Me'Shell Ndegéocello (Meshell Ndegeocello) - No More Water: The Gospel Of James Baldwin (2024)

Posted By: delpotro

Me'Shell Ndegéocello - No More Water: The Gospel Of James Baldwin (2024)
EAC Rip | FLAC (tracks+log+.cue) - 454 Mb | MP3 CBR 320 kbps - 176 Mb | 01:16:32
R'n'B, Soul, Gospel | Label: Blue Note Records

Meshell Ndegeocello’s 2nd Blue Note album No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin is a striking homage to the eminent writer and activist James Baldwin to be released on his Centennial: August 2, 2024. Ndegeocello’s transformative music and collaborative spirit ignites this genre-bending work that is at once a musical experience, a church service, a celebration, a testimonial, and a call to action. Co-produced by Meshell and guitarist Chris Bruce, the album also features frequent collaborators Justin Hicks, Kenita Miller-Hicks, Josh Johnson, Jebin Bruni, Abe Rounds, Jake Sherman, and Julius Rodriguez, as well as powerful spoken word performances by poet and activist Staceyann Chin and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Hilton Als.

AllMusic Review by Andy Kellman
No More Water followed Meshell Ndegeocello's Sun Ra celebration The Magic City by four months and arrived on the centennial birthday of its subject, the incomparable writer and Civil Rights activist James Baldwin. It closes an informal trilogy of commemorative recordings from Ndegeocello that began with Pour Une Âme Souveraine, dedicated to Baldwin's beloved Nina Simone. At the same time, No More Water is an outgrowth of a theatrical production the musician presented in 2016 at the Harlem Stage Gatehouse. Impelled by Baldwin's The Fire Next Time – an essential text that gave her a profound comprehension of racism, classism, and the effects of both on her family – Ndegeocello conceived the performance as a Pan-African church service with an ensemble of instrumentalists, singers, and orators. Many of the participants are involved here, and Baldwin's words are woven into eight of the 17 tracks, whether sung by the pained if undaunted Justin Hicks on the rippling funk of "On the Mountain," or recited by Jamaican poet and activist Staceyann Chin on "Baldwin Manifesto I" and "Baldwin Manifesto II." The pieces that don't quote Baldwin are often equally charged, freighted with anguish. Take Chin's declamatory "Raise the Roof." Backed only by phantasmal saxophone and effects from Josh Johnson, Chin, tightly coiled, rails against police brutality, a rigged justice system, and "a lack of white accountability parading as a penal system in which 40% of those incarcerated come from a group which only consists of 12% of the entire fucking population." Just as gripping is the brief folk song that follows, "The Price of a Ticket" – what could be called a ditty if Ndegeocello wasn't making a gentle appeal to be spared by an armed officer. In a way, the album is, to use a description Ndegeocello used for her fourth full-length, an anthropological mixtape. It's constantly switching gears in terms of structure and sound. Songs slowly unfurl or unexpectedly intensify, quickly settle into a groove or change direction, are adjoined with spoken interludes and interjections, and yet a sense of flow is maintained. In addition to its funk and folk components, the album blurs 21st century jazz and soul with elements of soukous, samba, dub, and art rock. Additionally, Baldwin isn't the only writer/activist from which the album gleans influence. "Thus Sayeth the Lorde" pays tribute to Audre Lorde, the fellow writer/activist who challenged Baldwin on gender in a historic conversation published in Essence magazine. Chin most certainly embodies the "feminist warrior" aspect of Lorde's self-identity in the subsequent "Tsunami Rising." For all the pain the material relates, there's an unwavering sense of communality and even some joy; the uplifting "Love" is a reminder that Ndegeocello remains a masterful hook writer and reinterpreter. No More Water concludes with a looped and layered mantra for bookworms. The words, voiced by multi-instrumentalist Paul Thompson, shift and repeat for over a minute, echoing Ndegeocello's hope that the album provokes listeners to read Baldwin's undiminishable writings and take them to heart.
Tracklist:
1. Travel (04:09)
2. On The Mountain (05:59)
3. Baldwin Manifesto I (00:43)
4. Raise The Roof (05:06)
5. The Price Of The Ticket (01:34)
6. What Did I Do? (05:18)
7. Pride I (02:54)
8. Pride II (02:38)
9. Eyes (05:17)
10. Trouble (07:18)
11. Thus Sayeth The Lorde (05:40)
12. Love (03:42)
13. Hatred (05:28)
14. Tsunami Rising (08:04)
15. Another Country (04:47)
16. Baldwin Manifesto II (02:06)
17. Down At The Cross (05:42)

