby hit) was one of the finer uptempo message songs of the period.One of the songs that I and everyone really enjoys on this album is the majestic dance tune "High Above The Clouds"-it's an easy candidate for the best song here. Luckily Narada's work didn't go totally unnoticed this time as "Gimme Gimme Gimme",his peppy duet with Patty Austin became a hit single and drive in theater-based music video. "Live It Up" and "Suspicion" are both veddy mid 80's dance-funk tunes with enough of Narada's nimble musicianship to make them work.The title track is something everyone missed-as interesting a musical fusion as Seals "Kiss From A Rose";in Narada's case a fusion of a hip-hop dance track with a lot of scratch breaks and the melody of a matrical!Narada rocks out on "Dancin' On Main Street",singing in a deep,gruff voice not normally associated with him. The album ends with the sing-a-long Caribbean number.This album may not be the grand artistic achievment of 'Looking At You,Looking At Me' but it follows in the same general progression and does a fine job of that."