Chante Moore | Moore Is More

Chante Moore | Moore Is More
Shanachie Records
by Darnell Meyers-Johnson

It’s difficult to get a handle on Chante Moore’s position as a recording artist.; her “lane” if you will. On her brilliantly flawless debut album, 1992′s PRECIOUS, she gave us a seamless blend of romance inspired, jazz-tinged R&B. And we ate it up like wedding cake. Hits like “It’s Alright” and “Love’s Taken Over” remain anintegral part of her repertoire.

However, with each subsequent release Moore seemed determined to drift further and further away (sometimes by inches, sometimes by leaps and bounds) from the sound that initially brought her to our attention. The results have been mixed. 1999′s THIS MOMENT IS MINE gave Moore her biggest hit to date, “Chante’s Got A Man”, but fans and radio weren’t tuned in the following year when she injected a bit more hip-hop influence into her sound on EXPOSED. The lone exception was the jaded ballad “Bitter”, which attracted much attention because of it’s repeated use of the N-word.

And of course any brief recap of Moore’s discography would be incomplete without a mention of the confusing Kenny Lattimore years. When Moore married Lattimore in January 2002, both had successful recording careers as solo artists. Nevertheless, they opted to form a single act as a duo. Got it? It’s ok, I didn’t understand it either, even when I asked Moore about it in our 2013 interview for The Meyers Music Repor: http://themeyersmusicreport.tumblr.com/post/43766582671/chante-moore

This reorganization created another shift in Moore’s musical direction. With Lattimore, she became essentially a covers act on record with some light contemporary gospel thrown in for variety. By 2008 the couple would return to their own careers. In a surprise announcement on her Facebook page in 2011, Moore announced the two were divorced.

So what in the world can we expect from MOORE IS MORE, her first album in five years? To spare you any further suspence, the project is a ten track assortment of all of Moore’s previous incarnations, with her divorce from Lattimore clearly serving as a primary inspiration. I found it best to listen to the project in sequence (as opposed to shuffling) so I will write about it that way as well.

“Baby Can I Touch Your Body” is fairly typical “quiet storm” fare in a latter-day Ron Isley kind of way. It doesn’t offer much lyrically speaking, but its sexy vibe can’t be denied.

“Talking In My Sleep” is the project’s lead single which opens up with Moore’s signature, oft-discussed ability to hit that super duper “whistle note”. She uses it aplenty on this project, nearly to the point of distraction, but this radio friendly track doesn’t suffer from it. The context is about a woman whose fantasies revealed create uncertainty in her mate and threatened to end their relationship.

“Alone” is a thumping, agressive, bass heavy track that is neither funk nor R&B but seems to borrow just a little bit from each of those genres. It is essentially a woman’s cry that she’d “rather be alone than be lonely”. When Moore sings, “You snatched defeat from the jaws of victory,” well there is no doubt that this joint just got real personal.

“Don’t Make Me Laugh” is a sonically dark, dramatic ballad which may provide Moore’s most personal commentary to date on the demise of her marriage to Lattimore: “Smile / sing a love song / act like nothing’s wrong / I know you’ll always play along / When you hold me / I feel nothing at all / And in this masquerade / I know the part I played / put on a happy face / pretend that it’s not that way.” There’s nothing more to say about that but, wow!

“Doctor, Doctor” shifts gears and places Moore in a fun, high energy, go-for-broke groove, which borrows just a little bit from the old school. Think “Work It Out” by Beyonce or perhaps better yet, “Vexed” by her fellow “R&B Divas: LA” castmate Kelly Price.

“Mrs. Under, Stood” falls back into dark, dramatic ballad territory this time with a bit more self-analysis, though it’s presented in the third person. Ultimately the narrator takes the position that, “I’d rather be damaged goods, than damaged bad.”

“On And On” has Moore jumping…on that techno dance bandwagon. It is the one musical door Moore managed to keep closed, until now. But she went in with obvious determination to get it right. For those who love the genre, you will find little fault. Others will notice that Moore’s voice seems to get overwhelmed by the beat and she appears to struggle with the track’s hyped up energy. It’s not a complete fail however, as there is a jubilant feel to the track. Da Brat comes in to add some much needed heat which saves it from being an unbearable listen .

“Giving You My Always” is a wedding-style ballad, declaring a devotion to that “once in a lifetime” kind of love. Awwww. Seriously though, Moore’s voice soars in the emotion on this track and it is probably her best vocal effort on this project.

“Jesus, I Want You” is the gospel ballad Moore performed on “R&B Divas: LA”. It speaks about a woman’s quest for companionship and understanding from a man when she discovers “more than anyone on earth”, she can find that in Jesus. It is another great vocal performance from Moore that will definitely reach the listener’s spirit.

And finally, Moore does a cover of the jazz standard “Cry Me A River”. I love to hear Moore in jazzy arrangements and that part of this production is on point. However, there were some creative allowances made and I was not necessarily a fan of the “talk/sing” vocal approach they used. It seemed to tarnish some of the beautiful sadness of the tune.

MOORE IS MORE gives us more of the same from each of Chante Moore’s previous efforts, but this time with a little more agression and insight into her personal life.

Grade: B

Darnell Meyers-Johnson
The Urban Music Scene.com