Me'Shell NdegeOcello - Bitter (1999)

Bitter is the first album in three years from critically acclaimed, Grammy Award-nominated singer-songwriter Meshell Ndegeocello (N-day-gay-O-chello). A highly personal, often gentle, sometime sultry, more acoustic album than her two previous best-sellers, Bitter showcases one of today's boldest and most important musical and cultural voices.

The angular, sensual funk-rock blend of Me'Shell Ndegeocello's 1996 Peace Beyond Passion here gives way to a hushed confessional mood that recalls classics by Joni Mitchell and Rosanne Cash. Ndegeocello puts her formidable bass skills far off to the side here--there's rarely even an electric guitar to be heard on these tracks--in favor of a mix often dominated by a small string section. Occasionally overripe, as on a cover of Hendrix's "May This Be Love," Bitter is nonetheless an intriguing take on one woman's love, confusion, and ultimately, hope. --Rickey Wright