Melanie Fiona: The Bridge

Call it being patriotic, but I love my city.  I love Toronto.  I love everything about it.  So, it’s not uncommon for me to geek out when someone from Toronto turns out to be a big (or moderately big) star.  Sure, we got the Drake’s, the Michael Myers’, the John Candy’s, but a girl like Melanie Fiona?  That’s kind of special.  It’s just a tad bit more special to see the origins of her superstar here on KevinNottingham.com, as we were one of the first sites to really spotlight her and give her some shine! [artist spotlight].  Regardless of her geographical location, this lady has the total package from talent, looks, co-signs, and music making.  Those aforementioned co-signs came from the likes of Jay-Z, Kanye West, and ?uestlove; pretty important people if you ask me.  In fact, ?uesto dug it so much that he remixed a handful of Melanie’s live joints for her: (Melanie Fiona: Meets The Illadelphonics).  The expectations for The Bridge were high right from the get-go and Miss Fiona had a lot of people anxiously waiting to see if she could smash out a Jazmine Sullivan/Adele/Duffy like breakout album.  Would this project suffice?

The opening two joints are the songs most people are familiar with.  The radio and listener friendly “Give It To Me Right,” uses The Zombies classic quite tastefully and doesn’t intrude on any unwarranted territory.  Lyrically, the song is beyond any obvious sexual innuendo, as it focuses more on respect and the all-or-nothing approach people should have in a relationship.  Following that, the next single, “Bang Bang” takes from the Nancy Sinatra book of “These Boots Are Made For Walking” attitude.  Frankly, it’s pretty dope.  It’s raw and fearless, while keeping the girl-power hair waving, bed jumping demeanor in mind.  And don’t think Melanie doesn’t get to display her lovely voice on these two tracks.  In fact, her voice steals the show throughout the entire album.

“Walk on By” is in the same vein of frustration as “Bust Your Windows,” but also about as mellow as it can get, similar to “Foolish,” but plenty more original and sincere.  “It Kills Me” has a very Issac Hayes-like in build up, climax, and conclusion.  In fact, it’s this similar build up throughout the album that allows The Bridge to be such a success. “Teach Him” will send chills down anyone’s spine alongside the wonderfully matched guitar guidance and song melody.  Lyrically, once again, all of these songs exceed expectations.  No one will question Melanie’s song writing prowess; at least not yet in her very young career.

Melanie touches just about every genre vocally and she puts her own spin on familiar melodies, which is difficult to pull off successfully, let alone so graciously, as she does.  The production by the various producers including Stereotypes, Andrea Martin, Vada Nobles, and Future Cut really ingrains itself in the formula of the album. Not taking the spotlight away from Fiona, but playing the background well enough to prove vital to the success of the LP.  An up-tempo jam like “Johnny” compliments the rhythmical manner that Melanie vibes with, while “Monday Morning” provides another type of up-tempo, yet, somber approach when taken with the lyrics.

Essentially the entire LP is beautifully balanced and that might be the best part of  The Bridge.  While some songs may not be enjoyed by everyone (I personally didn’t enjoy “Sad Songs,” yet, some call me crazy for that), surely, the “what’s your favourite song” question in reference to this project will generate a barrage of different answers.

In kind of an ironic twist, “You Stop My Heart,” a song about the breathtaking qualities someone can possess over someone else, chronologically follows the I-don’t-care-get-on-outta-here stylings on “Walk on By.” While this could just be careless, I vouch to see this as an artistic stroke showing the “bridge” of emotions one man or woman or place (I’d like to think “Monday Morning” might be about Toronto, possibly) can put upon another person.  It’s not that this album is all over the place, because it isn’t, it’s that the connections are seamless and effortless.  The Bridge is a great album that may entail a vibe of “mood music,” but only for the untrained ear.  Instead, it’s album that takes the theme to a new level of meaning and with it, Melanie Fiona also takes the quality of her sound, her talent, and her expectations to a new level.

89/100

“Monday Morning”

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“Johnny”

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“Teach Him”

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