A Change Is Gonna Come

Artist	Leela James
Format	CD
Label Name	Warner Bros.
Producer	Bobby Ross Avila, James Poyser, Raphael Saadiq, Wyclef Jean, Chucky Thompson, Jerry Duplessis, Iz, Kanye West, Comissioner Gordon, Vikter Duplaix, Aaron Harris, Leela James
Release Date	2005 06 21
Song List	1: Intro (1:25) 2: Music (4:03) 3: Good Time (4:16) 4: Ghetto (3:50) 5: Soul Food (0:57) 6: Rain (3:18) 7: When You Love Somebody (4:08) 8: Mistreating Me (1:40) 9: Don't Speak (4:30) 10: My Joy (5:13) 11: It's Alright (4:46) 12: Didn't I (0:52) 13: Prayer (4:57) 14: A Change Is Gonna Come (4:03) 15: Long Time Coming (3:17) 16: [Untitled Hidden Track] (3:57) 17: [Untitled Hidden Track] (2:05) 18: [Untitled Hidden Track] (3:36) 19: [Untitled Hidden Track] (4:01)
Style.Categories	Neo-Soul, Urban

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"Music," the first song and lead single from Leela James' first album, bemoans the death of music. She reminisces about Aretha, Gladys, Tina, and Chaka, and asks, "Can we just put the thongs away?" Her argument is flawed and tired. All four inspirations released new material during the early 2000s, and James is the latest in an extended line of artists, stretching from American Idol to any anonymous keyboard lounge on the East Coast, claiming to rescue real music. James should turn off BET and go to a record store: issue solved. The remainder of A Change Is Gonna Come -- named after the Sam Cooke song, covered here -- isn't nearly as nauseating, thankfully enough, even if it retains a nostalgic tint. James has the stature of a woman who should possess a squeaky voice, but she sings with demonstrative grit. More importantly, she doesn't see her inspirations merely as artists to mimic; she sees how they learned from the past and applied it to the present. The past is built upon (if only a little), rather than simply revisited. Kanye West, Raphael Saadiq, Chucky Thompson, James Poyser, and even James Mtume are in on the action, giving James the kind of apt support she could've only imagined prior to recording the album. There's plenty of thematic range, whether there are blue lights in the basement, tears on the pillow, sweat on the dancefloor, or sun showers on the porch. Hopefully listeners won't hear all those names during "Music" and get the idea to listen to Lady Soul or Ask Rufus instead. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide