Jill Scott - "Experience" Album Review

News & Reviews

3. Jill Scott Experience (Album - Sony)

Current soul diva Jill Scott continues her reign with a part live and part studio recorded album. Experience is, as with most live albums, a demonstration of her ability to cut it live as well as on vinyl.
And cut it she can. But lets face it we pretty much knew that before we even heard the album. Live albums arent a matter of chance, they are a matter of an artist wanting to show the world at large that, what you hear on the record, is what you hear in the flesh. Lets face it, we were never going to get a live Spice Girls album.
But the question is, would the world at large rather hear a live album or a studio album? The answer is more than likely the latter (excluding all die-hard fans of course, and those who were there at the time). Because Jill Scott sticks pretty much to the original agenda, this album is merely confirmation of her vocal talents.
The second half, the recorded bit, follows on valiantly from her preceding album Who Is Jill Scott?. We see her using her poetic licence to deliver a track of Ursula Rucker style spoken word (Thickness). Also included is the brilliant 4hero collaboration Gotta Get Up (Another Day), and a down tempo Common collaboration High Post Brotha, which sounds unquestioningly similar to The Young Disciples on Road To Freedom.
If you want to discover the lady, take some advice either go and see her live or buy the preceding album and escape having to hear a crowd cheering at things you can only guess at, and loads of waffle in between.