For Colored Girls | Motion Picture Soundtrack

For Colored Girls | Motion Picture Soundtrack

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The album For Colored Girls from Tyler Perry’s adaptation For Colored Girls is exactly what you can expect – soulful with a great group of artists contributing to the album – just like the cast of the movie. For Colored Girls the movie is currently playing in a theatre near you.

The first track of the album is beautifully blended recitation of the poem Dark Phrases of Womanhood. For those that may not know, this was the first chapter of the original playwright by Ntozake Shanges For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When The Rainbow is Enuf. This is followed by the rich and soulful vocals of Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings in the song Longer and Stronger. The song was a great pick as the first song in the album and perfect fit for the performer and group. Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings had released the album I Learned The Hardway in April of this year.

The successful British born singer Estelle follows with the song All Day Long (Blue Skies). Hands down to Laura Izibor in the song What More Can They Do. She is not only young and beautiful but she also highly gifted with a voice that I would kill to have. She gives way to Lalah Hathaway, the daughter of one her musical influences. As we know, apples don’t fall far from the tree. She sings the emotional song Sun that was composed by Juan Winans.

Other great performances include Gladys Knight in the song Settle, Macy Gary (also cast in the movie) in the song Stand Up, Janelle Monae and Harmony Samuels in the song Without a Fight and another British born singer Leona Lewis in the song I Know Who I Am.

The show stopper however is the song Four Women. The song again is a magnificent rendition of Nina Simone’s song titled the same. This rendition however blends the voices of four women, Nina Simone, Laura Izibor, Ledisi and Simone who is the daughter of the late Nina Simone.  Fittingly, the album closes with the instrumental version of the main title (without the recitation) composed by Aaron Zigman.

This is neither an album with no singers, nor are the songs lyrics without voices. It’s an album that enriches the movie but if you chose to skip with movie, don’t miss out on the music. Bring some soul into your home, you will not be disappointed.

Susan Mutharia
The Urban Music Scene