CASSANDRA WILSON - Belly of the Sun (2002) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Cassandra Wilson continues to move down a highly eclectic path on Belly of the Sun, the somewhat belated follow-up to Traveling Miles. While displaying a jazz singer's mastery of melodic nuance and improvisatory phrasing, Wilson draws on a variety of non-jazz idioms -- roots music, rock, Delta blues, country, soul -- to create a kind of earthy, intelligent pop with obvious crossover appeal. Her core band includes guitarists Marvin Sewell and Kevin Breit, who blend marvelously, Sewell mostly on mellow acoustic and Breit adding atmospheric touches on electric, 12-string, and slide guitars, as well as mandolin, banjo, and even bouzouki. Bassist Mark Peterson and percussionists Jeffrey Haynes and Cyro Baptista provide a superbly sensitive rhythmic foundation. But because Wilson returned to her home state of Mississippi to record most of this album, she made sure to book some time with local musicians. Thus guitarist Jesse Robinson guests on (and co-writes) the funky "Show Me a Love," and the octogenarian pianist "Boogaloo" Ames plays an unpolished yet utterly heartfelt duet with Wilson on the classic "Darkness on the Delta." Other guests include drummer Xavyon Jamison, trumpeter Olu Dara, pianist and vocalist Rhonda Richmond (who penned the slowly swaying "Road So Clear"), guitarist Richard Johnston, backup vocalists Patrice Monell, Jewell Bass, Henry Rhodes, and Vasti Jackson, and the children of New York's Middle School 44. Wilson delves into vintage blues with Mississippi Fred McDowell's "You Gotta Move" and a brief yet dynamic rendition of Robert Johnson's "Hot Tamales." But the best tracks are the rock/pop covers: the Band's "The Weight," Bob Dylan's "Shelter From the Storm," James Taylor's "Only a Dream in Rio," Jobim's "Waters of March," and Jimmy Webb's "Wichita Lineman" (a 1968 hit for Glen Campbell). Wilson and band are in peak interpretive form on these ethereal reinventions. While her own lyrics may not rise to the level of a Robbie Robertson or a Bob Dylan, her versatility and focus come through clearly on the originals "Justice," "Just a Parade" (a collaboration with neo-soul rookie India.Arie), and the Caribbean-tinged "Cooter Brown." by David R. Adler
1    The Weight 6:05
Acoustic Bass – Mark Peterson
Acoustic Guitar – Marvin Sewell
Drums – Xavyon Jamison
Percussion – Cyro Baptista, Jeffrey Haynes
Resonator Guitar [Slide], Mandolin, Electric Guitar – Kevin Breit
Vocals [Uncredited] – Cassandra Wilson
Written-By – Robbie Robertson
2    Justice 5:26
Acoustic Bass – Mark Peterson
Acoustic Guitar – Marvin Sewell
Drums – Xavyon Jamison
Electric Guitar – Kevin Breit
Percussion – Cyro Baptista, Jeffrey Haynes
Vocals [Uncredited] – Cassandra Wilson
Written-By – Cassandra Wilson
3    Darkness On The Delta 3:47
Piano – "Boogaloo" Ames
Vocals [Uncredited] – Cassandra Wilson
Written-By – Neiburg, Livingston, Symes
4    Waters Of March 4:26
Acoustic Bass – Mark Peterson
Acoustic Guitar, Resonator Guitar [Slide] – Kevin Breit
Guitar – Marvin Sewell
Percussion – Cyro Baptista
Vocals – Children Of M.S.44 (NYC)
Vocals [Uncredited] – Cassandra Wilson
Written-By – Antonio Carlos Jobim
5    You Gotta Move 2:43
Guitar, Vocals – Richard Jonhston
Percussion [Plastic Tub] – Jeffrey Haynes
Vocals – Cyro Baptista, Kevin Breit, Rhonda Richmond
Vocals [Uncredited] – Cassandra Wilson
Written-By – Mississippi Fred McDowell
6    Only A Dream In Rio 4:31
Acoustic Guitar – Marvin Sewell
Banjo [12-string], Guitar [E-bow] – Kevin Breit
Drums – Xavyon Jamison
Electric Bass [Fretless] – Mark Peterson
Percussion – Cyro Baptista, Jeffrey Haynes
Sarod, Vocals [Uncredited] – Cassandra Wilson
Vocals – Henry Rhodes, Jewell Bass, Patrice Moncell, Vasti Jackson
Written-By – James Taylor
7    Just Another Parade 6:06
Acoustic Bass – Mark Peterson
Bouzouki [Bizouki] – Kevin Breit
Guitar [Center], Vocals [Uncredited] – Cassandra Wilson
Guitar [Left, Right] – Marvin Sewell
Percussion – Cyro Baptista, Jeffrey Haynes
Vocals – India.Arie, Rhonda Richmond
Written-By – Cassandra Wilson
8    Wichita Lineman 5:47
Acoustic Bass – Mark Peterson
Acoustic Guitar – Marvin Sewell
Percussion – Cyro Baptista, Jeffrey Haynes
Resonator Guitar – Kevin Breit
Vocals [Uncredited] – Cassandra Wilson
Written-By – Jimmy Webb
9    Shelter From The Storm 5:17
Acoustic Guitar – Marvin Sewell
Drum [Bass Drum] – Cyro Baptista
Electric Bass [Fretless] – Mark Peterson
Steel Guitar [National] – Kevin Breit
Vocals [Uncredited] – Cassandra Wilson
Written-By – Bob Dylan
10    Drunk As Cooter Brown 4:56
Acoustic Guitar – Marvin Sewell
Electric Bass – Mark Peterson
Mandolin, Omnichord – Kevin Breit
Percussion – Cyro Baptista
Steel Drums [Steel Pans], Percussion – Jeffrey Haynes
Vocals [Uncredited] – Cassandra Wilson
Written-By – Cassandra Wilson
11    Show Me A Love 3:49
Acoustic Bass – Mark Peterson
Drums – Xavyon Jamison
Electric Guitar – Jesse Robinson
Electric Guitar [Wah] – Marvin Sewell
Percussion – Cyro Baptista, Jeffrey Haynes
Vocals [Uncredited] – Cassandra Wilson
Written-By – Cassandra Wilson, Jesse Robinson
12    Road So Clear 5:17
Drums – Xavyon Jamison
Electric Bass [Fretless] – Mark Peterson
Electric Guitar – Marvin Sewell
Percussion – Cyro Baptista, Jeffrey Haynes
Piano, Vocals – Rhonda Richmond
Trumpet – Olu Dara
Vocals [Uncredited] – Cassandra Wilson
Written-By – Rhonda Richmond
13    Hot Tamales 1:43
Guitar – Marvin Sewell
Percussion [Plastic Tub] – Jeffrey Haynes
Vocals [Uncredited] – Cassandra Wilson
Written-By – Robert Johnson