I was finally able to find a place online that sells Kelis'
Wanderland for a reasonable price. I've listened to the album twice now, and the first thing that strikes me is how blatantly unedgy her vocals are this time around. The spunk that she exhibited on
Kaleidoscope doesn't seem to be present anymore. While I understand that this second album is supposed to be more autobiographical, I don't think it helps her cause to eliminate the role-playing elements if it means turning down the attitude as well. For me, that was part of what distinguished her as a real talent in my eyes, not just another mediocre voice who's fortunate enough to work with a super producer. I did eventually realize that she was indeed a fine singer, emotive, daring, and fun, with an excellent sense of timing and stage presence, but I still think the sassiness she had shown on
Kaleidoscope was one of the most identifiable qualities of her recording persona. I should note that this particular complaint of mine is actually pretty miniscule when considering the album as a whole. The rest of the music is of course incredibly dense and nice to listen to. I'm just not yet at the stage where I can anticipate the flow of the music well enough to determine whether it's great or merely good. It took me a little while to fully appreciate
Kaleidoscope, so I'm hoping that this new change in vocal style is just something for me to nitpick about until I REALLY understand what's going on.
