Nik West - Just In The Nik Of Time (2013) [FLAC] {Spectra Music Group 92578}
Release Info:
RLSDATE: 2021/05/29 RTLDATE: 2015/09/18
GENRE: Funk FORMAT: FLAC 1.3.3
RiPPER: Exact Audio Copy 1.5 Size: 246 MB
SOURCE: CDr RUNTiME: 39:56
RELEASE: Spectra Music Group 95257
with log/cue/nfo/m3u/sfv/300 dpi scans.
Alex Henderson (Billboard/Spin) says...
Much of contemporary R&B is so high-tech, so programmed and so
heavily electronic that a lot of younger R&B artists don't think in
terms of chops or learning to play an instrument. They learn to think
in strictly technological terms, which is a real contrast to a time
in which Larry Graham (of Sly & the Family Stone and Graham Central
Station) couldn't wait to display his virtuosity, and the notorious
perfectionist Godfather of Soul James Brown would fine his musicians
if he thought they weren't giving 100%. But Nik West is one 21st
Century R&B artist who isn't lacking in the chops department. She is
a young electric bassist who clearly knows her way around her
instrument and plays like she has been inspired by the funky likes of
Graham, Louis Johnson (of Brothers Johnson fame) and Marcus Miller.
She has accompanied a few well-known artists, but on Just in the Nik
of Time, West is the one in the driver's seat.
Although West plays her electric bass on this album, which she
co-produced with Justin James, she isn't strictly a bassist. The
Phoenix native, who spent some time in Seattle and is now based in
Los Angeles, is also a highly expressive singer. West's vocals, in
fact, are the primary ingredient on Just in the Nik of Time, which
favors a jazz-tinged neo-soul approach along the lines of Erykah
Badu, Jill Scott and India.Arie. This is not a jazz album per se.
Stylistically, there is a major difference between what West does on
Just in the Nik of Time and what a hardcore jazz vocalist like Kitty
Margolis does on her albums. But West, like Badu and Scott, clearly
operates on the jazzier side of neo-soul, and she is as jazzy on
"Eyes Closed," "Wait a Minute," and "Written All Over Me" as she is
on "Who's in the Mirror" and the uplifting opener "Be Okay."
West's orientation on this album is modern R&B with jazz overtones,
and like other neo-soulsters, West favors a more organic approach to
modern R&B. She uses technology but doesn’t allow herself to be
overwhelmed by it.
Most modern R&B is not neo-soul. So what is it that puts Just in the
Nik of Time in the neo-soul category? Part of it is the way West has
been influenced by both the past and the present. West's appreciation
of the old-school soul of the 1960's and 70's comes through, but Just
in the Nik of Time never sounds like it was actually recorded back
then. Hip-hop's rhythmic influence asserts itself even though West
isn't inundating listeners with rapping (Lady Lyric's performance on
"Never Forget to Love" is spoken word rather than actual rapping).
Although producer Justin James uses a certain amount of 21st Century
production gloss, their production has a warmer quality than most
modern R&B productions. Further, she is going for honest, soulful
expression rather than style over substance or attitude for the sake
of attitude. West has a lot of substance, and she occasionally
touches on social issues. West delivers a feminist message on "Black
Beauty" and the Latin-tinged "Do What You Gotta Do," encouraging
young women to be good to themselves and not fall prey to the dangers
of the streets. Much to her credit, she gets her message of female
empowerment across without becoming preachy or getting into
male-bashing.
If West could have improved on this album in some way, it would be to
keep the ten tracks as they are, but add an instrumental or two. Back
in the late 1970's, the Brothers Johnson would include an
instrumental on their vocal-oriented albums so that singer/bassist
Louis "Thunder Thumbs" Johnson and singer/guitarist George "Lightnin'
Licks" Johnson could spotlight their virtuosity. It wouldn't hurt
West to do the same on future albums. She is a talented bassist, and
having an instrumental or two would be beneficial for her. Still,
this is not to say that West doesn't excel on this album. Just in the
Nik of Time is a consistently strong debut from the promising
neo-soulster.
Ripper's Notes:
First released on CD only in Japan in 2013 this is ripped from the
2016 US release. The Japanese release added three additional tracks,
(of those three "Forbidden Fruit (Live)" and "Superwoman" were added
to the Say Somethin EP, only "Black Beauty (Live)" remains exclusive
to Japan.) The last track here, "No Choice" is exclusive to this
issue.
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