Exact Audio Copy V1.6 from 23. October 2020

EAC extraction logfile from 31. August 2024, 20:28

Me'Shell NdegéOcello / No More Water: The Gospel Of James Baldwin

Used drive : Optiarc DVD RW AD-7190S Adapter: 1 ID: 2

Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No

Read offset correction : 6
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000
Gap handling : Appended to previous track

Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 1024 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : No
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Flac\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -8 -V -T "ARTIST=%artist%" -T "TITLE=%title%" -T "ALBUM=%albumtitle%" -T "DATE=%year%" -T "TRACKNUMBER=%tracknr%" -T "GENRE=%genre%" -T "PERFORMER=%albuminterpret%" -T "COMPOSER=%composer%" %haslyrics%–tag-from-file=LYRICS="%lyricsfile%"%haslyrics% -T "ALBUMARTIST=%albumartist%" -T "DISCNUMBER=%cdnumber%" -T "TOTALDISCS=%totalcds%" -T "TOTALTRACKS=%numtracks%" -T "COMMENT=%comment%" %source% -o %dest%


TOC of the extracted CD

Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-
1 | 0:00.00 | 4:09.63 | 0 | 18737
2 | 4:09.63 | 5:59.06 | 18738 | 45668
3 | 10:08.69 | 0:43.32 | 45669 | 48925
4 | 10:52.26 | 5:06.48 | 48926 | 71923
5 | 15:58.74 | 1:34.00 | 71924 | 78973
6 | 17:32.74 | 5:18.56 | 78974 | 102879
7 | 22:51.55 | 2:54.15 | 102880 | 115944
8 | 25:45.70 | 2:38.06 | 115945 | 127800
9 | 28:24.01 | 5:17.21 | 127801 | 151596
10 | 33:41.22 | 7:18.23 | 151597 | 184469
11 | 40:59.45 | 5:40.36 | 184470 | 210005
12 | 46:40.06 | 3:42.49 | 210006 | 226704
13 | 50:22.55 | 5:28.55 | 226705 | 251359
14 | 55:51.35 | 8:04.13 | 251360 | 287672
15 | 63:55.48 | 4:47.06 | 287673 | 309203
16 | 68:42.54 | 2:06.60 | 309204 | 318713
17 | 70:49.39 | 5:42.55 | 318714 | 344418


Track 1

Filename N:\New Rips\Me'Shell NdegéOcello - 2024 - No More Water The Gospel Of James Baldwin (00602465215045)\01 - Travel.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:02.00

Peak level 98.8 %
Extraction speed 4.7 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC D2F052BC
Copy CRC D2F052BC
Track not present in AccurateRip database
Copy OK

Track 2

Filename N:\New Rips\Me'Shell NdegéOcello - 2024 - No More Water The Gospel Of James Baldwin (00602465215045)\02 - On The Mountain.wav

Peak level 98.4 %
Extraction speed 5.5 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 0563455C
Copy CRC 0563455C
Track not present in AccurateRip database
Copy OK

Track 3

Filename N:\New Rips\Me'Shell NdegéOcello - 2024 - No More Water The Gospel Of James Baldwin (00602465215045)\03 - Baldwin Manifesto I.wav

Peak level 98.8 %
Extraction speed 3.4 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 10D6A7E3
Copy CRC 10D6A7E3
Track not present in AccurateRip database
Copy OK

Track 4

Filename N:\New Rips\Me'Shell NdegéOcello - 2024 - No More Water The Gospel Of James Baldwin (00602465215045)\04 - Raise The Roof.wav

Peak level 68.8 %
Extraction speed 6.0 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 53D08736
Copy CRC 53D08736
Track not present in AccurateRip database
Copy OK

Track 5

Filename N:\New Rips\Me'Shell NdegéOcello - 2024 - No More Water The Gospel Of James Baldwin (00602465215045)\05 - The Price Of The Ticket.wav

Peak level 97.2 %
Extraction speed 5.0 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 88D7F902
Copy CRC 88D7F902
Track not present in AccurateRip database
Copy OK

Track 6

Filename N:\New Rips\Me'Shell NdegéOcello - 2024 - No More Water The Gospel Of James Baldwin (00602465215045)\06 - What Did I Do.wav

Peak level 97.4 %
Extraction speed 6.6 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC FAC218BC
Copy CRC FAC218BC
Track not present in AccurateRip database
Copy OK

Track 7

Filename N:\New Rips\Me'Shell NdegéOcello - 2024 - No More Water The Gospel Of James Baldwin (00602465215045)\07 - Pride I.wav

Peak level 97.6 %
Extraction speed 6.3 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC DDAB89AA
Copy CRC DDAB89AA
Track not present in AccurateRip database
Copy OK

