Beautifully Human: Words And Sounds Vol. 2 Cambridge MA

Beautifully Human: Words And Sounds Vol. 2

Jill Scott

Hidden Beach/A Touch of Jazz, 2004

http://www.jillscott.com

REVIEW BY: Sean McCarthy

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 12/27/2007

Jill Scott was heralded as one of the leaders of the neo-soul movement of the first part of this decade. Her duet with The Roots on Things Fall Apart brought her to a mass audience. Her 2000 release, Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1, was a damn-near flawless mix of old-school soul and new-school coolness. Earning near universal acclaim with her debut CD, fans and critics waited anxiously for Vol. 2.

And they waited.

Four years may not be much of a wait if it’s a Tool album, but for the R&B and hip-hop communities, four years is a huge wait (hell, Jay-Z couldn’t even make it that long for his first retirement). But Scott got married and continued to do her own thing, be it activism or collaborations. Her 2004 release, Beautifully Human: Words and Sounds Vol. 2, though a sophomore album, resonates with the confidence of a Curtis Mayfield or Marvin Gaye release, even if she’s only talking about a family picnic or taking a clichéd line like “it takes more than diamonds to woo me” and making it sound like you’re hearing that line for the first time.

Beautifully Human: Words and Sounds Vol. 2, doesn’t stray far from the formula Scott established on her first album. If anything, Beautifully Human is a far more chilled release than her debut. It’s a grower in every sense of the word. Unfortunately, the album only has a few standout songs, such as the empowering “Golden” and the slow, jazzy funk of “Cross My Mind.”