****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I must admit I never thought I'd but a Queen Latifah cd. Her earlier music was not to my taste and I really wasn't overwhelmed by her performance in CHICAGO. Then I saw her sing the song from HAIRSPRAY on tv and I was blown away. I quickly went to Amazon and ordered her latest - TRAV'LIN' LIGHT. Am I ever so glad I did. This cd was nominated for a grammy and I certainly understand why. There is not a miss out of all the 13 tracks. She tackles true classics from many different decades of varying styles and puts it all together in a very cohesive collection held strong by her amazing vocals.The cd begins with a true classic POETRY MAN and her take is soft, moody and totally effective. It sets you up for all the amazing music to come. She uses her skills on some bluesy, lilting emotive ballads like QUIET NIGHTS OF QUIET STARS, DON'T CRY BABY and GEORGIA ROSE. She hits the mark right on with the jazz uptemo numbers I LOVE BEING HERE WITH YOU and I'M GONNA LIVE TILL I DIE. The cd ends on an amazing high note with two belting ballads and Queen Latifah is amazing and stands up there with the best of the belters. GONE AWAY and the exceptional I KNOW WHERE I'VE BEEN, the uplifting gospel ballad from HAIRSPRAY will astound you.I am 47 and grew up with the music of the 70s and must admit my favorite tracks are her remakes of I'M NOT IN LOVE by 10cc and HOW LONG originally done by The Pointer Sisters. I thought they would be campy and she totally makes them her own. That is what she does on this whole cd. There are many artists out there covering the classics and they are basically redoing songs where your thoughts still remember how the original artist was better. Queen Latifah is better than that here. It is obvious she has picked songs that mean something to her. It fully comes across in her delivery and she makes each song an original - her own.Queen Latifah has grown into an artist with amazing range and versatility. I highly recommend this cd.