Track 8

Filename N:\New Rips\Me'Shell NdegéOcello - 2024 - No More Water The Gospel Of James Baldwin (00602465215045)\08 - Pride II.wav

Peak level 98.4 %
Extraction speed 6.4 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 76768FD6
Copy CRC 76768FD6
Track not present in AccurateRip database
Copy OK

Track 9

Filename N:\New Rips\Me'Shell NdegéOcello - 2024 - No More Water The Gospel Of James Baldwin (00602465215045)\09 - Eyes.wav

Peak level 97.7 %
Extraction speed 7.4 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 10B787FD
Copy CRC 10B787FD
Track not present in AccurateRip database
Copy OK

Track 10

Filename N:\New Rips\Me'Shell NdegéOcello - 2024 - No More Water The Gospel Of James Baldwin (00602465215045)\10 - Trouble.wav

Peak level 98.9 %
Extraction speed 8.0 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 4D40FF09
Copy CRC 4D40FF09
Track not present in AccurateRip database
Copy OK

Track 11

Filename N:\New Rips\Me'Shell NdegéOcello - 2024 - No More Water The Gospel Of James Baldwin (00602465215045)\11 - Thus Sayeth The Lorde.wav

Peak level 98.3 %
Extraction speed 8.2 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 28E247C9
Copy CRC 28E247C9
Track not present in AccurateRip database
Copy OK

Track 12

Filename N:\New Rips\Me'Shell NdegéOcello - 2024 - No More Water The Gospel Of James Baldwin (00602465215045)\12 - Love.wav

Peak level 97.5 %
Extraction speed 1.1 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 4B0481AC
Copy CRC 4B0481AC
Track not present in AccurateRip database
Copy OK

Track 13

Filename N:\New Rips\Me'Shell NdegéOcello - 2024 - No More Water The Gospel Of James Baldwin (00602465215045)\13 - Hatred.wav

Peak level 98.8 %
Extraction speed 1.3 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC DB1F1A88
Copy CRC DB1F1A88
Track not present in AccurateRip database
Copy OK

Track 14

Filename N:\New Rips\Me'Shell NdegéOcello - 2024 - No More Water The Gospel Of James Baldwin (00602465215045)\14 - Tsunami Rising.wav

Peak level 97.1 %
Extraction speed 1.4 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 76E613C6
Copy CRC 76E613C6
Track not present in AccurateRip database
Copy OK

Track 15

Filename N:\New Rips\Me'Shell NdegéOcello - 2024 - No More Water The Gospel Of James Baldwin (00602465215045)\15 - Another Country.wav

Peak level 97.5 %
Extraction speed 1.6 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC E9555F00
Copy CRC E9555F00
Track not present in AccurateRip database
Copy OK

Track 16

Filename N:\New Rips\Me'Shell NdegéOcello - 2024 - No More Water The Gospel Of James Baldwin (00602465215045)\16 - Baldwin Manifesto II.wav

Peak level 81.7 %
Extraction speed 1.1 X
Track quality 99.9 %
Test CRC 34C0C4A7
Copy CRC 34C0C4A7
Track not present in AccurateRip database
Copy OK

Track 17

Filename N:\New Rips\Me'Shell NdegéOcello - 2024 - No More Water The Gospel Of James Baldwin (00602465215045)\17 - Down At The Cross.wav

Peak level 97.4 %
Extraction speed 1.6 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC E584101E
Copy CRC E584101E
Track not present in AccurateRip database
Copy OK


None of the tracks are present in the AccurateRip database

No errors occurred

End of status report

–– CUETools DB Plugin V2.1.6

[CTDB TOCID: ZzehlC.R5Ibv6Cr9GYJwsaP2Ujg-] found
Submit result: ZzehlC.R5Ibv6Cr9GYJwsaP2Ujg- has been confirmed
Track | CTDB Status
1 | (5/5) Accurately ripped
2 | (5/5) Accurately ripped
3 | (5/5) Accurately ripped
4 | (5/5) Accurately ripped
5 | (5/5) Accurately ripped
6 | (5/5) Accurately ripped
7 | (5/5) Accurately ripped
8 | (5/5) Accurately ripped
9 | (5/5) Accurately ripped
10 | (5/5) Accurately ripped
11 | (5/5) Accurately ripped
12 | (5/5) Accurately ripped
13 | (5/5) Accurately ripped
14 | (5/5) Accurately ripped
15 | (4/5) Accurately ripped
16 | (5/5) Accurately ripped
17 | (5/5) Accurately ripped


==== Log checksum 4E76B65C0C8F1ACAD3DC2303D94C7A8DBE3531F20DE18098E242EE8F65AE980D ====

Thanks to the Original ripper!